Refugee activist Shane Bazzi will be appealing a court ruling that found he defamed then-Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton when he wrote the words: “Peter Dutton is a rape apologist” on Twitter. The defamation victory for Dutton—current defence minister—saw Bazzi ordered to pay AU$35,000 and some legal costs. The case centred on comments by Dutton featured in a 2019 news article, who said some refugee women at the Nauru Detention Centre complaining of rape allegations were “trying it on” so they could get to mainland Australia for an abortion. Bazzi’s lawyers at the time tried to use the defence of fair comment on a matter of public interest, and opinion saying his Twitter post was based on fact. However, both failed. The Federal Court Judge Richard White said there was “no doubt a serious defamation” and that it went beyond the facts of the article. “It is understandable that, despite …