Protest outside court over sedition charges

Supporters of a man accused of an axe attack on Prime Helen Clark's electorate office handed out allegedly seditious material outside Auckland District Court today.

Timothy Selwyn, 30, is charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage, seditious conspiracy and making a seditious statement.

He was back in court today, when a date of May 12 was set for a depositions hearing.

He said outside the court that he would fight the charges.

After his brief reappearance, his supporters handed out leaflets to lunchtime passers-by.

The leaflets contained a reprint of a flyer at the centre of the sedition charges.

The protest was small and low-key, and one of those involved, Ben Thomas, said the aim was to "show the hypocrisy of New Zealand's outdated sedition laws".

Mr Thomas said the fact that he was not arrested called into question why Selwyn was facing the sedition counts.

Selwyn first appeared in court in December, when he was bailed on conditions that included not going within 50m of Ms Clark's electorate office in Mt Albert.

The office was attacked on November 18 when an axe was embedded in a window, apparently in response to the Government's foreshore and seabed legislation.

Police later discovered flyers on Ponsonby Rd, about 2km away, that said the attack was a Pakeha protest about the Government's attempts to steal Maori land through the legislation.

The flyers were allegedly written by Selwyn.

- NZPA