Federal Court of Appeal Sends Political Prisoner Terry Tremaine Back to Prison

Federal Court of Appeal Sends Political Prisoner Terry Tremaine Back to Prison
REGINA. September 10, 2014. The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by political prisoner Terry Tremaine. Mr. Tremaine was appealing against a 30 day sentence originally imposed by Federal Court Judge Sean Harrington for civil contempt.
 
The contempt charge had been laid after numerous complaints by Richard Warman, who brought the initial complaint under the notorious Sec. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, now repealed by Parliament. Sec. 13 involved Internet censorship. The Warman complaint focused on numerous postings Mr. Tremaine, a former lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan, had made on the U.S. website STORMFRONT under the name mathdoktor 99.
Photo: Federal Court of Appeal Sends Political Prisoner Terry Tremaine Back to Prison

REGINA. September 10, 2014. The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by political prisoner Terry Tremaine. Mr. Tremaine was appealing against a 30 day sentence originally imposed by Federal Court Judge Sean Harrington for civil contempt.

The contempt charge had been laid after numerous complaints by Richard Warman, who brought the initial complaint under the notorious Sec. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, now repealed by Parliament. Sec. 13 involved Internet censorship. The Warman complaint focused on numerous postings Mr. Tremaine, a former lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan, had made on the U.S. website STORMFRONT under the name mathdoktor 99.

Judge Harrington had initially found Mr. Tremaine not guilty after a trial in Victoria in 2010. He held that Mr. Tremaine had not been served with the Federal Court Order (confirming the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal "cease and desist" order.) The Federal Court of Appeals overturned Judge Harrington in 2011 and advanced the novel notion that "cease and desist" required Mr. Tremaine to remove all the impugned posts, rather than not post similar material in the future,. even though the order made no mention of such action.

Originally, in sentencing Mr. Tremaine in 2013, Judge Harrington ordered him to remove numerous posts. If he did not comply, he would go to jail for six months.  Mr. Tremaine complied, but still faced a month in prison. Usually, in civil contempt cases, jail time is imposed only if the accused remains non-compliant.

Amnesty International defines a "prisoner of conscience" or a political prisoner as a person punished for the non-violent expression of his political, religious or cultural views.

Mr. Tremaine expressed disappointment at the Court of Appeal's decision, noting that the court seemed persuaded by Judge Harrington's melodramatic denunciation of the gentle scholar and scuba diver as "a villain." 

The decision seems to say, he added: "Screw the fact that the law which was offended has been repealed by Parliament. Screw the fact this is merely civil contempt. As he's a political dissident put the boots to the guy."

The decision is not yet available on line. When it is, CAFE will provide a further analysis.
Judge Harrington had initially found Mr. Tremaine not guilty after a trial in Victoria in 2010. He held that Mr. Tremaine had not been served with the Federal Court Order (confirming the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal “cease and desist” order.) The Federal Court of Appeals overturned Judge Harrington in 2011 and advanced the novel notion that “cease and desist” required Mr. Tremaine to remove all the impugned posts, rather than not post similar material in the future,. even though the order made no mention of such action.
 
Originally, in sentencing Mr. Tremaine in 2013, Judge Harrington ordered him to remove numerous posts. If he did not comply, he would go to jail for six months.  Mr. Tremaine complied, but still faced a month in prison. Usually, in civil contempt cases, jail time is imposed only if the accused remains non-compliant.
 
Amnesty International defines a “prisoner of conscience” or a political prisoner as a person punished for the non-violent expression of his political, religious or cultural views.
 
Mr. Tremaine expressed disappointment at the Court of Appeal’s decision, noting that the court seemed persuaded by Judge Harrington’s melodramatic denunciation of the gentle scholar and scuba diver as “a villain.” 
 
The decision seems to say, he added: “Screw the fact that the law which was offended has been repealed by Parliament. Screw the fact this is merely civil contempt. As he’s a political dissident put the boots to the guy.”
 
The decision is not yet available on line. When it is, CAFE will provide a further analysis.

