ASIO settle wrongful detention case out of court

Nightmare … Bilal Daye , and, left, ASIO chief Paul O'Sullivan and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock.

On the first of November ASIO and the federal Government of Australia settled out of court with a couple whose house had been raided a couple weeks after the [US false flag] September 11 2001 attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers in the USA.

ASIO mistakenly raided their house when they had a search warrant for another house.

The couple were detained for a hour and claimed they were assaulted, wrongful detained and experienced severe shock when, according to their claims, ASIO officers threatened to destroy their door and then held them at gun point.

It is also claimed that until an hour after the attack, ASIO officers would not allow Mrs Fatme Iali to put on her clothes. As compensation, the couple asked the court for Aus$1.5 million in damages.

Although it is unknown how much Bilal Daye and his wife received in the out of court settlement (under the terms of the deal, the settlement cannot be disclosed), they stated that they where satisfied with the result.

"Just relieved, I can take care of my family now, that's all I wanted," Mr Daye said.

Mr Daye's solicitor Stephen Hopper said the victory was very important for civil rights, but suggested that close scrutiy of government actions was required in the future.

"What this case demonstrates is that ASIO can be held accountable ... the government can be held open to scrutiny," he said.

"Control orders can be slapped onto a person before the evidence can be tested in court ... they should have to justify why such orders and restrictions should be put on a free person before they do it."

"The government's got to be scrutinised for all of its actions and if they make a mistake they should be held accountable."

Mr Hopper argued that the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill could prevent media reporting of incidents such as this.

"If the new laws were brought in and it was an issue of preventative detention no probably not, no," he said

"If it's an issue of an ASIO warrant, under section 34d of the ASIO Act, no, you wouldn't and the Government's got to be scrutinised for all of its actions and if they make a mistake they should be held accountable," he added.

It is unclear what implications it could have for websites like Wikinews, which are hosted on servers outside Australia.

By Borofkin 2 November 05

Related:

The race that doesn't stop the nation
CANBERRA: And welcome to Canberra on the first Tuesday in November for the race that doesn't stop the nation. The Anti-Terrorism Cup. The final horses are being brought into the barriers, and we are almost ready for the start.

Constitution: Defending Against State Terror and Despots
Australia has no major laws that are not derivatives of English Law and all of our major laws rely on British court precedents for interpretation and implementation. These laws and our Constitutional Monarchy system create a situation where, even if Howard and all State Premiers vote unanimously on the Anti-Terrorist laws, and every ALP/Dem/Lib/Nat/Green party hack also votes unanimously on their laws, and even if such laws are given Royal Assent, those laws are still void.

Open Letter to Australian Senate
Every West Australian needs to take note of the proposed terror legislation that will be debated in the Senate next Tuesday. Our own Premier has sold us out, and the time has come for some serious and organised protest in WA to protect our democracy and civil liberties. Write to the Senate, to the papers, and to every political party. This is a fundamental issue that affects the future of our society.

$145,000 for false arrest in NSW
The lawyer - who has represented almost all Sydney's high-profile accused [alleged] terrorists, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East] including Mamdouh Habib - who was kidnapped and tortured and who successfully sued the state for wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.

Preventive Detention: A Shield or A Sword?
There is a consensus among educated Australians that Preventive Detention is inimical to the democratic evolution of our country. Many are those who argue that given the standards of our time preventive detention is an unnecessary evil.

What's the Difference Between CHINA and AUSTRALIA?
If John Howard's terror law comes into effect, what is the difference between China, and Australia? No rifle executions? I think it is time to approach the Governor General, to dissolve Parliament on the basis that the present Government is attempting to achieve Dictatorial Powers.

Cracks in terror solidarity
In remarks that are at odds with the Premier, Morris Iemma's determined support for the legislation, Mr Debus said yesterday: "I think I share the concern about the legislation with plenty of other people. I don't query that we need to have very tough responses to the threat of terrorism [actually though, the community do query it because the actual threat of terrorism is coming from the Government] and I don't query that the premiers have signed off on a framework last month.

Australian Prime Meanster 'tells' States?
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Anti-Terrorism Bill details draconian police-state plans
First and foremost, the legislation provides for extensive detention without charge or trial, on the flimsiest of pretexts. With no notice or legal hearing, any person can be thrown into secret "preventative detention" or placed, by a "control order," in isolation under house arrest.

Shoot to kill on the belief of reasonable grounds is a problem
Provisions in relation to use of force in s105.23 raise serious concerns. In particular subsection 105.23(2) specifically contemplates the use of lethal force against a detainee where an AFP member believes on reasonable grounds that this is necessary to protect life or to prevent serious injury to another person.

ASIO laws: Don't be silenced
The secrecy surrounding the proposed national anti-``terror'' legislation stands in stark contrast to previous ASIO and "anti-terror'' laws that have been subject to scrutiny by parliamentary committees and public hearings.

Brisbane Peace Convergence calls on Beattie to reject terror legislation changes The Brisbane Peace Convergence (BPC) are calling on Premier Peter Beattie to reject the Federal governments proposed amendments to anti-terror laws. The BPC consider the changes to pose a threat to fundamental rights in a democratic society, including life, liberty and democratic action.

How's this for sedition?
Edmund Burke, who declared the tyranny of bad laws, was a deep political thinker and a ferocious polemicist. In 1777, he wrote to the Sheriffs of Bristol that the true danger to freedom was when liberty was nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.

Sydney Morning Herald Poll flawed
Sydney Morning Herald: "According to the latest Herald Poll, about three-quarters of voters think it is OK to lock up suspected terrorists [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killings resource wars in the Middle East] without charge, put them under house arrest or shackle them with tracking devices."

SHOOT TO KILL MADNESS AND DRACONIAN LAWS
The Howard Government wants to give police executing preventative detention orders the power to shoot to kill. This is shoot to kill madness.

New anti-terror laws and the Muslim community
On 8 September the Prime Minister introduced a 12-point plan outlining new anti-terror laws [draconian laws to bolster support for John Howard's resource wars in the Middle East] in a press release. Two weeks later he went to the Council of Australian Governments meeting with the proposals. They approved the measures by and large.

Secret agents brief Bracks on 'seditious' protest
Australia: Melbourne: Thursday 20 October, 2005: A phalanx of "secret agents" delivered a written briefing to Premier Steve Bracks at Parliament House today to tip him off to potential "seditious activities" at a planned demonstration for civil liberties on Saturday.

Shoot-to-kill bluff
AUSTRALIA: federal labor leader kim sleazley has predicted the federal dictatorship will fail in its push for a shoot-to-kill policy to be included in its counter-terrorism laws.

Sedition Laws Target Peaceful Civil Disobedience
The new Sedition Laws in the anti-terror bills clearly target people who call for acts of non-violent civil disobedience. Under the laws there is no defence for calling for change to any law by anything other than lawful means. Penalty is up to seven years jail.

Stanhope flags doubts on 'hasty' terrorism bill
ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says he may refuse to sign off on parts of the Federal Government's hasty terrorism bill. Mr Stanhope published a draft of the controversial laws [draconian laws] on his website on Friday and has refused to take it down despite a directive from the Federal Government.

