Hard News: Angry and thrilled about Arie
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Rich of Observationz, in reply to
I was actually wondering whether Otis had been busted and made to do those artworks as some sort of diversion scheme.
I prefer some of the Weston Frizell stuff he did around the Urewera 18 - like this.
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Another press release about lack of funding for autism services from Grant Robertson. Political interest increasing, and I think it is largely due to the public interest in Arie's case.
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Arie's and Michael's cases in court again today.
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Jackie Clark, in reply to
Thanks for that Hilary - I have been wondering about that, and hoping it goes their way today.
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Not much progress because the snow on Monday prevented another assessment, so another remand. As Michael reports from the Justice for Arie Smith-Voorkamp Facebook page:
"Hey guys i thought i would let all you awesome supporters know whats going on. Arie and i went up to court today in the Adjournment section to get remanded as the snow on Monday didn't help the situation and Aries assessment with Phil Brinded was postponed till a later date. We have now been remanded till August 22nd for a another fixture date. We have been transferred to another court house. So basically we are back at square one again. Arie will be assessed before the next court date hopefully. Police will get a report and they will go from there. So when we go up next we will be remanded again back to district court 1. Forward one step back three. So thank you all again for your support for Arie".
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The Court report special from Christchurch tonight on TV7 featured a clip of Arie and an interview with Jonathan Eaton his lawyer. Slightly patronising, but sitll interesting. The programme gave an idea of why justice is being delayed in Christchurch. (And David Haywood featured at the beginning of the programme and they were slightly patronising about him too - what is it about lawyers?)
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Great article from the Christchurch Earthquake journal which mentions Arie and Public Address.
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Sacha, in reply to
Thanks for that. I like her straightforwardness.
In the meantime can someone from NZ Police please just admit there’s been a bit of a cock up, give Arie diversion, apologise, and find a real looter to be the (preferably unbeaten) face of looting? You’d do us all proud.
And good to hear in the same story that RDU is back in action. I hadn't thought about the Student Union building still being their studio.
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Those of you who emailed or wrote to the ministers get a mention in this latest report of the case that will not go away.
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Just thinking, in reply to
I bet the judgement in this will leave someone licking their wounds and reaching into their (our) back pocket.
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Brian Edwards compares the treatment of a recently publicised prosecution.
Ashish Macwan, whose son Aarush drowned when the family’s van rolled into a Central Otago lake, has been discharged without conviction. He was not fined and was allowed to keep his licence.
Though the father had pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving causing death. Judge Charles Blackie found that he had suffered enough.
...Nonetheless, in saying that the father had suffered enough and discharging him without conviction, Judge Blackie demonstrated the capacity of our courts to deliver verdicts that are both rational and humane. The judge is to be applauded.
No such applause is due to the New Zealand Police, whose pigheadedness in deciding – against the wishes of the court and of the couple who own the property – to continue prosecuting 25-year-old Aspergers sufferer, Cornelius Arie Smith-Voorkam, for ‘looting’ two lightbulbs from an empty quake-damaged Christchurch shop, beggars belief.
I suspect that most ‘rational and humane’ Kiwis would take the view that a beating and 11 days in custody really ought to be sufficient punishment for a crime of this magnitude. But not our police prosecutors. Get a grip, gentlemen – you look like asses.
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Steve Barnes, in reply to
No such applause is due to the New Zealand Police, ...pigheadedness
Says it all really.
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No charges for Sunday programme. I'm keeping this thread updated till there is some resolution for Arie, and also for archival purposes.
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Islander, in reply to
Thank you Hilary - there hasnt been any mms report about this to date, so your update is appreciated.
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More injustice from the case has now been revealed. Michael and Arie were banned from seeing each other. This is Michael quoted on Facebook:
"We had a non association order straight away when Arie first got out of prison [11 days after their arrest] and from the time it was dropped it would have been nearly three months of not seeing each other.
It was very hard emotionally. I spent 6 weeks in prison for trying to get my partner out of a very unstable building that could of collapsed at anytime. I was punched in the back of my head by a female police officer and i was dragged out of the building like an animal and spat on like trash.
It has been so hard for me that I now need counselling or to see a psychologist - very depressed - and still to this day I hardly even see Arie, because we lost everything: our house, my cats, and our dignity after we were thrown in jail. Arie now lives on the other side of town till we move to Invercargill."Note that they can't move to Invercargill until they win their respective court cases, which are endlessly delayed.
