They sued a self-proclaimed journalist who claims, without providing any evidence, that the attack was orchestrated by British government agencies
Two survivors of a deadly suicide bombing in Britain are suing a conspiracy theorist who claims the attack was staged – a court case reminiscent of similar lawsuits by relatives of victims of deadly school attacks in the US.
Martin Hibbert was left paralyzed from the waist down and his daughter Eve, then 14, suffered severe brain damage in the attack after a concert by pop singer Ariana Grande in Manchester, northern England, in 2017.
Martin and his daughter have sued Richard D. Hall, a self-styled journalist who claims without providing any evidence that the attack was orchestrated by British government agencies – for alleged harassment, misuse of personal information and breach of data protection laws.
The court case bears similarities to defamation lawsuits brought against American conspiracy theorist and far-right activist Alex Jones by relatives of victims of the 2012 gunman’s deadly attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, USA, which killed 20 students and 6 members. teaching staff.
Twenty-two people were killed and many others injured when 22-year-old Salman Abedi detonated an improvised explosive device as parents arrived to pick up their children from a concert at the Manchester Arena in May 2017.
The Hibberts’ lawyer, Jonathan Price, stressed that Hall “doesn’t accept any of this – his theory is that this is a well-planned hoax”.
Hall has published a book, released videos and given speeches in which he says the Hibberts were not at the concert. He also filmed Yves Hibbert and her mother outside their home in 2019.
Price said the Hibberts are entitled to damages and an injunction to stop Hall from repeating his conspiracies about the attack.
Hall is fighting the lawsuit and argues that an injunction would be a disproportionate interference with his right to free speech.
“However distasteful Mr. Hall’s published views may be, they are protected,” Hall’s attorney, Paul Oakley, said in court documents.
Martin Hibbert is set to testify at the trial, which is expected to end this week.
Source :Skai
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