Defence Minister Peter Dutton has been awarded $35,000 after a court ruled he was defamed by a refugee advocate who called him a “rape apologist” on Twitter.
Federal Court judge Richard White found the tweet by Shane Bazzi, which was linked to a story about women on Nauru on The Guardian website in 2019, “did convey the imputation that Mr Dutton excuses rape”.
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Michael Pelly is the legal editor, based in our Sydney newsroom. He has been a senior adviser to federal and state attorneys-general and written two books, one a biography of former High Court Chief Justice Murray Gleeson. Email Michael at michael.pelly@afr.com
