Government's hands no longer tied in Zaoui case

Green MP Keith Locke said today that Friday's High Court decision does allow for the Government to move Ahmed Zaoui from Auckland Remand Prison to the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre.

"No longer can the government claim its hands are tied over the form of Mr Zaoui's detention," said Mr Locke, the Green Party's Foreign Affairs spokesperson.

"While Justice Paterson declined to go into the specifics of Mr Zaoui's case, he did say that a person covered by a Security Risk Certificate 'does not have to be in a prison', and that that the Immigration Act 'effectively delegates to the Executive the choice of where the person is to be detained.'

"I will be asking the Government to exercise its discretion to move Mr Zaoui to a more relaxed form of detention, such as at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre.

"This can be done without legislative change. At most it requires the Government to alter the regulations governing the Security Risk Certificate warrants of commitment.

"Mr Zaoui has been in jail for nineteen and a half months, and his case could go on for quite a lot longer. Clearly he merits some relief. It is shameful that a person without any criminal charges against him should be in a prison for so long.

"While I am disappointed Justice Paterson didn't go further and order Mr Zaoui to be moved out of Auckland Central Remand Prison, his judgement does allow for the government to take this humanitarian step," said Mr Locke.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>