Asia-Pacific News
Man accused of abusing war widows fails to get charges dropped
Dec 6, 2011, 6:13 GMT
Sydney - An Australian accused of sending abusive letters to the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday failed to have charges against him dropped in a Sydney court.
Man Monis, also known as Sheikh Haron, has been charged with 12 counts of using a postal service in an offensive way.
Lawyers representing Monis, 45, in the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal claimed the charges impinged on their client's freedom of speech.
The court rejected their argument, saying the political criticism may be legitimate, but the letters also denigrated the dead soldiers. The charges were left to stand and the case was to continue before the courts.
At a previous hearing, Monis did not deny sending letters describing Australia's war dead as 'pigs' but argued he was promoting peace.
'This is my jihad,' he said outside the court after a successful bail application earlier this year. 'This pen is my gun and these words are my bullets.'
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