(DIR) Home
Bondi Junction: Benjamin Cohen's lawyers ask police to consider
charges for online trolls
(HTM) Source
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A man who was falsely identified as the Bondi Junction stabber has
asked the NSW Police to consider charging online trolls who spread the
rumour.
Ben Cohen's lawyer released a statement on Wednesday saying a
"comprehensive brief of evidence" had been provided to Commissioner
Karen Webb, which raises "serious concerns" for online safety.
Mr Cohen recently settled with the Seven Network after he was wrongly
named on air by reporters and Sunrise host Matt Shirvington the day
after the stabbing attack unfolded on April 13.
Patrick George from law firm Giles George wrote that representations
had now been made to Commissioner Webb about the conduct of people who
identified Mr Cohen.
"Before Seven broadcast his name on its Sunday morning program
Sunrise, certain persons had wilfully identified Ben as the attacker
on social media by posting his photo and profile from his LinkedIn
page," Mr George said.
"These persons maliciously posted the false accusation for their own
improper purposes, in some cases simply to draw attention to
themselves.
"It spread like wildfire not just in Australia but throughout the
world over the Saturday night."
Mr George said the firm has requested police to consider charges
including harassment, criminal defamation and inciting violence on
racial grounds.
The terms of the settlement between Mr Cohen and Seven were
confidential, but the broadcaster has issued public apologies to the
Sydney student.
It has blamed a producer for making the "grave mistake" to green light
the use of Mr Cohen's name in their coverage of the Westfield
massacre.
Seven West Media managing director and chief executive Jeff Howard
wrote to Mr Cohen last month saying "identification was a grave
mistake and these assertions were entirely false and without basis".
"Seven's staff, including especially its on-air presenters Mr
Shirvington and Ms McLeod, are devastated that the error was made and
that it has affected you," Mr Howard wrote.
Mr Cohen foreshadowed his call for charges against online trolls when
the settlement was announced, saying "users who abuse a platform to
target individuals or communities should be held accountable".
His lawyers have also asked the commissioner to consider the actions
of X - formerly Twitter - and the steps it took to prevent the false
rumours spreading.
Joel Cauchi, 40, was identified as the man who attacked shoppers with
a knife on April 13, killing six people before being shot dead.
Up to 18 people were stabbed and those killed were Faraz Tahir, 30,
Ashlee Good, 38, Jade Young, 47, Dawn Singleton, 25, Pikria Dachria,
55 and Yixuan Cheng, 27.
Cauchi had recently moved to Sydney from his home state of Queensland
and was believed to be living rough at the time.
His devastated family have revealed the man had lived with serious
mental health issues since his teenage years.
______________________________________________________________________
Served by Flask-Gopher/2.2.1