Despoja: Stanhope hero of the hour
Natasha Stott Despoja has described Mr Stanhope as the "hero of the hour". Senator Despoja says there is meant to be a vote on the draft legislation in the week beginning November 7.

Stanhope stands his ground
Stanhope: It is bizarre to think legislation of this significance can be rushed into Parliament without consulting a single Australian.

Anti-terrorism laws inquiry 'too short'
Australia: The Opposition says the inquiry effectively gives senators just one day to examine the bills. Labor's homeland security spokesman, Arch Bevis, says the inquiry will be unable to scrutinise whether the legislation provides a balance between security and civil rights.

Australia: Draconian laws draw rights watchdog's ire
Human Rights Watch has condemned Australia's proposed anti-terrorism laws as a "shocking departure" from its historical championing of the rights of the individual.

Dissent Isn't Taken Lightly Down Under
Historian Michael Foley said during times of war pacifists often get mugged. As a nonviolent activist working to end the war in Iraq and the corporate war profiteering that comes with it, September 2005 has been the most surreal time of my life and I definitely feel like I got mugged by Australian Attorney General Phillip Ruddock and the Australian government.

Australia: Rattling the cage
Recently, the federal government announced a controversial new 'counter-terrorism' package. Civil libertarians were quick to raise the spectre of a police state . Yet Muslim groups argued that the new security regime is already having an impact on the democratic freedoms and everyday safety of their communities.

AUSTRALIA: MUSLIMS SOLD OUT!
Hand picked alleged Australian Muslim leaders are being used to cut their own throats the same as the hand picked Indigenous mob have been used by the John HoWARd Government to screw ATSIC.

Anti-terrorism laws put rights at risk: Fraser
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser says Australians could be treated unfairly under the Government's anti-terrorism [draconian] laws unless a human rights act is introduced.

Stop the war on civil liberties!
Prime Minister John Howard is using the "war on terror" to promote widespread fear about "terrorists" and "terrorism" in Australia. This is despite the fact that the biggest act of terror being committed today is being carried out by foreign troops, including Australia's, in occupied Iraq.

Spots and Stripes
It is well known that John Howard, infamous lackey and liar, is devoid of anything that could be remotely regarded as masculine or manly; the draconian measures he has implemented to 'secure' Australia against the terrorist bogeyman are astounding.

They know where you live
Twenty-four hours after the country's leaders agreed to draconian counter-terrorism laws this week, the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, was playing down media claims that ASIO believed there were 800 would-be suicide bombers living in Australia.

When Terrorism Outlaws Democracy
On September 27, 2005, Australian democracy surrendered to terrorism. On that day, a coalition of willing federal and state leaders agreed to anti-terrorism legislation that will enable police persecution of the Muslim community and threaten dissidents with imprisonment. In a country without a Bill of Rights, the prospect of more draconian Terror Laws delivers ultimate control through fear. Australia, with its history of penal colonies, racism and detention centers, is now set to become a police state.

Evans: moderate threat
Evans doubts reports that 800 potential terrorists are living in Australia.

No! Your Rights Australia
You have the right to not remain silent.

800 people deemed a potential security risk?
As reported in the Australian today, ASIO has apparently identified up to 800 people deemed a potential security risk. Ruddock says the draconian COAG measures "deal with people who pose a risk to the safety and security of the Australian community." Hmmm, like detained and deported US peace activist Scott Parkin perhaps? What is this broad definition of a "Terrorist"?

Democrat Will Oppose Anti-Terrorism Laws
NSW Democrat MLC, Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, has accused the Premier, Mr Morris Iemma, of selling out to John Howard after agreeing to new 'Anti-Terrorism' laws yesterday. Dr Chesterfield-Evans said the proposed laws agreed to by Morris Iemma will not work.

Mein Kampf by John Howard
Months before Bali Au warships were seen invading Iraqi territorial waters in deliberate provocations under American protection. It was obvious that Howard had decided before Bali to join in an illegal and aggressive invasion of Iraq and in fact , when that happened, it was led by Au stormtroopers BEFORE the ultimatum given Baghdad had even run out!

Collection of Terrorists Meet to Take Away Our Rights
Tomorrow (27th of September) the State Premiers and the Federal Government are meeting to conspire to strip Australians of their rights. Welcome to the brave new world of electronic tagging and "preventative" detention.

Tell Your State Premier: Don't Do Ruddock's Dirty Work
Over the past several years, the Howard government has passed a series of dangerous new laws. These laws have undermined our basic legal and democratic rights.

Australian government unveils legal framework for police state
In the lead-up to his September 27 "counter-terrorism summit" with the eight Australian state and territory leaders, Prime Minister John Howard last week unveiled a package of legislation that goes well beyond the already deep inroads made into essential civil liberties under the fraudulent banner of the "war on terrorism..."

Australia: Counter-liberty plans unveiled
AUSTRALIA: VIC: BLACK Hawk helicopters and fighter jets will patrol Melbourne's skies during the Commonwealth Games next March, as part of counter-terror measures outlined today.

John H.o.W.A.R.d line roars at Fascism Week
AUSTRALIA: Parody: (Rooters) - While Attorney General Phillip Duddock helped wrap up a US protester for Prime Meanster, John HoWARd during Australia's Fascism Week after a 5 day detention debut and the removal of Mr Scott Parkin a peace activist who was deported back to Houston, Texas. The h.o.W.A.R.d fascism line, adding a dash of despotism to a week of largely draconian styles.

Parkin charged $11,700 for detention and removal
Los Angeles Friday, 16 September, 2005 : American peace activist Scott Parkin arrived back in the US today, escorted by 2 Australian immigration officials. He is expected to arrive in Houson, Texas on a Continental Airlines flight at around 3pm AEST.

Government out of control on security: Wilkie
Australia: Canberra Thursday, 15 September, 2005 : Former intelligence analyst Andrew Wilkie today staunchly defended US peace activist and teacher, Scott Parkin, saying that the government's national security agenda is out of control.

Australia, USA, Iraq: Scott Parkin
The rapid and widespread response to the detention of US peace and global justice activist, Scott Parkin, has been heartening and effective on many levels. Actions have taken place in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and outside several Australian Consulates in the United States.

Peace Activist Agrees to be removed but challenges security review
ATTENTION: CHIEFS OF STAFF - IMMIGRATION REPORTERS - LEGAL REPORTERS

Australia's fascist ideal: Proof
Philip Ruddock, Federal Attorney General to Australian, hopes to eclipse the neo-cons of the US in the race toward the fascist ideal of social uniformity and control (oppression).

Anti-War Extremists Loyal to Scott
What can I say to someone like Scott Parkin? Sorry mate, to get a PEACE prize in this country you need to be drop dead sexy, go-tees are out - you gotta go. Peace Prize.

US Peace Activist to be Deported
Scott Parkin, a Texas based peace activist was detained by Federal police at approximately midday Saturday. He was en route to give a workshop about the progress and success of the peace movement in the US and companies profiting from the Iraq war.

