|
From: Demetrios Vakras <vakras@iamsurreal.com> Date: 2 November 2014 2:07:47 PM AEDT To: australia@theguardian.com, arts@theguardian.com, international@theguardian.com, law.editors@theguardian.com Cc: Lee-Anne Raymond <leeanneart@iamsurreal.com> Subject: Australian artists appeal "Hitler defamation" case, Press Release
In 2009 artists Demetrios Vakras (myself) and Lee-Anne Raymond held a surrealist exhibition in Melbourne. It was launched to coincide with an exhibition on Dalí being held at the same time. The exhibition of 2009, consistent with principles that underpin historical surrealism, was atheist. Included in the exhibition was a publication that was specifically produced to accompany the show and explain the paintings. The essays to the paintings from the publication, some of them critical of religious doctrine-derived values, were pinned alongside the paintings. The religions critiqued were Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism (and Hinduism). The judgement of Emilios Kyrou of the Supreme Court of Victoria ruled in such a way that he has in effect made atheism unlawful. The since-closed Melbourne art gallery in which the paintings were exhibited was run by Robert Cripps, who had for the decades prior to his gallery, run a transportation company. Cripps opened his first and only gallery 9-10 months prior to our holding our exhibition there. On the opening night Cripps declared that criticism of the doctrinal values of Islam could aid Jews and Israel, that Muslim violence was "a reaction to what Jews do in Palestine", that Jews therefore are the cause of conflict, and that he was against "the Jews and their state in Palestine". Cripps made these claims despite the complete absence of any reference or allusion being made in any way to "Palestine" or Israel. Importantly, Cripps testified to this in court1. Cripps also called myself and co-exhibitor "racists" for our criticism. We both protested that: 1. atheism is not “racism”; 2. that conflict in "Palestine" had nothing to do with our show nor was that conflict the purpose for the criticism of religious doctrine; 3. that the conflict referred to by Cripps predated the existence of "the Jew's state”; 4. that his objection to the existence of "the Jew's state" was an objection to a Jewish state in Palestine made by Hitler in Mein Kampf; 5. that the "Palestine" cause as a Muslim cause was one pursued by Nazis such as the Mufti al Husseini, and that this Muslim cause against the Jews of Palestine was supported by Adolf Hitler. This was then written about on the websites of myself and co-exhibitor, Lee-Anne Raymond. The ruling by Emilios Kyrou. In his ruling Kyrou accepted that this had indeed transpired. However, Kyrou altered where, and who, was present when this had occurred. A defence to defamation in Australia is "reply to attack". Kyrou's judgement has placed the incident away from any direct witnesses who only heard what was being argued. Kyrou's judgement is that to impart information, such as history which is available to anyone where the historical knowledge can lessen the standing of someone in the mind of another can only be done as a direct "reply to attack". Kyrou ruled that what I had testified to, and what I had written about to Cripps at that time (which included a photograph from the Bundesarchiv showing Adolf Hitler with al Husseini) to constitute vilification of Cripps so vile that it necessitated a record penalty to be made against me/us. Kyrou also ruled that there is a material difference between being told what is written could be racist and being called racist to further find against any right to "reply to attack". Additionally, Kyrou also ruled that what was written had "no basis in fact”(?) News headline: "Artists fined for defaming former gallery owner by comparing him to Hitler" No such comparison was ever made. Emilios Kyrou found that I had failed to prove that Cripps was in any way "like Hitler" on the flawed premise that to support a cause that had been supported by Hitler (and pursued by Nazis such as al Husseini) means that one has compared the character of that person to the character of Hitler. The Supreme Court of Victoria/Emilios Kyrou made a press release on the finding by Kyrou: http://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/home/contact+us/news/artists+defamed+melbourne+gallerist This was reported on by all of Australia's major news outlets: http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/3aw-news-blog/artists-forced-to-pay-420k-in-damages/20140620-3aj0p.html The Appeal The verdict is being appealed and a complete re-trial is now being sought. A press release has been made to all of the outlets who reported on the issue, however it has been completely ignored.
THE PRESS RELEASE IS ATTACHED *** The Book on the case Though the media in Australia uncritically reported on the case and have ignored the press release regarding the appeal, the verdict has caused outrage in Israel. Israeli author, Dov Ivry, has written a book on the case "Injustice Hits Rock Bottom Down Under" (available from Amazon).
The Judge
The case Kyrou heard was over a dispute over the following description of a painting: "This muse is in the middle of a bomb–cratered landscape. The figure attached to mechanical devices is assailed by war. The war is that of religion against a secular society. The religion that assails secular society today is Islam."
(That essay went on to criticise Judaism and Christianity.)
Case described on Art Leaks BIBLIOGRAPHY (Books that diminish the standing of Cripps in the eyes of others - and which I cannot mention since they diminish the standing of Cripps): 1) Nazis, Islamists, and the making of the modern Middle East, Rubin, Schwanitz; 2) Nazi Palestine - The plan for the extermination of the Jews in Palestine, Mallmann & Cüppers (available from the Holocaust Museum, New York)2; 2) (a) [Crescent and Swastika] Halbmond und Hakenkreuz Das "Dritte Reich", die Araber und Palästina, Mallmann & Cüppers; 3) Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World, Herf; 4) Hitler's Shadow, Brietman & Goda; 5) Jihad and Jew-Hatred, Küntzel; 6) The Mufti of Jerusalem and the Nazis, Gensicke; 7) The myth of Hitler's Pope, Dalin; 8) Mufti And The Fuehrer - Rise And Fall Of Haj Amin El-husseini, Joseph B. Schechtman; 9) Resurgent Antisemitism - global perspectives, Rosenfeld (editor)
1The transcript to the trial is posted on Scribd. 2Mallmann and Cüpers' book is sold in the Holocaust Museum New York.
|
