The Solicitor-General has taken the unprecedented step of asking the High Court to lock up an Auckland businessman indefinitely for refusing to obey court orders.
David Collins says the contempt committed by Vince Siemer is the most serious he has ever encountered and he has no choice but to seek such a severe penalty.
The Siemers came from the United States nine years ago and has made New Zealand home. But now Vince Siemer is fighting for his freedom because the Solicitor-General wants him jailed indefinitely.
"What he is doing to me is not fair. It's not fair to me, it's not fair to the taxpayer," says Siemer.
Siemer claims the Solicitor-General has spent $100,000 taking him to court over a contempt issue that stems from his long-running battle with Vector chairman Michael Stiassny.
Siemer claims that Stiassny wrongly put one of his companies into liquidation, so he launched a website campaign which accuses Stiassny of suspect business practices.
"No one's proved that the information is defamatory or incorrect," says Siemer.
Stiassny obtained an injunction three years ago to stop Siemer's criticism.
But when he refused to take down the websites, the High Court jailed him for six weeks last year for contempt. And because the websites continue, the Solicitor-General now wants him sent to prison indefinitely.
"Of course indefinite is always excessive, except in this case. He has the keys to that jail cell in his own pocket, he can say 'OK I stop' and they'd let him go," says Bill Hodge of Auckland University Law School.
The Solicitor-General was reluctantly called as a witness to justify his action and says he agonised over taking such a rare step.
"Society falls apart if we don't obey court orders and the court order is cease publishing this material on this website," says Hodge.
Siemer describes himself as a law abiding citizen and says he just wants the chance to argue his case against Stiassny.
"No one in the courtroom has ever accused me of breaking the law. What they have accused me of is breaking or breaching the injunction which says that I can't speak truthfully about what Michael Stiassny is doing," says Siemer.
And Jane Siemer, the defendant's wife, says her faith in New Zealand's legal system is being sorely tested.
"The courts just have no idea of the strains put on my family and to just not allow us to really speak up and have a fair trial - it's unjust to all Kiwis," she says.