Howard government threatens academic freedom
As Peter McGregor noted in GLW #639, I recently resigned in protest from a committee of the federal government's National Health and Medical Research Committee (NHMRC) and called for a boycott by academics of government committees generally.

'Different times' call for bill of rights, says QC'
To ensure no future government can erode basic human rights. Lex Lasry, QC, gave last night's key note address at the University of Western Australia's annual Day of Ideas.

Australia: a little dab will do ya .....
Reflections on the phoney, hypocritical "values" debate being promoted by the federal government, as part of its proscriptive program to emasculate our democracy.

Government warned Terror Laws "inherently dangerous, draconian and open to misuse" John North, Law Council of Australia: "In times of fear, it is easy for governments to impose ever (more) draconian laws."

Fishing expedition pays off
A man whose home was targeted by ASIO in fishing raids this year is facing fraud charges along with a co-accused who is linked to firearms offences.

The Terrorism of ASIO Laws
Wanda Fish asks Australian Senators to reject Howard's proposal to strengthen laws that already erode our basic legal rights. This legislation has the potential to turn ASIO agents into terrorists who can kidnap and detain innocent Australians simply because they "might know something".

Terrorgraph not quiet on 'Aussie militant' probe
AFP refuses to comment on investigation into militant video: hoWARd's abc.

Phillip Duddock's 'accent' heard in militant broadcast
Australian/Arab television has broadcast a video showing a masked militant with an apparent Australian accent criticising British Prime Minister tony bliar over Iraq.

HICKS: Not a Happy Birthday!
AUSTRALIA/CUBA/US :David Hicks, the Australian imprisoned at the US Base of Guantanamo Bay, will be 30 years old this coming Monday August 7, 2005.

GetUp! Stand Up! Stand Up For Your Rights!
Because of you, something exciting happened in our democracy last week. From every corner of the country, more than 20,000 emails were sent to the Coalition Senators. Our message was simple: now you have control of the Senate, we will be holding you to account. Thousands of you added personal messages to your representatives about the issues you care about.

Australia: We're Living In A War Zone
Prime Minister john hoWARd and his cronies have now placed us in a war-zone moving defence capabilities to Australia's south-east coast.

All the alleged terrorists are Muslims
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) commissioner mick keelty, a well know propagandist and liar, now claims that 60 Islamic extremists are operating in Australia and they are not news to the police and intelligence agencies.

All the wicked witches in Pakistan?
Pakistani authorities say 800 suspected militants [scapegoates and patsies] have been arrested in raids following the deadly London [false flag operation] bombings, as Islamic groups protest a move to expel 1,400 foreign students.

It's just not cricket: Khan
The perception in the West remained that somehow Islam was connected to militarism and terrorism, that all Muslims believe that all suicide bombers go straight to heaven. No one mentioned that before [false flag operations of] 9/11 70 per cent of suicide bombings in the world were committed by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, who were Hindus.

Lawyer dismisses ASIO fishing raids as PR stunt
Fascist federal Police (AFP) and ASIO officers conducted more raids in Melbourne and Sydney yesterday but the publicity surrounding the raids has been dismissed as a public relations exercise by the Melbourne lawyer for an accused terrorist.

Howard off to US, UK - part 5
PART-5- PRIME minister john hoWARd will meet US president george w buSHIT, British prime minister tony blair and queen 'imperialism' herself during a 10-day visit to the United States and the UK next month.

hoWARd, ruddock, ellison, keelty and news ltd plotted chaos
AUSTRALIA/CUBA: Government and corporate propaganda agencies 'believe' they have foiled an attack on the Melbourne Stock Exchange by a radical Islamic network linked to a covert group, which has carried out surveillance on key Sydney sites.

Houses raided over 'possible' political attack plans?
ASIO have raided a number of properties in Melbourne on a 'fishing expedition' in relation to a 'possible' political scare campaign by the hoWARd government, playing on the fears of all Australians... again!

Is this our most dangerous Newspaper?
The Daily Terrorist should be managed with manacles and flown into Siberia via a jumbo jet tomorrow amid fears government fascists may attempt to use them again on someone else.

HOSTAGES OF THE WAR ON TERROR
This forum will bring together legal representatives and victims of counter-terror, along with justice campaigners and organisations in order to share strategies for achieving justice for these men and the many other like them.

WAR ON TERROR, WAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS: AMNESTY
The Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group & the Justice for Hicks & Habib Campaign welcome the statement by Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan, condemning the US Administration for condoning torture and the suppression of 'human rights' in their 'war on terror'.

Murdoch's war on truth in war reporting
People who remain to be convinced that cross-media laws are important to maintaining the fabric of our democracy need look no further than today's page one of The Daily Telegraph.

Chomsky signs on for justice
Noam Chomsky has signed the Justice for Jack campaign petition which calls on the Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock and Director of Public Prosecutions to "drop any charges reliant on records of interviews conducted under duress without the presence of a lawyer."

If he'd been given his passport he'd be a free man
A Sydney man [scapegoat in the Coalition of the Killings resource wars in the Middle East] has been found not guilty of preparing for a terrorist attack on a Commonwealth building [ruling class propaganda.]

Trial by unrelated video clips
Should alleged terrorist suspects [scapegoats for the resource wars in the Middle East] be shown on television side-by side-'terrorist training camp film clips' gathered by the government and media archives to give the wrong impression of accused people facing trial?

Accused Australian Citizen 'denied passport in 2002'?
AN AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN who was refused a passport by DFAT in mid-2002 became frustrated at the government for treating him differently.

Court should be told Gov't using 'Jack'!
A Melbourne court should have been told a man accused of working for Al Qaeda is being used by the fascist Australian Government as a pawn in their leverage to win support for their illegal and degrading activities.

Noble Cause Torture?
AUSTRALIA: The Labor Party has decided not to support a Senate inquiry into new allegations made by Mamdouh Habib that the Australian Government cooperated with Egyptian intelligence authorities who he insists tortured him.

New account adds weight to interrogation claims
Australia/Cuba/Iraq: The fascist Federal Government is under further pressure today because Australians were involved in the interrogation of tortured Iraqi prisoners.

Australian senate accused govt of war crimes
Did you hear the one about David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib having a Barbeque in Afghanistan with Bin Laden? Yeah it was reported on Channel Seven's Sunrise this morning! But they don't know if it was a sheep or a goat, but sources say it was most likely a goat.

DPP to appeal innocent man's bail
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will seek to have an innocent Melbourne man Joseph 'Jack' Thomas, returned to isolation in custody?

Fascist Australian Govt torture exposed
The fascist Federal Government has been exposed for the torture of Australian Mamdouh Habib and the US Government's allegations against him (if they were true) would have been made under duress.

Innocent witch verballed by federal fascists!
Shame on the federal fascists. The wicked old witch is dead! A Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard that a 31-year-old innocent Victorian man was facing terrorism charges?

Lawyer blames police for Habib break-in
John HoWARd, Alexander Downer, Phillip Ruddock, Robert Hill, to name just a few....HOW DO YOU PLEAD?

