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Masterton woman charged for Facebook post after mosque shooting

Author
NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Wed, 20 Mar 2019, 2:36PM
Photo / Getty Images
Photo / Getty Images

Masterton woman charged for Facebook post after mosque shooting

Author
NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Wed, 20 Mar 2019, 2:36PM

A Masterton woman has been charged under the Human Rights Act after posting a hateful message to her Facebook page in the wake of the Christchurch shootings.

Police have confirmed a woman is facing a charge of inciting racial disharmony, which carries a maximum penalty of three months' imprisonment or a $7000 fine.

The Times-Age believes the woman is a parent to a child at a Masterton primary school, and parents complained to the principal and the police.

Senior Sergeant Jennifer Hansen said the Facebook post "upset a number of people because it referred to the events in Christchurch".

She said the post was brought down relatively quickly, but not before 'a number of people had already seen it and raised concerns".

Hansen could not confirm when the woman would be appearing in court. The woman is believed to be in her late 20s.

A charge of inciting racial disharmony can be laid against a person who "publishes or distributes written matter which is threatening, abusive, or insulting" to other people. on the grounds of colour, race, ethnicity or national origins.

On Monday, an 18-year-old accused of sharing a live-stream of the Christchurch mosque mass shooting was refused bail.

The teen faces two charges: one of sharing the gunman's live-stream and a second for posting a photograph of one of the mosque's attacked with the message "target acquired" along with other chat messages "inciting extreme violence".

The 18-year-old appeared in Christchurch District Court today and was granted name suppression. However, his request for bail was refused by Judge Stephen O'Driscoll.

Police have said the teen - who cannot yet be named - was not involved in the shootings on Friday.

He is due back in court next month.

The charge relating to distributing an objectionable publication is dated March 15, the day of the mosque shootings, court documents show.

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