Terry Tremaine’s Sentence – A Spitting, Spiteful Nasty Condemnation of a Dissident

Terry Tremaine’s Sentence – A Spitting, Spiteful Nasty Condemnation of a Dissident

Judge Sean Harrington’s sentencing decision delivered November 7, 2012 is a nasty piece of work.  It opens:  “The time has come, at last, to penalize Mr. Tremaine for acting in contempt of an order of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. … It is beyond doubt that Mr. Tremaine continued to post hate messages of the type found by the Tribunal to be in violation of Section 13(1) of the Act.” In a fine example of judicial balance, Judge Harrington calls the university lecturer’s postings “Internet rantings.” Judges often like to avoid a decision, if possible. On the eve of the sentencing hearing, Mr. Tremaine tried to sell his website to an American, thus putting it outside of the jurisdiction of Canada’s thought police and, thus, making the “cease and desist” order of the Tribunal moot. His efforts enraged the judge: “What is most disturbing of all is that Mr. Tremaine testified that he no longer had control of his own website; he had sold it the very morning of the sentencing hearing to Mr. Klatt, as an intermediary for an unnamed American for a nominal price not yet agreed.   However, he had not given Mr. Klatt the password to his website. I immediately enjoined him from so doing. It is obvious that Mr. Tremaine was attempting to put his website out of this Court’s reach.” And why should he not?

 

The Canadian judicial system seems to have an awesome deference for serial complainer Richard Warman, whom Doug Christie roundly lambasted at the sentencing hearing in Vancouver, October 10 saying: “Mr. Warman has made a career people who are marginal. Some, like Terry Tremaine, end up in mental hospitals. Mr. Warman now wants costs assessed against a man who cannot even hold a janitor’s job. At the behest of Mr. Warman, he was prosecuted under the Criminal Code.” And all this, said Mr. Christie, “to eliminate a political ideology Mr. Warman does not agree with.” Judge Harrington was not impressed: “Mr. Warman had every right to complain to the Commission with respect to material which appeared to violate Section 13(1) of the Act. It is ludicrous to attempt to portray him as the villain. The villain is Mr. Tremaine.” Being called a villain especially irks Mr. Tremaine who told CAFÉ: “None of my many  Internet posts were made for material gain or social benefit. I was trying to expose the shit storm we find ourselves in.”

 

Judge Harrington as much as admits that Mr. Tremaine is being hounded for alleged contempt of an order under a law already repealed by the House of Commons: “Although the House of Commons did repeal Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, the matter has yet to go before the Senate. In any event, the Bill did not purport to have retroactive effect.” No matter, on to the punishment anyway. “Mr. Tremaine has clearly intended to flout the law, to demean the Tribunal and this Court, and has not apologized. In fact, he had apologized before the Tribunal hearing had commenced, but later withdrew it as the apology was made in a moment of weakness. I do not expect Mr. Tremaine to apologize. He is a true believer. He is free to flout the order I am about to issue; but he must remember that freedom has its price.” A statement and threat the Red Chinese would appreciate: “He must remember that freedom has its price” – financial burdens and prison! When Terry Tremaine apologized to the Tribunal in 2005, the case should have ended. He’d agreed to remove the posts. It was the vindictive CHRC and Richard Warman who would not end the matter and insisted proceeding to a Tribunal with its guaranteed penalties – the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal then had a 100% conviction rate, making even North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il, or whatever the weirdly quaffed tyrant there was called, green, or would it be, yellow with envy.

 

