Retsudvalget 2004-05 (2. samling)
REU Alm.del Bilag 366
Offentligt
>>>Subject: Australia outlaws using Internet to incite suicide>>> CANBERRA (Reuters) - People who use the Internet to incite others to>commit suicide or teach them how to kill themselves face fines of up to>A$550,000 ($430,000) under tough new laws passed in Australia on Friday.>>Using the Internet to counsel or incite others to commit suicide or to>promote and provide instruction on ways to do it has been outlawed but>the new laws were not designed to stifle debate about euthanasia,>Justice Minister Chris Ellison said.>>"These offences are designed to protect the young and the vulnerable,>those at greatest risk of suicide, from people who use the Internet>with destructive intent to counsel or incite others to kill>themselves," Ellison said in a statement. Individuals convicted of such>offences face a fine of up to A$110,000, while corporations face a fine of up toA$550,000.>>Use of the Internet to organize suicide pacts emerged as a grim problem>for Japan last year, with dozens of Japanese killing themselves in>Internet-linked group suicides.>>Helping someone to commit suicide is illegal in Australia but there has>been a long-simmering debate about euthanasia.>>Dr Philip Nitschke shot to fame in 1997 when he helped four people die>in the Northern Territory, where the practice was briefly legal before>the national government stepped in to overturn local laws.>>http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050624/wr_nm/crime_austra>lia_suicide_dc