A BLOGGER who characterised the prominent anti-pornography activist Melinda Tankard-Reist as a fundamentalist Christian has vowed not to apologise, despite being threatened with defamation.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a case that has set Twitter ablaze with outrage for days, Ms Tankard-Reist's lawyers served a ''letter of demand'' at the weekend to Jennifer Wilson, who lives on the NSW north coast and blogs at the website No Place for Sheep.
The letter demanded Dr Wilson retract a post that characterised Ms Tankard-Reist as hypocritical for not disclosing her religious beliefs. It also demanded she sign a letter of apology drafted by Ms Tankard-Reist's lawyers, pay Ms Tankard-Reist's legal costs, and noted that Ms Tankard-Reist reserved the right to sue for defamation.
Dr Wilson posted her original blog entry on January 10 after The Sun-Herald ran a profile of Ms Tankard-Reist, which did not canvass her religious beliefs.
Dr Wilson claimed Ms Tankard-Reist was a member of the Belconnen Baptist Church in Canberra which, Dr Wilson claimed, shaped her anti-pornography and anti-abortion views.
But the executive officer of Belconnen Baptist Church, Phil Priest, said, after checking the church's files, that she was ''definitely not on our books''.
Ms Tankard-Reist said her objection to the blog post centred on the claim she had been ''deceptive and duplicitous'' about her beliefs.
''I had really only wanted an apology and retraction but am now discussing next steps with my lawyers.''
Dr Wilson admitted yesterday she had based her claims about Ms Tankard-Reist's religious beliefs on a Facebook page and a Wikipedia entry - both of which have since been amended - as well as other blogs. ''I do really want to make it clear that I have been criticising Melinda Tankard-Reist for about two years and she has not once, never once, taken me to task for anything I've said,'' Dr Wilson said yesterday. ''And suddenly out of nowhere I'm slapped with a threat of defamation … I think it's a very heavy-handed approach. I certainly don't intend to hand over any money and I certainly don't intend to apologise. If she persists, she can ruin me, there's no question.''
High-profile supporters including Leslie Cannold, Wil Anderson and Catherine Deveney have taken to Twitter to support Dr Wilson.The Australian Sex Party, a long-term opponent of Ms Tankard-Reist, made its own defamation threats.
The party leader, Fiona Patten, said Ms Tankard-Reist had said ''some very horrible untruths'' about the party, and that she had been ''inspired'' by the controversy to revisit the issue of legal action.