Continuing with the sentence, Judge Harrington proclaimed: “I shall order that Mr. Tremaine either personally, or through counsel, approach Stormfront.org with the request that his postings thereon, as identified by the Tribunal in its decision, as well as those exhibited to the affidavits of Mr. Warman dated February 12, 2009 and March 19, 2010 be removed, as well as his posting of 22 July 2009 at 11:20 p.m. entitled “Human Rights” Contempt Hearing (July 23, 2009),a vicious untrue diatribe about Madam Justice Snider, among other things, which was identified as exhibit Tremaine 5 at the contempt hearing. Although not part of the show cause order, at the sentencing stage I can certainly order that other offensive material be removed.” This was Mr. Tremaine’s statement of defence in which, inter alia, he noted that the Federal Judge who had rejected his request for judicial review of the Tribunal decision was listed as a major contributor to the Canadian Jewish Congress, surely, giving rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. She should have recused herself. Judges certainly are very protective of one another.
at last, to penalize Mr. …Tremaine for acting in contempt of an order of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. … It is beyond doubt that Mr. Tremaine continued to post hate messages of the type found by the Tribunal to be in violation of Section 13(1) of the Act.” In a fine example of judicial balance, Judge Harrington calls the university lecturer’s postings “Internet rantings.” Judges often like to avoid a decision, if possible. On the eve of the sentencing hearing, Mr. Tremaine tried to sell his website to an American, thus putting it outside of the jurisdiction of Canada’s thought police and, thus, making the “cease and desist” order of the Tribunal moot. His efforts enraged the judge: “What is most disturbing of all is that Mr. Tremaine testified that he no longer had control of his own website; he had sold it the very morning of the sentencing hearing to Mr. Klatt, as an intermediary for an unnamed American for a nominal price not yet agreed.   However, he had not given Mr. Klatt the password to his website. I immediately enjoined him from so doing. It is obvious that Mr. Tremaine was attempting to put his website out of this Court’s reach.” And why should he not?

The Canadian judicial system seems to have an awesome deference for serial complainer Richard Warman, whom Doug Christie roundly lambasted at the sentencing hearing in Vancouver, October 10 saying: “Mr. Warman has made a career people who are marginal. Some, like Terry Tremaine, end up in mental hospitals. Mr. Warman now wants costs assessed against a man who cannot even hold a janitor’s job. At the behest of Mr. Warman, he was prosecuted under the Criminal Code.” And all this, said Mr. Christie, “to eliminate a political ideology Mr. Warman does not agree with.” Judge Harrington was not impressed: “Mr. Warman had every right to complain to the Commission with respect to material which appeared to violate Section 13(1) of the Act. It is ludicrous to attempt to portray him as the villain. The villain is Mr. Tremaine.” Being called a villain especially irks Mr. Tremaine who told CAFÉ: “None of my many  Internet posts were made for material gain or social benefit. I was trying to expose the shit storm we find ourselves in.”

Judge Harrington as much as admits that Mr. Tremaine is being hounded for alleged contempt of an order under a law already repealed by the House of Commons: “Although the House of Commons did repeal Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, the matter has yet to go before the Senate. In any event, the Bill did not purport to have retroactive effect.” No matter, on to the punishment anyway. “Mr. Tremaine has clearly intended to flout the law, to demean the Tribunal and this Court, and has not apologized. In fact, he had apologized before the Tribunal hearing had commenced, but later withdrew it as the apology was made in a moment of weakness. I do not expect Mr. Tremaine to apologize. He is a true believer. He is free to flout the order I am about to issue; but he must remember that freedom has its price.” A statement and threat the Red Chinese would appreciate: “He must remember that freedom has its price” – financial burdens and prison! When Terry Tremaine apologized to the Tribunal in 2005, the case should have ended. He’d agreed to remove the posts. It was the vindictive CHRC and Richard Warman who would not end the matter and insisted proceeding to a Tribunal with its guaranteed penalties – the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal then had a 100% conviction rate, making even North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il, or whatever the weirdly quaffed tyrant there was called, green, or would it be, yellow with envy.

Continuing with the sentence, Judge Harrington proclaimed: “I shall order that Mr. Tremaine either personally, or through counsel, approach Stormfront.org with the request that his postings thereon, as identified by the Tribunal in its decision, as well as those exhibited to the affidavits of Mr. Warman dated February 12, 2009 and March 19, 2010 be removed, as well as his posting of 22 July 2009 at 11:20 p.m. entitled “Human Rights” Contempt Hearing (July 23, 2009), a vicious untrue diatribe about Madam Justice Snider, among other things, which was identified as exhibit Tremaine 5 at the contempt hearing. Although not part of the show cause order, at the sentencing stage I can certainly order that other offensive material be removed.” This was Mr. Tremaine’s statement of defence in which, inter alia, he noted that the Federal Judge who had rejected his request for judicial review of the Tribunal decision was listed as a major contributor to the Canadian Jewish Congress, surely, giving rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. She should have recused herself. Judges certainly are very protective of one another.

