Drop the prosecutions of Bernard Collaery and Witness K March 29

Please come and support a demonstration outside the Australian Consulate in Auckland 12 noon to 1pm Monday 29 March. Outside HSBC Tower 186- 194 Quay St Auckland.

Witness K is scheduled to appear before court in Canberra on 29 March and we will show our solidarity with the Australian and Timorese activists demonstrating for justice for whistleblower Witness K and his lawyer Bernard Collaery and their rights to fair trial.

Contact Maire Leadbeater 0274-436-957 maire

Background

In 2004, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) bugged the East Timor Cabinet Office at Dili to obtain information that would allow Australia to gain an unfair advantage & the upper hand in negotiations with East Timor over the rich oil & gas fields in the Timor Gap. This was allegedly at the behest of then Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer.

In 2012, the former senior ASIS intelligence officer who led the bugging operation (Witness K) revealed that the Australian Government had illegally accessed the top-secret cabinet discussions of the East Timorese Government & had exploited this information during negotiations of the Timor Sea Treaty, to the disadvantage of the people of East Timor.

In June 2018 the Australian Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions filed criminal charges against Witness K & his lawyer, Bernard Collaery. It was alleged that Witness K communicated intelligence secrets to Collaery, who then conveyed the information to some journalists.Is it a crime to expose the truth of Australia’s bad behaviour towards an ally & a newly independent country struggling to get its people out of poverty?

In the name of national security both men have been brought before court numerous times and subjected to constant delays and postponements. The trial process includes secrecy provisions concerning evidence, and large parts of the case have been held in closed court sessions, offending the principles of open justice.

See the website https://justly.info/ maintained by Sr Susan Connelly for more information.

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