Faruqi’s lawyers say settlement could cost former Labor leader more than $100,000

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Mark Latham could be forced to pay out more than $100,000 in legal costs and damages after agreeing to settle defamation proceedings brought against him by the ABC journalist Osman Faruqi.

Faruqi, a former politics editor of pop culture site Junkee and a former Greens candidate, launched his libel action last year after the former leader of the Labor party accused him of “aiding and abetting Islamic terrorism” and fostering “anti-white racism in Australia”.

The comments were made across Latham’s Outsiders webpage, YouTube, the Rebel Media webpage and a post on Facebook.

Faruqi claimed Latham’s comments defamed him by suggesting that he “knowingly assists terrorist fanatics who want to kill innocent people in Australia”.

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On Monday Faruqi’s lawyer, Josh Bornstein from Maurice Blackburn, released a statement saying a settlement had been reached between the two parties, with Latham agreeing to remove offensive statements as well as agreeing to pay damages and legal costs.

While the total sum of costs will be decided by a court, Maurice Blackburn said in its statement that the total sum including costs “could exceed $100,000”, in part because of the “extraordinarily lengthy and unusual first defence filed by Mr Latham in the case”.

In August, federal court judge Michael Wigney struck out Latham’s defence in its entirety, labelling the 76-page document “extraordinary” for its references to, among other things, the martyrdom of Christians in the Roman Empire and the persecution of ethnoreligious Huguenots in the French kingdom during the French wars of religion of the 16th century.

On Monday, Faruqi said the case was about “standing up for the right of all Australians to speak up without fear of vilification”.

“This case has always been about reaffirming the principle that all Australians should be able to participate in public debate without being denigrated and accused of supporting heinous crimes like terrorism because of their background,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate that the case had to proceed this far. It’s taken over a year but this is exactly the result my team and I were hoping for when we initiated this action – the comments to be removed and a payment of damages and costs.

“I hope that this settlement sends a message to other members of the community that while robust debate is part of a healthy democracy, using your platform to harm the reputation of individuals comes at a cost.

“Hopefully this result helps and encourages Australians with diverse backgrounds to speak up and participate in democratic debate.”

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On Monday Latham said on Twitter the settlement was “a win for lawyers”.

“I would like to thank the many people who last year assisted with Rebel Media crowd funding for Faruqi defamation case,” he said.

“Due to Federal Court ruling a few months ago, it’s basically a win for lawyers, as lawfare always tends to be. Many thanks to the donors who supported my case.”

Bornstein called the case a “vindication of our defamation laws”.

“Speech that causes harm has been regulated in different ways for centuries,” he said. “Defamatory speech is one of many areas in which the law intervenes and regulates. We are pleased that Mr Latham has now removed these comments as they were harmful and untrue.

“Mr Faruqi has always supported free speech and robust debate but, as we have reiterated throughout this case, Mr Latham’s comments about him in this instance crossed a clear and unacceptable line.”