Here the judge goes even further in seeking to erase Mr. Tremaine’s writings than the prosecution demanded. Agreeing with the CHRC and Richard Warman, the Judge was intent on flinging the dissident in jail: “As far as I am concerned, obeyance of this order is not sufficient to purge his contempt. In the event that he obeys this order, he shall nevertheless be imprisoned for 30 days commencing 15 days after service by the Commission of the order upon him.  Should he not obey the order, he shall be imprisoned for a further period of six months, or until he complies with the order, whichever is less.” Remembering that Sec. 13 has been repealed by the House of Commons, it is extraordinarily vindictive and harsh that, while the judge acknowledges that Mr. Tremaine “does not have the wherewithal to pay”, he nonetheless crushes him with costs to benefit the well-off persecutors: “The Commission is entitled to its costs. Mr. Warman, in his capacity as a subpoenaed witness, is entitled to his reasonable disbursements, to the extent they have not been paid by the Commission” – a burden of many thousands of dollars for a man with no resources.See

Here the judge goes even further in seeking to erase Mr. Tremaine’s writings than the prosecution demanded. Agreeing with the CHRC and Richard Warman, the Judge was intent on flinging the dissident in jail: “As far as I am concerned, obeyance of this order is not sufficient to purge his contempt. In the event that he obeys this order, he shall nevertheless be imprisoned for 30 days commencing 15 days after service by the Commission of the order upon him.  Should he not obey the order, he shall be imprisoned for a further period of six months, or until he complies with the order, whichever is less.” Remembering that Sec. 13 has been repealed by the House of Commons, it is extraordinarily vindictive and harsh that, while the judge acknowledges that Mr. Tremaine “does not have the wherewithal to pay”, he nonetheless crushes him with costs to benefit the well-off persecutors: “The Commission is entitled to its costs. Mr. Warman, in his capacity as a subpoenaed witness, is entitled to his reasonable disbursements, to the extent they have not been paid by the Commission” – a burden of many thousands of dollars for a man with no resources.

Dissident Terry Tremaine Headed for Jail, but Just Not Yet

Dissident Terry Tremaine Headed for Jail, but Just Not Yet

Dissident Terry Tremaine was sentenced to one month in prison definite and six months more, should he not remove several dozen postings from his website and request that STORMFRONT remove some of his postings as Mathdoktor 99, including the statement of defence he proposed to read at his contempt of court hearing in Regina, July 22, 2009. [Unbeknownst to him and CAFÉ’s Paul Fromm who was advising him, the hearing had been adjourned the day before.] Oh, yes, the impoverished Mr. Tremaine was also saddled with the flush Canadian Human Rights Commission’s costs and certain costs for civil servant and chronic complainant Richard Warman. The Canadian justice system proceeds at a ponderous pace. In December, Mr. Tremaine’s sentence was stayed pending an appeal against this sentence later this Spring. However, he faces a hearing before sentencing Judge Sean Harrington where the Canadian Human Rights Commission will seek a warrant of committal, which will actually send Mr. Tremaine to prison [although its execution is stayed pending the appeal.] This hearing will determine whether Mr. Tremaine goes to prison for a month or six. He has removed the designated posts from his website http://nspcanada.nfshost.com. Will this satisfy the judicial censors? Who knows?
Terry Tremaine Receiving CAFE Free Speech Award, Regina, 2012,
from CAFE Director Paul Fromm
Doug Christie Mr. Tremaine’s lawyer will argue that Mr. Tremaine already served 22 days in jail in Regina in August, 2009 in regards to the STORMFRONT post and should be credited against his one month sentence on a 1.5 for one basis, thus effectively negating the sentence.

 

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