BS: Australian cops protecting war criminals

Subject: RE: BS: Australian cops protecting war criminals
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Jun 19 - 09:41 PM

the warrant for the search of the ABC computer system says police can COPY, DELETE OR ALTER whatever they find there.

ABC raid: AFP leave Ultimo building with files after hours-long raid over Afghan check out the photos & videos

Australia May Well Be the World’s Most Secretive Democracy - NY Times -extract- ... The aggressive approach — which Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, has defended — fits with a global trend. Democracies from the United States to the Philippines are increasingly targeting journalists to ferret out leaks, silence critics and punish information sharing — with President Trump leading the verbal charge by calling journalists “the enemy of the people.”
But even among its peers, Australia stands out. No other developed democracy holds as tight to its secrets, experts say, and the raids are just the latest example of how far the country’s conservative government will go to scare officials and reporters into submission ...
Since the 9/11 attacks, Australia has passed or amended more than 60 laws related to secrecy, spying and terrorism, according to independent studies ...
Even before the law was passed, the broadening of the national security apparatus was causing a stir with a case involving an anonymous whistle-blower known only as “Witness K.” An Australian secret intelligence service agent, Witness K revealed Australia’s bugging of East Timor’s cabinet room during sensitive negotiations in 2004 over an oil and gas treaty worth billions of dollars. The whistle-blower had his passport seized in 2013 as he was preparing to give evidence at The Hague, and he and his lawyer were charged with conspiracy for violating the Intelligence Services Act for passing on sensitive national security information — even though the spying on a poor regional ally mainly involved business interests ...    (read on)


Related news -
ATO whistleblower facing 161-year prison sentence says he 'almost died from the stress. Australian Taxation Office whistleblower Richard Boyle has broken his silence on the personal toll of speaking up and facing a prison sentence of 161 years if found guilty. Mr Boyle became a whistleblower last year when he exposed abuse of power inside one of the country's most powerful institutions, the ATO, including aggressive debt collection practices. (read on)

Subject: RE: BS: Australian cops protecting war criminals
From: Jack Campin
Date: 05 Jun 19 - 09:41 AM

More from Richard Flanagan:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/05/the-afp-media-raids-aim-to-suppress-the-truth-without-it-we-head-into-the-darkness-of-oppression

Subject: RE: BS: Australian cops protecting war criminals
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Jun 19 - 09:02 AM

And we are pardoning ours. Sigh.

Subject: BS: Australian cops protecting war criminals
From: Jack Campin
Date: 05 Jun 19 - 07:50 AM

This is pretty damn sinister. They're even going after Murdoch's people.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-48522729