A couple of anti-war protesters have lost a High Court appeal against convictions for offensive behaviour at an Anzac ceremony in Wellington.
The protesters, Valerie Morse and Mark Daniel Rawnsley, were arrested after disrupting last year’s Anzac Day dawn service - Morse by burning a New Zealand flag and Rawnsley by blowing a horn during a speech.
In a reserved decision, Justice Forrie Miller upheld punishments handed down in Wellington District Court, The Dominion Post reported today.
They included a fine of $500 for offensive behaviour for Morse and a conviction and discharge for Rawnsley for resisting and obstructing police.
Both appealed the decisions and tried to get their convictions quashed.
Their lawyer Mark Lillico argued the district court judge who handed down the sentences had not applied the right balance between the right to protest and the right to be protected from offence.
Mr Lillico said freedom of expression on political views had to have higher protection, despite the likelihood it would cause offence.
He said the pair had been specifically protesting about New Zealand’s military deployment in Afghanistan and had every right to do so.
A crown representative said the burning of a flag was particularly offensive to those who had gathered to commemorate the dead and the veterans and under the circumstances the protest went too far.
Several witnesses at the initial hearing said they had been highly offended by the burning of the flag and the disruption of the service.

tv3.co.nz

Photos By Darin McGregor / Rocky
Two girls with the Fiesta Colorado dancers watch as older dancers perform during the Celebrate Culture Festival - one of the largest in the United States, with three music stages and 350 vendor booths - on Sunday in downtown Denver. Thousands jammed Civic Center for the event.
On a day commemorating an 1862 victory over the French by outnumbered Mexican forces, 8-year-old Jason Jaramillo refused to be defeated by a bean- and-barbacoa burrito the size of his leg.
The front of the third-grader’s T-shirt was decorated with a fresh splotch of salsa - a battle wound of sorts. But as the Mariachi de las Artes blared away Sunday afternoon in Civic Center, little Jason fought on.
“I’m not done yet,” he announced to his dad, Steve, as he took another bite.
The father and son, from Aurora, were among thousands of Cinco de Mayo celebrants who crammed into the downtown park this weekend to soak up sunshine, tacos and Tecate, to hear Latin jazz, barrio rock and nortena, and to take pride in themselves.
Denver’s annual Celebrate Culture Festival began as a street fair in 1967 and is now said to be one of the largest Cinco de Mayo bashes in the U.S., complete with carnival rides, three music stages and 350 vendor booths selling everything from hot tamales to job opportunities with the federal Bureau of Prisons.
At the State Farm batting cage, the Vinny Castillas of tomorrow waved plastic bats at plastic baseballs, and at the Noah’s Ark Petting Zoo, a toddler kissed a black-and-white goat.
“It just makes me feel good to be here,” said Vonda Morales, 24. “In with the people. My people.”
The Metropolitan State College junior and two friends were headed to the Enchanted Airbrush Tattoo booth to get temporary skin art. What designs? “Maybe a Mexican flag,” Morales answered. “And an American one.”

rockymountainnews.com