No reason for Habib to sell story: Beazley?
Federal Agreement Leader Kim Beazley is a well-paid loser. A loser who supposed to be defending our democratic rights by standing up to the HoWARd Government's fascism.

Australia: a presumption of guilt......
KAREN PERCY: Two of Australia's leading barristers have seized on the return of Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mamdouh Habib, to launch an unprecedented attack on the Federal Attorney General, Philip Ruddock.

Aust Community criticises Govt for 'crimes'!
Australia: The Law Council of Australia is warning that the Federal Government must learn from its mistakes over Guantanamo Bay? Now that's a mistake!

Australian Govt Guilty of Crimes: Community
Australia: The community says federal fascists who allowed the torture of its citizenry including Mamdouh Habib may be arrested when the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal address the War Crimes Indictment set out by the community.

What they did to Habib
Mamdouh Habib was the victim of atrocities fit for a concentration camp, including being tied to the ground while a prostitute menstruated on him, his lawyer said yesterday.

Innocent witch verballed by federal fascists!
Shame on the federal fascists. The wicked old witch is dead! A Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard that a 31-year-old innocent Victorian man was facing terrorism charges?

Innocent Victorian man held in custody for Xmas?!
Lawyers have argued the case against Mr Thomas was weak and based on a statement he made in Pakistan without a lawyer present and therefore unlawful.

Innocent Melbourne man makes second bail bid
Rubish, just plain propaganda, fear-mongering, draconian nonsence from the HoWARd goverment's war agenda stink tank.

MPs to review spy agency powers
Australian spy agency ASIO'S controversial powers to detain and question suspected terrorists [scapegoats for HoWARd's resource wars] will be re-examined by a parliamentary committee. Parliament passed the new counter-terrorism powers in July last year.

Goulburn Jail breaches UN standards
NSW: Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has called on Justice Minister John Hatzistergos to bring Goulburn Jail's Maximum Security Wing into line with United Nations standards, after a prison inmate's covert survey of his fellow inmates revealed problems with rehabilitation programs and basic amenities.

Lodhi toilet paper: crap!
He is facing nine charges and is accused of planning a major terrorist attack on Sydney defence sites and the electricity grid using downloads off the internet and having 100 rolls of toilet paper to wipe his arse after low level bombs and farts.

Community seeks more power to interrogate ASIO suspects
Greens Senator Bob Brown does not think increased police powers are necessary. "We have enormous powers for surveillance, apprehension or punishment of people who are engaged in or intending to engage in or thinking about being engaged in terrorist acts in this country," he said.

Greens warn of 'politicised' terror trials
AUSTRALIA/CUBA?: The Australian Greens say they are concerned that new anti-terrorism laws being debated in the Senate allow for the "political black-banning" of defence lawyers at terrorism trials.

Melbourne man charged over ASIO links
ASIO a know Australian terrorist organization is verballing the community again...about allegations that a man, while living overseas, received funds from Al Qaeda and had close association with the members of the terrorist group.

DING DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD
A court has been told Joseph Thomas is a sleeper? ZZZ! Melbourne Australia: A court has been told that Osama bin Laden asked a Melbourne man to become a "sleeper" in Australia before undertaking activities for the Al Qaeda network? Munchkins: "Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead."

AFP: The unlikely CRIMINAL
It was born of a bombing and it made its name after a far more devastating act of terrorism. But for most of the 25 years in between, little was known about the Australian Federal Police force or the work it did.

Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes
Complaint to Australian law officers about Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes.

There is no justification for torture
In the weeks since the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were revealed, evidence continues to seep out of similar mistreatment of prisoners in other US military detention centers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

Howard rejects spy agency overhaul
Prime Minister John Howard has played down the need for a major overhaul of Australia's spy agencies as a result of an inquiry by former intelligence officer Phillip Flood.

Mamdouh Habib: Taunted and Tortured!
Four Corners [Walls]: Terrorist - or Taunted by the Australian Defence Force who sacked him as a cleaning contractor? Who is Mamdouh Habib? And why was he harassed by the Australian Federal Police? Then tagged and labelled as a spy? Why was he vilified by the community? When he fled to Pakistan how did he end up being tortured in Egypt? And how did he end up at Guantanamo prison camp reserved for the men America calls "the worst of the worst.

He was an undercover agent for the blues
He was my journalist, he was working undercover. The fellow knew all of the moves.... He really had me romping, bare footing stomping. He just kept igniting my fuse....

Up there Khasali: Innocent man new bail laws
The New South Wales Supreme Court has asked innocent man Bilal Khazal to increase to amount of surety offered, before the bail is formally continued.

HEY! BIG BROTHER? LET INNOCENT PEOPLE GO!
Young men terrorised, tortured, and threatened with charges for no crime by Australia mate the lucky country. Lucky if you're not used for Howard's FEDERAL ELECTION and George Dubya's WAR ON LIBERTY! Who shot liberty? IGNORANCE!

Ul-Haque 'the man who wants to become a doctor'
The taskforce is investigating French man Willie Brigitte, who was tipped back home for a visa breach. Allegedly the Un-Australian Newspaper claimed he also attended training camps before his six-month stay in Sydney. Police have not alleged Mr Ul-Haque knew Brigitte. The Un-Australian just mentioned it because they are 'you guessed it' up John Howard's butt and they like the USA want 'you guessed it' our Federal Government. Well Yankee go home!

Brain injury for suspicion 'inhumane'
Faheem Khalid Lodhi refused bail by a Sydney court and remanded until June in hell at the (HARM-U) High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn. While he is in there he will receive a brain injury and is likely to self-harm due to the gross violation of living standards.

Keelty foresees more terrorism
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty says terrorist groups will continue to find new ways to threaten countries.

Daily Terror rolled-over for Howard's war games
The DAILY TERROR is suspected of being the source of the news this morning that Willie Brigitte is a terrorist and that Sydney faces a bomb attack.

Lawyer claims Al Qaeda suspect's evidence tainted!
Before returning to Australia last year, Thomas was arrested and held in custody for five months by Pakistani authorities before being released without charge.

Man terrorised by ASIO remanded in 'AA' isolation!
A Victorian man has been remanded in custody after being charged with terrorism offences, including having links to Al Qaeda?

Ruddock foreshadows new terrorism laws
The new laws will allow police to access emails and mobile phone SMS messages, enable wider use of surveillance devices, and protect sensitive national security information during terrorism trials.

Islamic movement denies links to Al Qaeda
The Islamic Youth Movement has denied having any links to Al Qaeda and says it is considering legal action against the Four Corners program. In a statement released early this morning, the group rejects allegations it is helping coordinate any kind of terrorist network inside Australia and says it is being unfairly targeted.

2nd Renaissance -10 The War on Witches [150]
In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a Papal Bull that became the rationale for establishing the Inquisition in Germany. The following excerpt from the Bull sets out the official view of the danger of witches to the community. The Bull and this this passage provided the sole excuse for the torture and cruel executions that were, ultimately, to be the fate of up to fifty percent of the population of some villages.

Swiftly investigate misconduct and assault, review urges?

