Opinion
There’s a huge story breaking in Melbourne, which I can’t tell you about.
It concerns an activist, who cannot be named, of a certain community and a certain religion, which cannot be named, charged with the kidnapping, robbery and torture of a man, because he worked for a company owned by someone of a certain other community and a certain other religion, which cannot be named.
I can’t tell you any of this, because Victorian magistrate Carolyn Howe has rushed through an extraordinary suppression order which imposes a pall of secrecy on the entire case.
Here’s what I can tell you:
The woman, who is active in Middle East affairs, is known to politicians and close to arts industry figure Clementine Ford, but her identity and cultural affiliations have been suppressed in a highly unusual move by Victorian magistrate Carolyn Howe.
Police allege the woman – who has attended meetings with several MPs – was involved in the abduction and torture this month of a man in his 30s, and is one of two people charged with a series of high-level offences […]
The magistrate has issued two suppression orders, the second much wider than the first, in secret court hearings. The second suppression order bans: publication of the accused’s photo; anything that might point to where the activist lives; her name being published; and anything being published about a specific part of her community, or the religion of any party to the proceedings.
The second suppression order bans: publication of the accused’s photo; anything that might point to where the activist lives; her name being published; and anything being published about a specific part of her community, or the religion of any party to the proceedings.
The alleged incident may or may not have occurred in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Ford has been prolific on social media in more recent times and has been a critic of Israel’s role in the Middle East, particularly over its response to the Hamas attacks
The Australian
And that’s all I can tell you. It’s up to you to try and fill in the [redacted]s in my original report, which has now been updated to comply with the Kafkaesque secrecy order.
[Redacted] activist [Redacted] has been accused of organising the kidnapping and torture of a man because he worked for a [Redacted] employer.
The 28-year-old from [Redacted] in Melbourne’s northwest has been charged with kidnapping, armed robbery, false imprisonment, unlawful assault and assault by kicking over the alleged attack on a 31-year-old man in St Albans on February 16.
The Australian
Her alleged accomplice has been charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, armed robbery, threats to kill, intention to cause injury, recklessly causing injury, unlawful assault and assault with weapon.
For the sole crime of [Redacted], an innocent member of the public was kidnapped from the streets of Melbourne and brutally beaten and subjected to what even the supine Victoria Police called “horrific kidnapping and torture.”
All this, at the hands of a supposedly upstanding member of the [Redacted] community — and the [Redacted], to boot.
[Redacted] is a prominent member of Australia’s large [Redacted] community and the [Redacted] of [Redacted], which bills itself as an [Redacted] humanitarian organization. While [Redacted]’s social media profiles specify that she is still running the organization, an entry on the Australian register of companies notes that the foundation ceased operations in July 2023, less than three years after it was formally incorporated. The foundation’s website additionally lists a number of projects that it is raising money for — including addressing food shortages in [Redacted] and child health challenges — that apparently remain unfunded.
The Algemeiner
But her real mission in life seems to be virulent [Redacted]-hating.
Social media accounts under [Redacted]’s name show frequent anti-[Redacted] posts.
On October 8, a day after [Redacted] invaded [Redacted] and murdered over 1200 people, [Redacted] reportedly posted she had “woken up to some great news from our beloved [Redacted].”In an Instagram post, made shortly before her arrest and the closure of her social media, screenshots, and media reports show that an account under her name posted “[T]here are words that burn the wildest flames in the deepest pits of my heart and will only ever be extinguished when [Redacted] takes the [Redacted] from every single oppressor to walk this earth.”
MSN
In the wake of the Oct. 7 [Redacted] pogrom in [Redacted], [Redacted] dedicated most of her time to attacking [Redacted] on social media as well as spreading false information on her TikTok account, which had 20,000 followers before being closed down, as well as X/Twitter and Instagram. One post on Feb. 5 promoted the fabricated claim that a British Royal Navy warship dispatched to the Gulf to combat attacks on shipping by Houthi terrorists in Yemen had “broken down off the coasts of England.”
The Algemeiner
In an even more alarming sign of just how far Labor governments are willing to go to coddle [Redacted] communities whose votes they desperately need, Melbourne’s Herald Sun reported that there was “an extraordinary suppression order relating to her case prevents the Herald Sun from running [Redacted]’s image, referencing some ethnic groups or providing certain detail about her advocacy activities.”
The Australian [Redacted] Association, while sharing an article about [Redacted]’s case, stated […] [Redacted] has more information but for some reason, there is a court suppression order.
“We will tell you the accused has campaigned alongside Mehreen Faruqi of the [Redacted] Greens party.”
MSN
But of course she did.