{"id":635,"date":"2014-03-16T02:10:36","date_gmt":"2014-03-16T06:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=635"},"modified":"2014-03-16T02:10:36","modified_gmt":"2014-03-16T06:10:36","slug":"topham-hate-case-committed-to-trial-crown-demands-total-internet-gag-on-radicalpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=635","title":{"rendered":"Topham “Hate” Case Committed to Trial; Crown Demands Total Internet Gag on Radicalpress"},"content":{"rendered":"
Topham “Hate” Case Committed to Trial; Crown Demands Total Internet Gag on Radicalpress<\/span><\/div>\n


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QUESNEL, British Columbia. March 13, 2014<\/strong>. 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.<\/span>
\n 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:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>\"Frederick<\/p>\n

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Thought\u00a0criminal Arthur Topham heading to Provincial Court in Quesnel, BC\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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Requested terms:<\/b><\/p>\n

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1) You shall not post any information on any Internet site that can be read by members of the general public.<\/b><\/p>\n

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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.<\/b><\/p>\n

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3) You shall make\u00a0<\/b>RadicalPress.com<\/b><\/a>\u00a0unavailable to the general public. You shall not be in breach of this condition if you place a default page on\u00a0<\/b>RadicalPress.com<\/b><\/a>, if the wording of the default page has been previously approved by this Court.<\/b><\/p>\n

In short, Mr. Topham is not to post anything on the\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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\"Frederick<\/div>\n

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A<\/div>\n

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Arthur Topham & CAFE Director Paul Fromm<\/b><\/i><\/div>\n
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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.<\/p>\n

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Seeking the silencing of a victim charged under the \u201chate law\u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Judge Morgan was reluctant to go order this gagging. When Mr. Topham indicated that he had only just been advised of the Crown\u2019s draconian demands, the judge ordered another hearing, March 18, to set a date for argument on these proposed bail conditions.<\/p>\n

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Indicating his uneasiness with the Crown\u2019s proposals to silence Mr. Topham, Judge Morgan said: \u201cBail 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\u2019s hate. If there is a concern on the part of the Crown about harm to the public caused by Mr. Topham\u2019s website, the Crown should seek an early trial date.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Judge Morgan added: \u201cThe sledgehammer the Crown is talking of is to close you down entirely.\u201d He wondered why Mr. Topham continued to leave up books like The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion<\/b> which are already available elsewhere on the Internet.<\/b><\/p>\n

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