Prison Officers at state juvenile detention [prison] centres should swiftly investigate allegations of misconduct and assault at detention [prison] centres the report urges.

It says about 70 accusations against staff were pending in December, and some are taking more than a year to complete.

Government consultant, John Newbery, also recommended that prison officers at state juvenile detention centres should also wear uniforms and be subject to compulsory drug and alcohol testing, a review of work practices at the centres recommends.

The review was ordered last year after revelations that staff at the Kariong centre had lost control of it and its inmates. A lack of discipline had led to reports of riots, industrial action, drug use and an incident in which a convicted juvenile was fondled by his girlfriend in the only place they could,in the visiting section of the centre in view of other visitors, but not particularly.

In other words they didn't do it on purpose they were driven senseless by passion, no doubt!

In November the Minister for Juvenile injustice, diane beamer, handed control of Kariong to the Department of Corruptive Services and ordered a review of her department's work practices.

The review, submitted by beamer to a parliamentary inquiry on juvenile offenders, says staff at the centres would support legislation to allow the department to enforce drug and alcohol testing.

"No Juvenile Justice staff or stockholders' representatives interviewed during this review opposed drug and alcohol testing of staff," it says.

"Virtually all agreed that reasonable suspicion-based testing should be the minimum, and many supported random testing as well... A number supported the use of sniffer dogs."

The review also says the department should consider introducing a uniform or dress code. Unlike prison officers, staff at juvenile centres wear casual clothes to encourage less formal relationships with inmates, although staff at two centres have voluntarily begun wearing black collared T-shirts with their centre's logo on them.

What about pink uniforms?

The review also recommends changes to reduce the time taken by the department's complaint handling unit to investigate accusations of misconduct. Juvenile centres deal with a large number of complaints because staff have wide powers to use physical force against violent inmates even though that lesson only gets short term results and in the long term opposed to dialogue only teaches them a very bad lesson, 'that violence wins'.

Then they want to send them back to the community to teach you that violence wins?

"This issue causing most concern for staff and key stakeholders is the amount of time taken to undertake investigations," the report says.

"The professional conduct unit is overworked... Improving disciplinary processes would need to go beyond re-assessing the [unit's] role."

The department's director-general, David Sherlock, said yesterday that he supported many of the review's recommendations, including drug testing.

"Sometimes staff are put under pressure by kids to bring in drugs, and we have to ensure that that is minimised," Mr Sherlock said.

The Government is expected to introduce drug testing within 12 months, including searches of staff and visitors on entry and random and targeted testing.

Mr Sherlock said he supported standardised dress codes for staff, but not strict uniforms.

"Working with juveniles we try to create an environment that doesn't set up a very cold, conflictual situation between staff and kids who are in the centre."

Mr Sherlock said the department was consulting with the union to speed up the complaints-handling process.

By Jonathan Pearlman and Just Us 29 June 05

REPORT: NSW Department of Corrective Services 2004

The Hon Charlie Lynn: How many complaints were there by inmates or staff assaulting or abusing inmates?

The Hon John Hatzistergos: I do not know. Do you want me to ask every inmate who was in every correctional centre how many people?

The Hon Charlie Lynn: No how many complaints were there. Do you have a complaints system or registration of complaints system?

Related:

The transition from juvenile to adult criminal careers
NSW: More than 68 per cent of the juvenile offenders who appeared for the first time in the NSW Children's Court in 1995 reappeared in a NSW criminal court within the next eight years. More than one in 10 (i.e. 13 per cent) ended up in an adult prison within this period.

MISTREATED IN CUSTODY - NO ACCOUNTABILTY
NSW: Frank Crook's article (Violence an desperate outlet for caged fury: Daily Telegraph Tuesday May 10, 2005) draws attention to abuse and degrading treatment of inmates in NSW reported twenty and thirty years ago, and a lack of accountability of management practices within the NSW Department of Corrective Services.

PRISON ACTION & REFORM INC: Tas Prison Complaints
TASMANIA: Prison Action & Reform was formed in response to the five deaths in custody that occurred between August 1999 and January 2000. Chris Wever, Vickie Douglas, Rose Macaulay, Judith Santos and others came to together to fight for reform in an outdated, increasingly cash-strapped and uncaring system. Of the original members, three lost loved ones to the Tasmanian prison system.

Department of Corrective Services fails to rehabilitate offenders NSW: Unpopular people will be forced to wear tracking devices at a cost of $5,000 dollars per unit because the NSW Department of Corrective Services failed to rehabilitate those offenders at a cost of $65,000 a year while they were held in custody for many years.

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Ex-Prisoner Locked Out of Prison
The NSW Department of Corrective Services (DCS) has revealed a policy which bans ex-prisoners from entering prisons.

Justice Action: Access to our community
NSW: Justice Action went to the NSW Supreme Court before the last Federal election on the constitutional right for prisoners to receive information for their vote. The government avoided the hearing by bringing prisoners' mobile polling booths forward. We pursued it after the election. This is the report.

Why We Oppose Home Detention
NSW: Justice Action opposes the use of Home Detention (HD). It damages the family and the home for others without any consideration of the effects, or acknowledgement of the costs. It discriminates by disproportionately effecting women. Families become prison guards to their loved ones, and the home becomes an extension of the State.

MORE PRISONERS LOCKDOWNS HAVE OFFICERS ON EDGE
NSW POLICE Commissioner Ken Moroney has issued an ultimatum as well, to the lawless youths holding Sydney's streets to ransom?: Learn some respect or face jail?

Tough line on crime fills jails
The tough law-and-order policies of governments around the nation are behind an explosion in the prison population by almost 80 per cent in the past two decades.

LEGAL VISITS AT PARKLEA PRISON
I am a prisoner in NSW and I am currently held in Parklea Prison. I am concerned about what is going on in NSW prisons and this is my story.

Parklea Prison: No calls for six days
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Prison visits in crisis in NSW
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Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

The prison system requires assiduous oversight
As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

Justice Denied In NSW Corrective Services
There used to be a (VJ) or Visiting Justice who would go into the prison and judge any claim or accusation that was made by any prisoner or prison guard. If it were found that a prisoner had offended then punishment was metered out.

Prison guards test positive for drugs
NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet The visit is only for about one hour and any thing less than that is an insult. If it's proved that a visitor has broken the rules the punishment should apply to them. But collective punishment on all visitors should not be made general when others haven't broken the rules especially if it restricts all visitors from normal human needs like using a toilet.

NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet
The New South Wales Government has introduced several initiatives to stop contraband getting into prisons they said last Friday. But under the guise of "stricter rules" the department had also introduced banning all visitors including children from using the toilet unless they terminate their visit at any NSW prison after using the toilet.

NSW Legislative Council's Inquiry on Home Detention
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Watchdogs slaughtered in NSW
On Tuesday the Carr Government reduced transparency and accountability yet again and New South Wales is in danger of becoming entrenched with cronyism and intimidations with the Carr Labor Government that continues to slaughter the watchdogs.

NSW Police Force: Deaths in custody?

