This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/20/concert-pianist-james-rhodes-wins-right-to-publish-autobiography

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Concert pianist James Rhodes wins right to publish autobiography Pianist James Rhodes wins right to publish autobiography telling of abuse
(36 minutes later)
A concert pianist has won a supreme court fight for the right to publish an autobiographical book in which he tells of being sexual abused as a child. A British performing artist who had been prevented from publishing his autobiography can now be named after the UK supreme court lifted the injunction that had banned him from publishing a full account of his own life.
James Rhodes persuaded supreme court justices to lift an injunction barring publication. The man who could be identified only as MLA during a year-long series of battles in the English courts is James Rhodes, the internationally-renowned classical pianist.
In October, the court of appeal granted the injunction temporarily blocking publication of parts of the book after Rhodes’s ex-wife raised fears that it would come to the attention of their 11-year-old son. The publishers of the book, who have been anonymised in previous court reports as STL, are in fact Canongate.
Rhodes then asked the supreme court for a ruling. Rhodes’s autobiography details sexual abuse suffered as a child, and the way in which his art had helped him to cope with the trauma of his past.
Five supreme court justices ruled in his favour on Wednesday after analysing the case at a hearing in London in January. He and Canongate were banned from publishing the book after lawyers obtained an injunction arguing that revealing the story would cause family distress.
Justices had ruled that Rhodes could not be identified in media reports or on social media channels. Their case hinged on an obscure piece of Victorian case law, known as Wilkinson v Downton, in which a man who played a practical joke on an east London pub landlady in 1897 was found to be guilty of the “intentional infliction of mental distress”.
That restriction was lifted in the light of the ruling. Rhodes, 40, was in court to hear that the injunction was being lifted, accompanied by his friend Benedict Cumberbatch, the actor. Rhodes has said he believes it is particularly important that the voices of survivors of sexual abuse are not stifled. “Imagine someone from Rotherham being told they can’t come forward and talk about what happened to them as a result of legal action.”
Rhodes was accompanied at the supreme court by his friend the actor Benedict Cumberbatch. He was supported by human rights groups and a leading writers’ organisation, which feared that the injunction presented a serious risk to the right to freedom of expression.
Rhodes said: “This is a victory for freedom of speech. More importantly it is a powerful message to survivors of sexual abuse. The writers’ association English PEN, Article 19 and Index on Censorship, which defend and promote free speech, argued that an earlier judgment by the court of appeal – which had ruled that there should be a high court trial to decide the dispute – could have had a chilling effect on other writers tackling difficult subjects, should it have been allowed to stand.
“There is already too much stigma and shame surrounding mental health and sexual abuse, and, although I am horrified that it has taken 14 months of overwhelming stress and expense, I am relieved that our justice system has finally seen sense and not only allowed me to tell my story but affirmed in the strongest possible way that speaking up about one’s own life is a basic human right. Last year 20 leading writers, including David Hare, Michael Frayn, William Boyd and Tom Stoppard wrote to the Daily Telegraph to say they were “gravely concerned about the impact of this judgment on the freedom to read and write in Britain”.
“I hope the book will help fellow survivors of rape find the courage to speak up. And I hope it will inspire those in pain to find solace in music and togetherness.” Delivering Wednesday’s judgment, Lord Toulson said: “Freedom to report the truth is a basic right to which the court gives a high level of protection, and the author’s right to his story includes the right to tell it as he wishes.”
Rhodes’s autobiography, entitled Instrumental, will be published next week.
Outside the court he said: “Clearly this is a victory for freedom of speech. Much more importantly it is a powerful message to survivors of sexual abuse.
“There is already too much stigma and shame surrounding mental health and sexual abuse. I’m relieved that our justice system has finally seen sense and not only allowed me to tell my story but affirmed in the strongest possible way that speaking up about one’s own life is a basic human right.”