Pictures of Sokaluk, and is home address are subject to a court suppression order in Victoria.

According to local media reports, Police are concerned that publication of the picture may make it difficult for Sokaluk to get a fair trial. “We’ll talk with the DPP (Department of Public Prosecutions) and we’ll also make some inquiries with the blogging side of it, whether we can have it removed.” Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said.

The Inquisitr, despite being hosted in the United States and subject to US law, did not to publish the picture or home address of Sokaluk due to ownership residing in Victoria.

The quite absurd part of what can only be described as a bizarre anti-blog campaign driven in part by the media, is that few, if any of the blogs hosting the picture would be hosted in, or written by bloggers residing in Victoria.

The suppression order applies to Victoria only, not the rest of Australia, and certainly not the rest of the world.

But if we apply the same logic here, is Google next? A search of Google Australia and Google.com immediately brings up Sokaluk’s picture. Not only in Google News and Google Image Search, but on the first page of search itself. Here’s a screenshot (I’ve blanked out the face), taken via my internet connection in suburban Melbourne.

It gets worse though, with both major newspapers in the state reporting that “Victoria Police want to ban messages being posted on internet blogs about accused arsonist Brendan Sokaluk” meaning that Police may be seeking to shut down all discussion of the case. Can you imagine the outcry if the same efforts were being directed towards the press? After all, newspapers world wide have published details on the case, including some in Victoria itself.

The idea that new media would be banned from discussing the case, even within the legal confines of the suppression order presents a clear and present danger to free speech in Australia.

Still, I guess given that this country isn’t far off a totalitarian internet censorship regime, this shouldn’t be all that surprising.

Victoria Police seeking to censor blogs, will Google be next? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Brendan Sokaluk, the man accused of lighting a fire that killed 21 people in Victoria may have been acting out after being jilted by his <strike>possibly firefighter</strike> ex, The Inquisitr has learned.

In our earlier post, we noted that Sokaluk was bitter about an ex called [name redacted], writing “my interest are to enjoy life to the fallest [sic] and not with alexandra because she roots behind your back and lies a lot” on his MySpace page.

With thanks to @cravenjade on Twitter, we can reveal that person may be a volunteer bush firefighter, although we don’t yet have her last name.

Alexandra is 31, lives in the Gippsland area, and works in age care as her full time position.

Notably, her profile picture, and other pictures on her MySpace page show her in a CFA (Country Fire Authority) uniform.

Her friends list includes other fire fighters, although disturbingly one set of pictures is made under the title of “pyro;” we’re not sure if that’s the name of the dog pictured, or another reference.

If anyone knows anything more, let us know. There’s two possibilities here: Sokaluk lit the fire to get back at her,<strike> given she may have been on call with the CFA at the time </strike> or possibly she has a fire obsession as well (birds of a feather).

Update: following some concern we’ve redacted the name and face in this post.

Update 2: media reports today (which I’d note name her, and show her picture) suggest that she wasn’t a firefighter but raised money for the CFA, and was friendly with CFA volunteers, notably men. Could she have had a relatioship perhaps? or did Sokaluk think there was a relationship?

Did Bushfire arsonist Brendan Sokaluk kill 21 people to get back at girlfriend? is a post from: The Inquisitr

The suspected arsonist behind one of the fires that killed hundreds in Victoria, Australia has been named.

Brendan Sokaluk, 39 of Churchill was named after a Victorian court lifted a suppression order allowing him to be named by the media.

Sokaluk has been charged with arson causing death, lighting a bushfire and one count of possessing child pornography. The Churchill fire he is alleged to have started burnt out more than 30,000 hectares and killed 21 people.

Sokaluk maintains a MySpace page that given what he has done is spooky.

Sokaluk was clearly bitter on a couple of fronts. A failed relationship with someone called Alexandra resulted in a profile comment of “my interest are to enjoy life to the fallest [sic] and not with alexandra because she roots behind your back and lies a lot.”

The page is scattered with appalling spelling, suggesting that Sokaluk may have been illiterate, or had suffered a learning disability.

In the hero section, Sokaluk writes ” my heroe [sic] is mother earth with out her we all would be dead.”

His MySpace profile also suggests that Sokaluk has an affiliation to a US religious group by the name of “The Truth of God,” a group known to hold extreme views against women clergy and gay people.

Sokaluk worked for his own company, Brendan Scrap Metal Pickup, in Hazelwood, Victoria.

Due to a court suppression order in Victoria that may or may not apply to this site (I’m in Victoria, but the site isn’t hosted in Australia), we’ve decided to go on the side of caution and not publish his picture, or his home address per the restrictions given by the court, however you can view his picture on his MySpace page here.

Update: see also Did Bushfire arsonist Brendan Sokaluk kill 21 people to get back at firefighter girlfriend?

Bushfire arsonist Brendan Sokaluk worships mother earth on spooky MySpace page is a post from: The Inquisitr