Avi Yemini has admitted that a donation page had been set up and a lawyer hired before he was denied entry to New Zealand, despite claiming he didn’t know it was going to happen.
Yemini is a far-right YouTuber, working for Canadian media company Rebel Media, who last month tried unsuccessfully to board a flight to New Zealand to cover anti-government protests.
Yemini claims he was told by an official that his rejection was because of an article written about him in the New Zealand Herald that called him a “conspiracy commentator”, but an Immigration NZ spokesperson told Crikey his criminal record — which includes a conviction for domestic violence — meant he did not meet immigration requirements.
Yemini used this denial of entry as a rallying call for donations to his legal fund to challenge the decision so that “Avi can provide real, on-the-ground reporting and ask the questions NZ media refuse to ask”.
His YouTube video and social media posts linked to a website: www.saveaviyemini.com. Keen watchers on social media soon noticed that the website had been registered the day before Yemini had been rejected.
In an interview with online radio station The Platform’s host Sean Plunket, Yemini laughed at the claim and called it a “conspiracy” — before confirming that it was true.
“I love the conspiracy … Most media companies, as you know, Sean, we try to prepare for multiple outcomes,” he said.
Yemini said that Canadian staff had set up the website with the expectation that “we would get pulled up”, even though he didn’t expect to be refused entry to the flight.
He also confirmed he had hired lawyers prior to the flight. When pressed by Plunket about why the YouTuber didn’t apply for a character waiver allowing him to enter New Zealand even with a criminal record, Yemini said his lawyers said it was unnecessary.
“We got advice that told us that there was no need for it,” he said.
“Well, that’s bad advice,” Plunket replied.
Yemini routinely clashes with authorities, then uses those clashes to raise money for his legal fund. Rebel News has 33 posts tagged “Avi Legal Fund”, including posts calling for donations to sue pro-Labor Twitter account @PRGuy17 and to challenge being turned away from Victorian Premier Dan Andrews’ press conferences.
Rebel News doesn’t disclose how many donations it receives or the total amount raised. Despite the fund being called “Avi’s Legal Fund”, Rebel News’ terms and conditions state that its crowdfunding is used to “pay their bills” and notes that surplus funds for specific initiatives can be used for other expenses, including journalist’s salaries.
