Book Launched On Algerian Asylum Seeker A Zaoui

Book Launched On Algerian Asylum Seeker Ahmed Zaoui

Scoop on the book launching:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0410/S00016.htm

AUCKLAND ( NZH/NZPA/Pacific Media Watch): Four days after his Court of Appeal victory, Algerian asylum seeker Ahmed Zaoui is back in the news.

A book has been released which co-author Selwyn Manning, journalist and an editor of Scoop website, says outlines the disinformation campaign against him.

I almost Forgot About the Moon - the book's title - is taken from a comment made by Zaoui in an affidavit recounting his time spent on Auckland Prison at Paremoremo since he destroyed his travel documents when he arrived in the country two years ago and asked for asylum.

He has been in prison because a Security Intelligence Service (SIS) report has ruled him a threat to security.

Last week, the Court of Appeal ruled that his human rights had to be taken into consideration when assessing if he was a risk to New Zealand's national security.

The Refugee Status Appeal Authority ruled last year he was a genuine refugee.

Manning said seldom had the country had to face such a "complex series of issues as what is now known as the Ahmed Zaoui case".

He said his arrival had challenged the Government and the SIS and the Immigration Service to accurately and independently acquire information.

The book studies his life, his colleagues and friends, why he is considered a danger in Algeria, his convictions in Europe, why he is believed to be a security risk and why immigration laws cannot resolve the issue.

It also offered examples of legal reform.

Manning said the immigration laws were flawed and had failed to ensure the country's security interests were balanced against the rights of a person subject to a security risk certificate.
- NZPA

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