QUESNEL, British Columbia. March 13, 2014. Anti-Zionist critic and Internet blogger Arthur Topham’s preliminary hearing ended here today with Judge Morgan committing he case to trial in Superior Court, A date to set a date or trial has been set for March 31, On January 14, the Crown ambushed Mr. Topham with a further charge under Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code, Canada’s notorious “hate law” for more recent posting and commentary on his Radicalpress.com website. After the preliminary hearing, Crown Jennifer Johnston sought a total gag order as a bail condition on this charge.
Mr. Topham had been advised that new bail conditions would be dealt with on April 2. However, the Crown sought new Soviet-style silencing provisions forthwith. Her new proposed conditions were presented to Mr. Topham after the noon lunch break. They are:
Thought criminal Arthur Topham heading to Provincial Court in Quesnel, BC
Requested terms:
1) You shall not post any information on any Internet site that can be read by members of the general public.
2) You shall not operate, post to, manage or allow anyone to operate, post to or manage any Internet site owned by you that can be accessed by the general public.
3) You shall make RadicalPress.com
In short, Mr. Topham is not to post anything on the Internet and is to shut down Radicalpress.com — the entire site — even though only a tiny portion of its eclectic contents is the subject of this complaint.
The bail conditions, if granted, would have the effect of totally gagging this dissident until his trial which could be a year or more in the future. He would be unable to post legal updates to his support base and would be cut off from reporting to those who financially support him.
Mr. Topham also runs a small placer (surface, as opposed to hard rock) gold mining business. He runs a non-political website CaribooPlacer.com in pursuit of this business. Posting there too would be denied to him under condition 1.
These conditions utterly violate the underlying concept of Anglo-Saxon law, that a person is INNOCENT until proven guilty and should not be punished unless and until tried and proven guilty.
Seeking the silencing of a victim charged under the “hate law” seems now to be standard practice in the increasingly politicized Canadian legal system. Terry Tremaine endured a gag period of 55 months when charged under Sec. 13. Political prisoner Brad Love has faced similar parole conditions that have now extended 10 years after the original conviction in 2003.
Judge Morgan was reluctant to go order this gagging. When Mr. Topham indicated that he had only just been advised of the Crown’s draconian demands, the judge ordered another hearing, March 18, to set a date for argument on these proposed bail conditions.
Indicating his uneasiness with the Crown’s proposals to silence Mr. Topham, Judge Morgan said: “Bail conditions are usually a way to prevent future offences before trial in a normal case, like break and enter, which is clearly against the law. However, Sec. 319 is different and no offence has been proven. Mr. Topham believes in free speech and believes what he has written is legal. The Crown, on the other hand, says it’s hate. If there is a concern on the part of the Crown about harm to the public caused by Mr. Topham’s website, the Crown should seek an early trial date.”
Judge Morgan added: “The sledgehammer the Crown is talking of is to close you down entirely.” He wondered why Mr. Topham continued to leave up books like The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion which are already available elsewhere on the Internet.
Perhaps realizing the brutality of what seemed to be her marching orders, Crown Jennifer Johnston, who favours tall black leather boots and navy blue skirts and jackets, phoned Vancouver to see whether Mr.Topham’s strictly business-oriented site might be excluded. Whom did she call? Det. Const. Terry Wilson, head of the B.C. Hate Squad. Does that mean that the political police are essentially calling the shots as to bail conditions demanded of political dissidents? Fascinating!
The outcome of the preliminary hearing was never really in doubt. It is sometimes said that a U.S. grand jury could indict a ham sandwich. Similarly, Canadian preliminary hearings also require a very low threshold of proof. The Shephard decision by the Supreme Court held that a case must be sent on for trial if the evidence, if believed by a properly instructed jury, could lead to a finding of guilt.
Judge Morgan focused on the book Israel Must Perish, a satire published by Arthur Topham on the 1941 Kaufman book, Germany Must Perish, a blueprint for the genocide of Germany and Germans that was very influential in the U.S. during the war. Despite the fact that the Topham posting is a satire, the judge chose to rule that “it would be open for a jury to find Mr. Topham’s writings could stir up anti-Jewish hatred in Canada.”
The morning was taken up with Mr. Topham cross-examining RCMP Constable Normandie Levas [pronounced “leave-us”] who is the junior member of the B.C. “Hate Squad.” She explained that she’s been a Mountie for 11 years and was formerly with the Organized Crime Squad.
Constable Levas looks like a younger Suzanne Pleshette. Mr. Topham, dapper in a grey suit, spoke with a gentle and lilting voice as he worked his way through carefully prepared questions. Though just recently having joined the “Hate Squad” Miss Levas swore out a 54-page ITO [Information to Obtain a search warrant.] Both Mr. Topham’s former lawyer, the late Doug Christie and Mr. Topham challenge the scope and contents of this warrant.
Mr. Topham, asked: “Are you aware that Sec. 319.2 includes ‘intent’ as a requirement to prove the charge of ‘promoting hatred’” against a privileged group?
She indicated she knew that. He then asked what caused her to believe his writings had intended to promote hatred.
“Books posted on-line. I believe these promote hatred against an identifiable group – the Jewish population,” she replied,
“Do you have any expertise in psychology to know my intent?” he asked.
“I don’t have any expertise in psychology. I am a police officer,” Miss Levas replied.
“Your evidence would not be expert testimony?” Mr. Topham pursued.
She agreed: “I have not been deemed an expert.”
“I put it to you,” the anti-Zionist critic pounced, “all the evidence you gave in your information was unqualified opinion.”
“I would not agree,” she replied.
“Do you have a university degree?” he asked, trying to determine her qualification to judge the intent of his writing.
“I was a certified dental assistant,” she replied. It was not clear whether she had a university degree of any sort as dental assistants usually get their training from a community college.
Not to belittle anyone’s occupation, but there’s the B.C. Hate Squad: Det. Constable Terry Wilson, a committed dirt-bike rider who has twice been struck by lightning, and a former dental assistant. They sit in judgement as the thought police over their fellow citizens.
It will be an interesting trial. – Paul Fromm