p2pnet.net News:- Hi, I’m Liz Wolf-Spada, Josh’s mom. Although the July 20th hearing seemed promising, today the judge, Judge Alsop ruled against all motions including 5th amendment rights, rights coming under freedom of the press, against bail or a stay. Josh is in Dublin federal prison, in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay. I don’t have any other information at this time, but his lawyer is planning to file an appeal to the federal 9th circuit court. That filing alone costs almost $500, so if you can donate any little bit helps with the expenses of legal counsel and money for Josh while in jail. If you believe in prayer or good thoughts please send them to Josh. Thanks, Liz.”

That’s what you saw today on US freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf’s site.

Wolf was subpoenaed earlier this year to testify before a US grand jury, and turn over video from from a 2005 protest tied to a Group of 8 meeting of world economic leaders in Scotland, says The New York Times.

It, “ended in a clash between demonstrators and the San Francisco police, with one officer sustaining a fractured skull,” says the story, going on, “A smoke bomb or a firework was also put under a police car, and investigators are looking into whether arson was attempted on a government-financed vehicle.

“Mr. Wolf, who posted some of the edited video on his Web site, www.joshwolf.net, and sold some of it to local television stations, met with investigators, who wanted to see the raw video. But Mr. Wolf refused to hand over the tapes, arguing that he had the right as a journalist to shield his sources.”

Wolf has been holding news conferences and posting interviews and newspaper articles on his site but on Tuesday, the site last message read, “This blog will be updated sometime shortly after my hearing … wish me luck guys!”

When you go there now, you’re re-directed to an August 1 post headed up, Josh is in jail and this is his mom.

Wolf is now trying to raise funds for his defence, a situation p2pnet is only too familiar with having been sued for libel by Kazaa boss Nikki Hemming.

University of Ottawa law professor and Net expert Dr Michael Geist writes in a BBC article, “The Rivoli, a well-known Toronto club, may seem like an unusual venue to consider Internet free speech. Yet, later this week, it will play host to a fundraiser in support of P2Pnet.net, a British Columbia-based website that is being sued for defamation for comments posted on the site by its readers.

“The suit, launched by Sharman Networks’ Nikki Hemming, has attracted considerable attention because of the parties involved (Sharman Networks is the owner of Kazaa, the peer-to-peer file sharing service that last week agreed to pay the entertainment industry more than $100 million to settle ongoing litigation) and because it highlights the vulnerability of thousands of Canadians to defamation lawsuits merely for providing access to other people’s comments.

“Both Sharman Networks and Hemming sued P2Pnet last spring, claiming that an article and accompanying comments posted by readers of the site were libelous. Jon Newton, the owner of the site, has vigorously disputed the suit, pointing to the need to protect free speech and to ensure that defamation laws cannot be used as swords to create an online chill.”

Also See:
The New York Times – Blogger Jailed After Defying Court Orders, August 2, 2006
BBC article – Free speech, libel and the internet age, July 31, 2006

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