Law Times

Law Times • may 7, 2018 Page 5 www.lawtimesnews.com Activist awarded damages after web harassment BY MICHELLE CUTHBERT For Law Times A n Iranian LGBTQ ac- tivist based in Germa- ny has been awarded damages by a Canadi- an court for egregious defama- tions, after the judge ruled that the defendant was most likely responsible for anonymous web posts. Shadi Amin, otherwise known as Soheila Amintorabi, brought claims against Arsham Parsi, otherwise known as Ali- reza Abrishami, in Toronto Small Claims Court because she believed he was behind anony- mous posts on multiple websites and letters sent to Amnesty In- ternational and the BBC. Parsi, who is an Iranian LG- BTQ activist based in Toronto, maintains that he was not re- sponsible for the posts. Amin says that the anonymous posts hurt her career and personal re- lationships. "I was hurt in all of my rela- tions, with my work, with my colleagues, with journalists, with all the organizations, it was always something between us," she says. "I knew that a lot of people have read these nasty articles and I knew that a lot of people don't ask me about them, but I could see in their eyes that some- thing was always a big question." The posts allege, among oth- er things, that Amin took part in money laundering, homophobia and sexual assault. After three years of the anonymous posts, Amin asked a tech-savvy friend to trace the origins of one of the websites. She found that it was pub- lished under a web hosting ac- count belonging to Parsi. During the proceedings, a tech expert testified that the website could be connected to another website that was operated by Parsi. Amin's lawyer, Cory Wanless of Klippensteins Barristers and Solicitors, says he's happy with the ruling because it is often hard to prove the identity of the creator of a website. "It is fairly easy with a little bit of know-how to create a website that is untraceable," he says. "And it is very difficult and very expensive and often very unsuccessful to try and get the internet companies to give you the information that you might need to go after the person who is responsible for the anony- mous, defamatory website." Although he admitted the connection, Parsi implied throughout the proceedings that he must have been hacked or that someone else was actually the author of the posts. Deputy Judge Christopher Ashby ruled that Parsi was responsible for the anonymous posts on a balance of probabilities, as he did not prove that he was hacked or that someone else wrote the posts on his website. He ruled that Parsi pay Amin $25,000 in damages. Behrouz Amouzgar, Parsi's lawyer and founder of Lexpand PC, says that although they re- spect the ruling made by Ashby, the fact that the ruling was made on a balance of probabilities means that the court did not conclusively prove that Parsi was the one who made the posts. "If it was beyond a reasonable doubt, absolutely this wouldn't have happened," he says. "And I'm not saying it should be be- yond a reasonable doubt, I'm just saying that this judgment doesn't mean that with certainty my client was responsible. My position is that he wasn't." Amouzgar says he is still waiting for instructions from Parsi as to whether or not they will appeal the ruling. Amin says the defamatory online statements were particu- larly damaging to her work be- cause Iranian LGBTQ people are vulnerable to extreme perse- cution. As an exile working with the LGBTQ community in Iran, the people she is trying to help have to use the internet to make sure she is a safe and trustworthy person to work with. "Everybody who's searched my name has come to these nasty articles and that's why it makes it more important to have this judg- ment, so when they go to Google, when they search my name, these articles [about the judgment] will be trump," she says. Wanless says he is happy that he could help Amin restore her credibility in order to continue her activist work. "It's important to her that she can do this work and it's very gratifying as a lawyer to have represented her and to have seen justice to be done," he says. Omar Ha-Redeye, a lawyer with Fleet Street Law, says the case shows "the dangers of inter- personal conflicts spilling online and "also highlights the prob- lems with touching on private and sensitive information such as sexuality. "What is interesting about this case is that it was brought before small claims. is obvi- ously limits the damages award- ed, although they were set at the maximum of $25,000, but dem- onstrates that parties may be able to use this forum to address online defamation in a rather expeditious and inexpensive manner," says Ha-Redeye. "e reason small claims have not historically been a forum of preference for these actions is the inability to obtain injunc- tive relief, which would enjoin a defamatory party to remove defamatory content online or compel them from continuing to make defamatory statements." Ha-Redeye says the case is also notable because "the defen- dant did not admit to writing the defamatory content." "Judge Ashby ruled that the defendant created and pub- lished the defamatory articles based on his attempts to resist the identification of who owned the subdomains that hosted the defamatory content," says Ha- Redeye. "e internet should not be used . . . to spread false and mali- cious rumours about others," he says, adding that untrue infor- mation spread online can cause consequences. "What is refreshing is that the deputy judge has acknowledged the 'pernicious effect of defama- tion on the internet' and hope- fully this decision serves as a deterrent from others engaging in similar conduct in the future," says Ha-Redeye. LT — with files from Gabrielle Giroday NEWS Order # 804218-65203 $537 2 volume looseleaf supplemented book Anticipated upkeep cost – $480 per supplement 4-6 supplements per year Supplements invoiced separately 0-88804-218-3 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. Jurisdiction: Canada (National) Cited by the Supreme Court of Canada Canadian Employment Law Stacey Reginald Ball "The most comprehensive text on employment law in Canada. It is carefully constructed and accurate." 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