Australiensiska klimatforskare under mordhot

I ett nytt lågvattenmärke har aggressiva klimatförnekare tvingat klimatforskare i Australien att gömma sig, leva under polisskydd och under ständigt hot mot sig själva och sin familj.

The Canberra Times skriver bland annat:

More than 30 researchers across Australia ranging from ecologists and environmental policy experts to meteorologists and atmospheric physicists told The Canberra Times they are receiving a stream of abusive emails threatening violence, sexual assault, public smear campaigns and attacks on family members.
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One scientist said he was advised by police to install a ''panic button'' security alarm in his university office after receiving death threats. Others have removed all contact numbers from their work websites, and deleted social media sites after these were defaced with abusive comments and obscene photographs. One researcher told of receiving threats of sexual assault and violence against her children after her photograph appeared in a newspaper article promoting a community tree-planting day as a local action to mitigate climate change.
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Australia's new chief scientist, former ANU vice-chancellor Professor Ian Chubb has condemned these email threats as ''an outrageous attack'' on open and public debate.

"These hurtful attacks are intended to intimidate scientists, to scare them off and stop them from participating in public discussions on climate change. They are the antithesis of democratic debate,'' Professor Chubb said.
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Outspoken climate science critic, Queensland Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce also condemned the attacks as malicious and counter-productive.

''No one deserves that kind of behaviour,'' Senator Joyce said.

Se även: DN, SR, France24

Det är tyvärr inte första gången som forskare hotas på liknande sätt i Australien.

Uppdatering: Påminner om hur en parlamentsledamot i New South Wales (Australien) jämförde forskare med nazister bara för några dagar sedan (2/6)

Uppdatering 8/6: Sveriges Radios "Klotet" intervjuar forskaren Will Steffen om hoten.

Uppdatering 14/6: Mer från Canberra Times om hoten, inklusive en kvinna som höll ett föredrag på ett bibliotek och fick avföring smetat på sin bil.
Påminner även om vårt tidigare inlägg om Clive Hamiltons analys av situationen i Australien och hatbloggarnas inverkan.