Stabbed bishop backs Musk bid
A Sydney bishop who was stabbed repeatedly in an alleged extremist attack blamed on a teenager has backed X Corp. owner Elon Musk’s legal bid to over- turn an Australian ban on sharing graphic video of the attack on social media.
A livestream of the knife attack on April 15 and sub- sequent social media posts quickly drew a crowd of 2,000 people to the Assyrian Orthodox church, spark- ing a riot in which 51 police officers were injured and 104 police vehicles were damaged.
“I do acknowledge the Australian government’s de- sire to have the videos removed because of their graph- ic nature,” Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel said in audio posted on YouTube on Wednesday.
“However, noting our God-given right to freedom of speech, and freedom of religion, I’m not opposed to the videos remaining on social media.”
Musk has accused Australia of censorship, while Aus- tralian governing and opposition politicians have unit- ed in accusing Musk of arrogance and a lack of social responsibility for allowing violent and divisive posts.
Police announced on Thursday that five teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology have been charged with a range of offences in an investiga- tion that began with Emmanuel’s stabbing.
The attack in the Christ the Good Shepherd Church has set in motion two unrelated legal processes. One is the criminal prosecution of the alleged perpetrator or perpetrators and the other is a civil court action cen- tred on the harm that could be caused by the video spreading on social media.
Police said Thursday that the five boys charged, aged 14 to 17, were among seven arrested across southwest Sydney on Wednesday in a major operation by the joint counter-terrorism team.
Police allege the seven are part of a network that included the 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing Em- manuel and a priest. Neither cleric sustained life- threating injuries.
That boy was charged Friday with committing a ter- rorist act, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
X is fighting an order from the Australian regulator, the eSafety Commission, last week to take down Em- manuel’s video from the platform.
Other social media companies have complied with similar orders from the eSafety Commission, which describes itself as the world’s first government agency dedicated to keeping people safer online.
An Australian Federal Court judge on Wednesday extended his order banning X from showing the video until May 10.