Police under attack in Sydney's south-west

A police officer has been hit by a brick thrown by a community member in the third night of protest in Sydney's southwest.

The protest follows the deaths of two teenagers during a police pursuit on Friday night.

The definition of a 'death in custody' recommended by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody includes, 'the death wherever occurring of a person who dies or is fatally injured in the process of police or prison officers attempting to detain that person'.

With deaths resulting from police pursuits, before the occupant or occupants of the vehicle are recorded as a 'death in custody', it would need to be established that there was a pursuit under way and still in progress at the time of death.

It would also need to be established what offence had been committed by the occupant/s of the vehicle and therefore whether only the driver or all occupants had committed an offence?

Late on Friday night, two teenagers were killed when a stolen car crashed at Macquarie Fields in south-western Sydney, after fleeing from a patrolling police car.

Crash investigation officers had rocks thrown at them early on Saturday morning, and on Saturday night police in riot gear were pelted with rocks and house bricks.

Last night's violent incident occurred in the suburb of Macquarie Fields where a group of 30 police officers advanced on 50 or more protesters.

The protesters pelted the police officers, wearing riot gear, with bricks and other projectiles.

Roads in the area have been closed while a helicopter monitored the situation from the sky.

Police announced yesterday that they were forming a task force to investigate two previous attacks.

Crash investigation officers had rocks thrown at them early on Saturday morning, and on Saturday night police in riot gear were also pelted with rocks and house bricks.

Assistant Police Commissioner Denis Clifford says cooperation between police and the local community is needed.

"The behaviour of certain people in the Macquarie Fields area over the last couple of nights has done nothing but hinder the investigation by the coroner and police into the circumstances, surrounding the death of the two young teenagers out there," he said.

"I'm asking the people who have been involved in that type of behaviour to allow police to get on with their job."

Assistant Commissioner Clifford says police are prepared if any further attacks occurred.

"Can I reassure the community out there, that we will have sufficient resources in that area to deal with anything that arises," he said.

"I certainly hope that there won't be a repeat of last night's behaviour. But if there is, we will have sufficient specialist resources in there to support the local police."

Channel Nine News: "If they didn't steal the car they would be alive today?"

But should young adolescence get the death penalty for learning?, trial and error?, and for making a mistake?, in a world where making a mistake is the only certain way of getting anything right during those growing years?

By Starsky and Hutch 28 February 05

Ed: You learn more from being wrong than from being right. Being right means being right all the time, but being wrong and right means being right in the end.

So if the above statement is true then in the process of being wrong, young adults need flexibility not death to prove otherwise and to lean by their mistakes. In short a second chance!

There should be no police pursuits that cause death when young lives are lost. When young lives are learning and gaining their wisdom.

Give Up the Chase and Stay Safe

Related Articles:

Fatal accident prompts police pursuit probe
Friday, January 16, 2004

A fatal car accident in New South Wales has prompted a review of the procedures police use during high-speed pursuits.

Police say a man and a young girl were killed when a speeding car crashed head-on into another car at McGrath's Hill in Sydney's north-west.

One of those killed was the 53-year-old driver of the speeding car. The child was in the other car. Her parents and an aunt are all in a critical condition in hospital.

The Deputy Police Commissioner Dave Madden says current procedures will be looked at.

"As a result of last night, we will review all our procedures," he said.

"A critical incident team has been called in. They will investigate what actually occurred, the decisions of the police and what went on, and what went through their minds, as well as our existing procedures."

Riot in Redfern over death in custody
16 February 2004

The reported claim that 50 police were injured during rioting in Redfern over a death in custody is nothing more than a counter claim required to balance the argument that Thomas Hickey wasn't chased to his death by police.

The counter claim makes it look good for police opposed to addressing serious procedural problems within the NSW Police "Force".

The death of a three-year-old girl during a pursuit on Windsor Road at McGraths Hill in January 2004, is another example of police pursuits.

The Staysafe committee released a report into police pursuits in November 1994.

But The New South Wales Opposition's police spokesman, Peter Debnam, said, "Many recommendations were yet to be implemented."

Four people were taken into custody after anger erupted at the death of 17-year-old Aborigine Thomas Hickey, who was impaled through the neck on a fence on Saturday morning.

Mr Waites says the riot began after the death of Mr Hickey, who was impaled on a fence in the area on Saturday. "

The misinformation was that they were under the belief that the police were actually involved in a pursuit where an Aboriginal youth was killed and that wasn't true," he said.

But why are police so quick to claim misinformation yet there has been no enquiry. Usually police won't say anything when there appears to have been a death in custody why the change?

Obviously there are witnesses who have said that police chased the youngster to his death. Waites says officers who were on patrol drove past the boy, who was riding his bicycle in the opposite direction. "They continued on their patrol," he said.

They weren't aware that after he'd passed them, he accelerated on his pushbike and gone around a corner and lost control of it. It wasn't till they came around the block again and people flagged them down and told them what happened [that they knew], so the suggestion that police have in some way been the cause of the death is fairly questionable."

But not if you're a witness to the police chase!

The teenager's mother, Gail Hickey, yesterday said police caused her son's death.

"I don't believe the police, I don't care what they say, I don't believe them," she said.

"They did chase him at that time. I got a witness to all that. He seen everything that happened. He told me he seen my son riding the bike real fast, next minute he seen cop cars coming, chasing my son to the building there, where it happened."

Local resident Donna says people are grieving. "It all started over the coppers chasing a young boy," she said.

"It happened yesterday afternoon or last night and it's just that everybody has gone off because they believe the coppers are involved in doing away with the young fellow."

Donna says people are angry because they believe police are responsible for the teenager's death. "He was murdered," she said.

"We've been down to look at the spot and everything and there's no sign, they cleaned it up that quick."

Redfern Aboriginal elder Lyall Munro says police harass local young people on a daily basis and have them running scared.

"The community here is very much aware of what happened," Mr Munro said.

"This type of thing is going to happen and our young people are going to die in this way whilst ever the police are allowed to get away with it."

Mr Munro says relations with police are at an all-time low.

"Community programs that we had going here ....all fell through because Aboriginal people saw what the street police done immediately after the meetings," Mr Munro said.

The president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, Ray Jackson, says police could have managed the situation better.

He is a friend of the Hickey family and says a police car was driving in a street where the teenager's mother was grieving on Sunday afternoon.

"One report that I got was the police were smiling and sniggering and all this sort of thing and it was common knowledge that there was going to be a problem as soon as it got dark and that's exactly what's happened," Mr Jackson said.

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released the National Deaths in Custody Program annual report for 2002 Between January and December 2002, there was a total of 69 deaths in custody in Australia. There were 50 deaths in prison custody and 19 deaths in police custody and custody-related police operations.

Related Links:

Community disturbed by riot violence?
Don't blame it on the social mix, don't blame it on the housing estate, don't blame it on the dysfunctional community but blame it on the Police Force!

OUR STORIES MUST BE TOLD. THEY HAVE TO BE
On Sunday 13th February, a Community gathering will be held to enable all people to remember the death of one of our young Community members, 'TJ' Hickey.

