New Zealand government orders probe into illegal spying against wanted German millionaire
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E-mail Xinhua, September 24, 2012
New Zealand government orders probe into illegal spying against wanted German millionaire
WELLINGTON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Monday ordered an inquiry into illegal interceptions of private communications by the government's security and intelligence services.
The probe was launched after revelations that the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) had unlawfully intercepted communications involving German millionaire Kim Dotcom, whom the United States is seeking to extradite on charges regarding alleged Internet piracy.
Key issued a statement announcing he had requested an inquiry by the Inspector- General of Intelligence and Security into the circumstances of the unlawful interceptions.
The government had filed a memorandum in the High Court in the extradition case advising the court and affected parties that the GCSB had acted unlawfully while assisting the New Zealand Police to locate individuals subject to arrest warrants issued in the case.
The GCSB had acquired communications in some instances without statutory authority.
After being informed about the matter by the director of the GCSB on Sept. 17, Key said he referred the GCSB's actions to Inspector-General Paul Neazor, an independent statutory officer with the power to inquire into any matter related to a government intelligence agency's compliance with the law.
Key said he has also asked the Inspector-General to recommend any measures he considered necessary to prevent the issue from happening again.
Key expressed his disappointment that unlawful acts had taken place.
"I expect our intelligence agencies to operate always within the law. Their operations depend on public trust," he said in the statement.
"I look forward to the Inspector-General's inquiry getting to the heart of what took place and what can be done about it," said Key, adding no further details of the charges would be divulged while the matter was before the courts.
Opposition political parties demanded assurances that the GCSB, which reports directly to the prime minister, was not spying on other ordinary New Zealanders.
"This is a shocking breach of New Zealand's very strict laws restricting the ability of our spy agencies to snoop on people," said leader of the main opposition Labor Party, David Shearer.
"While it's been revealed that 'some' bugging was done illegally, it is not credible to think that other monitoring by the agency was not signed by the Prime Minister before the raid was carried out," Shearer said in a statement.
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said a number of New Zealand agencies, including the police, had "bent over backwards to assist the United States" in extraditing Dotcom.
"The Kim Dotcom case doesn't appear to constitute a threat to New Zealand's national security, so it is hard to understand why the GCSB considered it should be involved at all," Norman said in a statement.
"The GCSB's involvement in the Dotcom case highlights the lack of oversight of the GCSBs operations."
The extradition case has been delayed until March next year after becoming entangled in legal arguments, appeals and critical judgments.
The hearing regarding Dotcom, founder of file-sharing website Megaupload, was originally scheduled for Aug. 6 in Auckland's North Shore District Court.
In June, a New Zealand judge ruled that the country's police acted unlawfully in allowing the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to copy computer data seized from Dotcom and remove it from the country.
High Court Judge Helen Winkelmann also ruled unlawful the warrants used by police to raid Dotcom's Auckland and to seize property on behalf of the FBI were illegal.
Other points of legal contention revolve around how much evidence including more than 22 million e-mails the New Zealand prosecutors acting on behalf of the U.S. authorities are required to disclose to Dotcom's legal team.
In March, the U.S. Department of Justice formally lodged an application for the extradition of Dotcom and three other Megaupload executives from New Zealand on charges related to Internet piracy.
Although the United States and New Zealand have an extradition treaty, New Zealand courts could refuse to hand over Dotcom and his three co-accused, Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato.
New Zealand police arrested Dotcom in Auckland on Jan. 20 at the request of the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI on charges including copyright infringement, wire fraud, money laundering and racketeering.
Dotcom spent a month in prison before being allowed bail to live with his heavily pregnant wife and three children. Enditem
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