Australian prisoner loses Vegemite rights case
An Australian judge rejected a murderer's human-rights challenge to a prison ban on Vegemite. BBC News, CNN, and The Guardian said Justice Claire Harris upheld Victoria's longstanding ban. The inmate had argued the ban denied him the right to enjoy Australian culture.
A convicted murderer serving a life sentence in Australia lost his bid to overturn a prison ban on Vegemite, the salty yeast-based spread. BBC News, CNN, and The Guardian reported the Monday ruling. Andre McKechnie had argued the ban denied him the right to enjoy his culture as an Australian.
Justice Claire Harris of the Supreme Court of Victoria accepted that refusing him Vegemite limited his cultural rights under the state charter. But she found the limit was justified because prison authorities say inmates may use the strong-smelling spread to mask drug use. The ban in Victoria's jails has stood since 2006.
McKechnie, 55, took the fight to court last year. The pages said he framed Vegemite as a national symbol he wanted with other Australians. Corrections officials defended the prohibition as a security measure, not a cultural slight.
Food bans inside prisons often rest on safety claims that courts are slow to overturn. The ruling leaves the Vegemite ban in place across Victoria's system. No change to the national brand's retail sales was at issue.
What we know: The court upheld the Victoria prison ban on Vegemite despite finding a cultural-rights limit.
What we don't: Whether McKechnie will appeal further.
Where outlets agree BBC News, CNN, and The Guardian report the Victorian court upheld the prison Vegemite ban.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.