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On a more positive note, great to see the articulate James Brown and the Brown house on Attitude this morning.
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Sacha, in reply to
Michael and Arie were banned from seeing each other.
A non-association order suggests Police actions being driven by their stereotypes about Arie's capacity for independence. Given the indecision on the TV coverage about them being "friends" I wonder if it was clear to the Police at that time that they were partners?
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Russell Brown, in reply to
On a more positive note, great to see the articulate James Brown and the Brown house on Attitude this morning
Oh yes! We've recorded it but haven't watched it yet. Jim seems to have been a bit of a star for them.
The show's repeated on TVNZ 7 at 5.30pm Thursday and 8.30am and 11.30pm Friday if anyone else is interested.
Attitude also came and talked to me this week about being a disability dad. They got some shots of Jim showing me his just-finished short film 'Me and Asperger's'.
That's here:
I think it demonstrates the value placed on a sense of humor in our family :-)
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Russell Brown, in reply to
No charges for Sunday programme. I’m keeping this thread updated till there is some resolution for Arie, and also for archival purposes.
And Inspector Erasmus hasn’t even been able to explain what law Sunday might have broken in the first place. It was just a clumsy attempt to bully the programme – and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
More injustice from the case has now been revealed. Michael and Arie were banned from seeing each other.
I wonder if it will dawn on the oafs at the Christchurch police just what damage their attempts at butt-covering have caused to the lives of others.
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Jackie Clark, in reply to
I love Jimmy's video so much - he's a clever clever, and very funny, young man, your boy is.
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merc,
The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, adopted in 1990, also recognizes the importance of fundamental justice. Specifically, section 8 of the Act, which enshrines the right to life, states in full that "No one shall be deprived of life except on such grounds as are established by law and are consistent with the principles of fundamental justice."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_justice
Some day the NZ Police will witness the BORA entrenched in law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Bill_of_Rights_Act -
Sacha, in reply to
Jim seems to have been a bit of a star for them.
Missed the first 5 mins but Jimmy seemed damn funny - and my congrats to him for being so open with the camera. Great to see an aspie Youtube clip that's not all serious too.
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asnz,
ENGLAND RIOTS. NEW ZEALAND WATCHES SNOW FALL.
Arie Smith’s partner, Michael Davis, was incarcerated for 6 weeks for trying to get Arie to leave a collapsed building. But there is more to it than that. Much more.
Partly because of the utterly self-effacing manner of Michael, a man who clearly cares deeply for Arie, we have not before considered these cruelties inflicted on him:
1. Michael was subjected to a 3 month non-association order as a bail condition to stop him seeing his partner of 5 years – in the face of the obvious additional and special support they are to one another and the vastly greater need at this time for precisely those sort of supports. There have been a few valiant gay bloggers who have made worthy mention of this to date – but nothing like the national outrage I believe it demands and would receive if more widely known. It is a cruel, unusual and arbitrary punishment that not even mass murderers are ever likely to have imposed on them.
2. Michael was “punched in the back of his head by a female officer”, “dragged from the building like an animal”, and “spat upon like trash”.
3. Arie was held for 11 days, Michael for 6 weeks. Yet, let’s not forget it was Arie who was after the light bulbs, and Michael who was trying to stop him at the time of his arrest.
4. Arie and Michael lost their house, they lost their cats, and they lost their dignity when they were thrown into jail. (Not finding anyone able to store or care for their possessions meant choosing to donate a house-lot of furniture and other things to their neighbours).
5. Michael – very depressed - is now seeking couselling for what he has been put through, not that there is any on offer for ‘looters’ of course. He hardly sees Arie because they are on separate sides of the city until the whole court nightmare ends. Their wish is to move on, on to Invercargill and an attempt to restart their life.
[I personally think such evil deserves a good riot or two in response, but today I went outside to watch the snow falling instead. If there is anything anyone who reads this can do to raise awareness of the very cruel results of punitive police actions to-date, please do.]
Reminder: Next court appearance for Arie and Michael is on 22 August at 10am.
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
Given the indecision on the TV coverage about them being “friends” I wonder if it was clear to the Police at that time that they were partners?
Russell and Jackie might want to cover their ears :), but do we have some old school heterosexist privilege in the room with a big side of “retards and crips have are sexless beings”? (Funny how often people will assume that David’s my father not my partner. FFS, I've got more white hair!)
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recordari, in reply to
I love Jimmy's video so much - he's a clever clever, and very funny, young man, your boy is.
+1. Jon Stewart should be afraid.
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