Whitewash over Hickey's death
The New South Wales coroner has cleared police of any responsibility for the death of Aboriginal teenager Thomas 'TJ' Hickey.

Redfern police need education not weapons
NSW police want new offensive equipment including long-range capsicum spray guns and modified armoured vehicles capable of spraying tear gas following a damning report on the Redfern riots in Sydney earlier this year.

Carr defends Redfern riot fallout
But such is the fact that police can do no wrong according to authorities that one wonders what benefit to the community this report would be other than to protect the police again.

The Young Man From Kamilaroi
On Monday, 5 July 2004, the Hickey Family and their supporters will come together in the Glebe Coroners Court with the Redfern Police, the same police, specifically unknown at this time, who pursued the Young Man to his death by impalement.

Police stalkers set to escape
The real issue was posted it read "Wanted child murderers"!

Payback over Redfern riot after death in custody
A 37 year-old woman will appear in court today charged over her alleged involvement in a riot in Redfern on Sunday night.

Riot in Redfern over death in custody
The reported claim that 50 police were injured during rioting in Redfern over a death in custody is nothing more than a counter claim required to balance the argument that Thomas Hickey wasn't chased to his death by police.

Redfern police 'need to be made accountable'
POLICE have no right to demand increased support to patrol Redfern in the wake of one of the worst death in custody cover-ups by police in Australian history.

"If I Could Turn Back Time" Daily Terror, CH/7
THE real cause of last month's violent Redfern riots was the death of teenager Thomas "TJ" Hickey but perhaps only one element of the racism, harassment and bullying by the New South Wales police force and in this case Redfern police at the Block.

Was Thomas Hickey payback?
Yesterday it was alleged police faced a potentially deadly confrontation with locals of a redfern housing block last week when a gun was grabbed from an officer's holster and held to his stomach.

TJ HICKEY MEMORIAL MARCH AND VIGIL
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The ALP's fascist police states
Welcome back Sid-in-knee. Old Falangist Samaranch would surely feel right at home in any number of fascist police states around this wide brown land today. Who needs Franco when you have Beattie, Rann, Carr, Bracks and co. Flamin' fascist fucks the lot of them.

Carr Govt dramatic increases in the NSW prisoner pop...
Following the opening of the 500 bed Kempsey prison, and a new 200-bed prison for women at Windsor the Council of Social Service of NSW (NCOSS) and community organisations specialising in the rehabilitation of prisoners, have expressed concern....

Court martial told of soldiers' 'appalling' abuse!

Lance corporal Mark Cooley driving a fork lift truck with an Iraqi detainee bound to it.

Three British soldiers carried out "shocking and appalling" physical and sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners that was photographed by servicemen, a court martial heard today.

Twenty-two photographs were released by a British military court in Germany where the court martial of the three accused Royal Regiment of Fusiliers soldiers opened today.

Among the disturbing images was a picture of two naked Iraqi men simulating anal sex with their thumbs raised up to the cameras. There was also a close-up picture of two Iraqis simulating oral sex.

In other images, detainees are bound while they are apparently assaulted by British troops.

Speaking in London, the head of the army, General Sir Mike Jackson, said that while he could not directly comment on the ongoing proceedings, the army condemned "utterly all acts of abuse".

The images are reminiscent of the photographs of naked Iraqi detainees being abused in US custody at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad which caused outrage around the world.

The British soldiers are accused of abusing detainees who had attempted to steal food and powdered milk from a warehouse at an aid camp they were guarding outside Basra, in southern Iraq in May 2003, weeks after Saddam Hussein was toppled.

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Clapham, prosecuting, told the court martial near Osnabruck, in northern Germany: "It cannot be said that these photographs are of incidents that are anything other than shocking and appalling."

L/Cpl Darren Larkin standing on a prisoner

Lance Corporal Darren Larkin, 30, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, admitted one charge of assaulting an unknown male at the camp, but pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent conduct for allegedly forcing two Iraqi detainees to undress in front of others.

His two co-accused, Corporal Daniel Kenyon, 33, and Lance Corporal Mark Cooley, 25, between them denied nine further charges of mistreating Iraqi detainees.

Evidence of the alleged abuse came to light after a set of photographs was left for processing at a shop in Tamworth, Staffordshire. When the developer saw the photographs, she was "disturbed by the content" and contacted civilian police, the hearing was told.

The photographs depicting the alleged abuse of the prisoners were from the cameras of five British servicemen.

If found guilty by Judge Advocate Michael Hunter and a panel of officers, the accused soldiers could be jailed and discharged from the army.

Referring to the admission of assault, Lance Corporal Larkin's lawyer, William England, told the court: "He is ashamed of his unacceptable and mindless act ... and that he has brought shame to his proud regiment, himself and his family."

Corporal Kenyon denied six charges, including two of aiding and abetting a person to force two naked males being detained by British troops to simulate a sex act. He also faces a charge of being an accessory in the battery to which Lance Corporal Larkin pleaded guilty.

Lance Corporal Cooley, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, denied three charges, including placing an unknown Iraqi captive, with his hands bound, on the front of a forklift and driving it around, and also simulating punching and kicking a detainee while someone else took photographs.

Lt Col Clapham told the hearing that the camp's commander, Major Dan Taylor, had ordered that looters should be "worked hard" in a crackdown codenamed Operation Ali Baba - a reference to the folk story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves.

The prosecutor said the orders were an "unlawful" breach of the Geneva convention, "but even though the order was unlawful, had the defendants done no more they would not face the charges they face today".

Speaking to reporters, Sir Mike said that the proper way to deal with allegations of abuse was "for them to be investigated by the service police and, as appropriate, prosecuted by the independent service authorities".

He said. "I have every confidence in the military investigative and judicial system."?

The court martial, which is expected to last up to four weeks, continues.

UK minister criticises US over Guantanamo!
UK: Washington's policy on the legal status of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba is unacceptable, a senior British minister said.

By Mark Oliver 18 January 05

Related:

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FBI emails reveal Guantanamo abuse
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Hicks alleges Guantanamo abuse: report
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US lawyer wants inquiry into Hicks trial process
The lawyer defending Australian terror suspect [scapegoat for resource wars] David Hicks has called for an inquiry into whether the military commission hearing the case meets legal standards.

Australia Sells Its Citizens Short
Australian citizens, Mamdouth Habib and David Hicks have been illegally incarcerated in the Guantanamo Bay facility established by the US military as part of the War on Terror.

Downer won't press US for 'torture' report?
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UK minister criticises US over Guantanamo!
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Lawyers hail 'unlawful' ruling in Guantanamo trial
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Hicks's lawyers seek panel decision
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Torture, the British way
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US secretly moved prisoners out of Iraq for questioning: report
The CIA has secretly transferred detainees out of Iraq for interrogation after asking the US Justice Department to write a memo justifying the practice, which violates the Geneva Conventions.

