As thousands of firefighters battled six remaining blazes in Victoria state, a Singapore-owned power company also said it would fight compensation claims over one of the fires.
Lawyer Julian McMahon expressed concern for accused arsonist Brendan Sokaluk, 39, saying hate messages were posted on social networking sites after he was named in court on Monday.
McMahon told Victoria's Supreme Court that at least one relative of Sokaluk, who is in protective custody to guard him from vigilante attacks, had been threatened.
"Not only is there the understandable community anger which suddenly has a focus point, there's also vicious hatred appearing in another kind of medium," McMahon said, arguing for a ban on his photograph to remain in place.
Facebook groups were showing my client's photo and calling for his torture and death."
"The safety of my client is of concern. There have been threats made to one family member at least that I'm aware of," McMahon added.
Sokaluk is accused of starting one fire that killed 11 people and razed 151 homes around Churchill, east of Melbourne, on February 7. He faces up to 25 years in jail if convicted.
Meanwhile power utility SP AusNet said Tuesday it would "vigorously defend" a claim against it for compensation over one of the fires.
Survivors have reportedly launched a lawsuit claiming a downed power line sparked a blaze that killed more than 100 people and destroyed about 1,000 homes in the Kinglake area of Victoria earlier this month.
The claim against SP Ausnet, part of the Singapore Power Group, is expected to run to hundreds of millions of dollars, media reports said.
The company said only that it had been notified a writ was filed in the Victoria Supreme Court on Monday alleging that "faulty and/or defective power lines" caused loss and damage.
"SP AusNet believes the claim is both premature and inappropriate," the company said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.
"However, SP AusNet will vigorously defend the claim," it said. "If the claim is pursued, SP AusNet advises that it has liability insurance which provides cover for bushfire liability."
A commission of inquiry into the fires has been charged with providing an interim report by August 17.
Eleven more bodies were discovered in the charred remains of homes as firefighters continued to pick through the wreckage, taking the toll to 200.
A Red Cross disaster relief fund has topped 100 million Australian dollars (65 million US dollars), with US pop singer Pink donating 250,000 dollars, joining other musicians such asLeonard Cohen who have also contributed.
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While I am all for letting the man get what he gave upon conviction calls for his torture and his death are over the line. Note, I said, upon conviction ... he may be innocent - doubtful, but he may be. It should also be noted that Australia does not have the death penalty in the first place.
The rage and outrage people are expressing should be spent working on the relief of the suffering of the victims of the fires and not making what amounts to catcalls calling for the torture and death of one man who is accused of setting one fire among many fires.
And, as a final note, if the time and energy being spent to vent the outrage was spent seeking those responsible for the rest of the fires (be they natural or arson) it would be time and energy well spent in lieu of the waste it is now.
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