Achi news desk-
A five-day hate speech trial is set to begin today in the Federal Court, with Greens federal deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi claiming Senator Hanson engaged in racial discrimination through a September 2022 tweet.
At the time, Senator Hanson wrote that Senator Farooqui should “pack (her) bags and go back to Pakistan”.
The tweet came in response to the Green senator’s comments after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Senator Farooqui wrote that she could not mourn the passing of the leader of a “racist empire built on the stolen lives, land and wealth of settler nations.”
In the lawsuit, the head of the One People is accused of unlawful offensive conduct of racial discrimination because of the tweet.
Senator Farucci is seeking $150,000 in damages.
In response, Senator Hanson denied that the social media post was sent because of anyone’s race, color, national or ethnic origin.
In March, Judge Angus Stewart rejected an attempt to eliminate a wide range of evidence offered by the Greens deputy leader to the trial.
This included expert reports on racism and the phrase “go back to where you came from”, as well as evidence purporting to show Senator Hanson’s decades-long tendency to make racist comments.
“(If) she has a tendency to make public statements because of the race, color, or national or ethnic origin of a person or group of people or to engage in an interpretation consistent with white supremacist views, it is more likely that she published the tweet in question because of the alleged reason,” Judge Stewart previously wrote .
Both senators are expected to enter the witness box to testify.