Pentagon dumps Guantanamo tribunal officers
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Guantanamo detainees win right for private meetings
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Lawyers complain about Guantanamo trials
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Judge orders US to release Guantanamo records
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Bush team 'knew of abuse' at Guantanamo
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Hicks, Habib denied a fair go: Amnesty
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Govt's Hicks concerns an 'election stunt', says Brown
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Abu Ghraib inquiry slams Aust Government
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Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes
Complaint to Australian law officers about Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes.

Hicks family arrives at Kangaroo Caught
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Habib's call renews welfare concerns
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Hicks defence team likely to gain more time
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Hicks, Habib denied natural justice: Liberal MP
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Guantanamo abuse claims prompt new inquiry calls
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Mamdouh Habib: Taunted and Tortured!
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Howard rejects spy agency overhaul
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He was an undercover agent for the blues
He was my journalist, he was working undercover. The fellow knew all of the moves.... He really had me romping, bare footing stomping. He just kept igniting my fuse....

Man faces terrorism charge in WA
Australian Federal Police Chief Mick Keelty says a Perth man has been charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act in Iraq.

Habib to face US military trial
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US tortured Habib in Egypt: report
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Hicks movie to premiere in Adelaide
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There is no justification for torture
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US lawyers demand access to Habib
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Guantanamo prisoners may be moved to US soil
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Govt urged to seek civil lawyer for Habib
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Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
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US terror suspects can challenge detention
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Hicks lawyer praises Guantanamo decision
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Hicks and Habib in the Melting Pot
Australia: The United States has brought three criminal charges against Australian David Hicks, accusing him of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy, the Pentagon has said.

Rumsfeld had approved abuse
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorised hoods, the stripping of prisoners and the use of dogs to terrify inmates at Guantanamo Bay almost two years ago, documents released yesterday revealed.

How much is that doggy in the prison? Woof woof!
Did the Iraqi prisoner's get their rations while they were treated like chums?

Failure to condemn prison abuse risks lives: Kenny
The Prime Minister is morally bankrupt stay "alert and alarmed"

Prisoner's identity concealed to prevent Red Cross access
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, acting at the request of the CIA, ordered that a suspected Iraqi insurgent leader be detained off the books to conceal his identity from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Pentagon has confirmed.

US has secret prisons: rights group
The United States is holding terrorism suspects in more than two dozen detention centres worldwide, about half of which operate in total secrecy, according to a new human rights report.

This won't hurt much
For some time now, I've been trying to find out where my son goes after choir practice. He simply refuses to tell me. He says it's no business of mine where he goes after choir practice and it's a free country.

Police to uphold law not decide mental health

A diagnosis of mental illness could be made over the phone instead of in person, and involuntary psychiatric patients could lose the right to have their case reviewed by a magistrate, under proposed changes to NSW mental health laws.

The same right taken off prisoner to have internal claims made against them by the corrupt Department of Corrective Services.

EDITORIAL:

Justice Denied In NSW Corrective Services

There used to be a (VJ) or Visiting Justice who would go into the prison and judge any claim or accusation that was made by any prisoner or prison guard. If it were found that a prisoner had offended then punishment was metered out.

The reason for a VJ meant that the wide ranging discretion that the commissioner has in relation to the "Good order and security of the prison" could not be conducted on false premise say because some politician, police or prison guard took offence to a certain prisoner who was unpopular, either politically or personally.

The Ombudsman cannot ask the Department of Corrective Services to prove that some type of internal offence has been committed because under the wide-ranging discretion the Commissioner has there is no clause to force the commissioner to produce such evidence?

Therefore an unpopular prisoner can be isolated at say the (HRMU) High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre, denied visits, without any fresh air or sunlight, no constructive lifestyle, freezing and starving for as long as the Commissioner of Corrective Services want them to.

The evidence shows that after a prolonged duration the prisoner will either, commit suicide, self-harm or suffer brain damage. Mental illness is then addressed by sending the prisoner to Long Bay Prison Hospital and placed on medication - forced on the prisoner -possibly for the rest of the duration of the prisoner's sentence.

As you can see by the above example this opens the door for police corruption again and you could not only be terrified by police corruption but completely blocked from being able to tell someone about it as has happened in the case of Clover Moore V's Gregory Kable.

Gregory Kable went to Clover Moore to complain about police corruption and police picked up Kable from Clovers Paddington office [abduction] and was drugged and taken to a mental health facility and released three days later by a Magistrate Pierce.

Pierce who claimed the arrest was unlawful based on the fact that Kable committed no crime for posting an article on the parliamentarian's office claiming police harassment and corruption in the highest order!

As well, police and nurses could order emergency medication for involuntary patients without a doctor being present, under options being considered to address a chronic shortage of psychiatrists and judicial officers outside major centres.

Again the police convinced not only the doctor at Caritas Mental Health facility that Kable needed medication but also the nursing staff. But if the case had been examined by some type of forum then the doctor could have been struck off for incompetence. So imagine that a nurse made the very same decision without the doctor? That means the Carr Government would get out of it if found to be derelict for the cost of a nurses reputation.

Beverley Raphael, director of the NSW Health Department's Centre for Mental Health, said changing legislation was not ideal. "We certainly don't pretend that's the principal solution to the shortage of professionals," Professor Raphael said. She added the state would fast-track specialist mental health training for regional and rural doctors.

But NSW could not meet the requirements of the present Mental Health Act - which governs how patients are diagnosed and reviewed - amid a continuing worldwide dearth of psychiatrists, she said.

Also on the table is an expansion of the categories of people who can be detained for extended periods. For the first time, people who are not mentally ill but who have drug or alcohol problems or are in the grip of an acute personal crisis could be held under the same terms as those suffering psychiatric illnesses.

The options are contained in a discussion paper for a review of the act, for which public submissions close on Saturday. A spokeswoman for NSW Health said it was expected draft legislation would be presented to the Health Minister, Morris Iemma, early next year.

Extending ongoing involuntary care to the "mentally disordered" would "effectively supersede the current definitions of a mentally ill person" and potentially erode patients' civil rights, the discussion paper acknowledged. "One concern that is raised by some clinicians is that increasingly broad interpretations are being given to this term to use the [law] as a tool to control difficult or dangerous individuals who, for various reasons, cannot be dealt with by other agencies."

Likewise, the paper pointed out that shifting responsibility from a magistrate to a tribunal for the first review of a person held against their will would "substantially dilute the protections the act currently provides". And a further option to consider extending the 12-hour maximum time a person can be detained before their first psychiatric assessment "makes inroads into the liberties of the patient".

Barbara Hocking, executive officer of the Sane charity and advocacy group, said the proposals put expediency ahead of patient welfare. It was "appalling that because we're offering third-rate services we adjust the law accordingly", she said.

Louise Newman, chairwoman of the NSW branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, said police needed powers to take people to hospital for assessment, but said that should not extend to matters of medical judgement such as describing a person's symptoms to a psychiatrist by phone so that drugs could be authorised. "The issue of police making clinical decisions, we'd be very cautious about ... resource issues are impacting on clinical decision making," Dr Newman said. It was "fundamentally unethical" to compromise recognised standards of patient care because of practical difficulties meeting them, she said.

By Julie Robotham and Nuts 28 October 04

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