Latest news with #ActionZealandia
1News
2 days ago
- Politics
- 1News
Trial begins for first soldier charged with espionage in NZ
The court martial for the first person charged with espionage in New Zealand's history begins today. The Linton-based soldier was taken into military custody more than five years ago and has remained on open arrest at home since. In 2020, 17 charges were laid against the soldier including four counts of espionage and possessing objectionable material. Espionage is communicating information or delivering an object to a country or organisation with the intention to undermine New Zealand's interests. It carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in a military prison. The court said the case was 'of national significance' when closed-door hearings recommenced earlier this year. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including our first ever espionage trial, the end of an era for Cook Strait crossings, and a surprising survival story. (Source: 1News) At a 2021 hearing, the judge issued several suppressions on case details, including the name of the soldier and the country the accused allegedly tried to share information with. Pre-trial hearings were delayed from March 2022 because the court martial's transcript and recording processes did not meet the country's security requirements for classified information. It took nearly a year for specialised recording devices from overseas to be secured and security procedures to be put in place for the hearing on the disclosure application. In 2023, there was also an unsuccessful bid by the accused to have the charges dropped. 1News has previously reported that the accused was allegedly a member of the far-right Dominion Movement and Action Zealandia groups between 2017 and 2019. A court martial is a military court that tries members of the armed forces for violations of military law. It is in many ways similar to jury trials in civilian courts, and a decision on guilt or innocence is made by a judge and panel of military members.
1News
5 days ago
- Politics
- 1News
'Unique' espionage trial of a NZ soldier to be heard next week
A soldier with links to far-right groups and who is accused of spying will face a court martial hearing next week – a first-of-its-kind prosecution shrouded in secrecy for now. The Linton-based soldier's name is suppressed and so is the foreign country at the centre of the espionage case, as well as the names of some prosecution expert witnesses. RNZ was opposing these orders and a suppression hearing was scheduled for next Monday morning, before the court martial would begin. In late 2020, 17 charges under the Armed Forces Discipline Act were laid against the soldier, including espionage and possessing objectionable material. Since then, the case has wended its way through pre-trial hearings. ADVERTISEMENT RNZ has previously reported the soldier, aged 27 at the time of his arrest, was a member of far-right groups the Dominion Movement and Action Zealandia. First of its kind A similar case 50 years ago tried and acquitted Bill Sutch in the civilian court of espionage, for passing information to the Russians. Next week's court martial is the first military case. "I think 'unusual' is not the right term," said retired Auckland University law professor Bill Hodge about the prosecution. "I think 'unique' might be the correct term." Hodge said the suppression orders appeared extensive. "I've always been surprised that there could be information held by the armed forces, which absolutely had to be kept top secret. ADVERTISEMENT "There maybe information about the citizens of a foreign jurisdiction and what they're doing here, but still, that would be of public interest." Hodge said military courts were historically ahead of civilian ones on matters of justice and fairness, although they might hold concerns about making information public. "Remember, the background of a military court would concern hostilities and [be] in the face of the enemy. In that sort of situation, that sort of context, they would be greatly concerned with information that would aid the enemy. "I don't see an enemy at this moment, so I'm still mystified at what secrecy they'll be pursuing." Military panel to hear the case One difference between courts martial and civilian courts is that, instead of a jury, a panel of senior military officers hears the evidence, and decides on a defendant's guilt or innocence, and – if applicable – their sentence. In his previous career in the military, Hodge sat on these panels. ADVERTISEMENT "A military court is concerned with fairness, right to counsel, the insanity defence, for example, the discovery of information," he said. "One thing I could say firmly is the individual will have a fair trial, because in my experience, it's a fair system." David Pawson is an experienced court martial counsel and, in 30 years – firstly with the military police, then as a lawyer – he has never seen a similar case. "When I was a military police special investigator – that was at the end of the Cold War period – and even during that period, I was not aware of any investigation of that sort of nature. I have to say that was a new one to me." The system was robust and transparent, he said. "The court martial, in my experience, has always been very careful not to be seen as a secretive court and generally does apply those principles the same way that they do in the civil court." This meant the starting point for suppression decisions was open justice. Another experienced court martial lawyer, Michael Bott, said talking to a military panel was somewhat different to addressing a jury. ADVERTISEMENT "There are military values you have to take into account and also, with a court martial, it's governed by the Armed Forces Discipline Act, as opposed to the Criminal Procedure Act, but the Bill of Rights still applies. "When you're doing an opening and a closing, the processes and techniques are pretty much transferable." He said suppression arguments at courts martial sometimes included matters not applicable to civilian courts, such as national security. Hodge said he didn't think the court martial would reflect badly on New Zealand's reputation. "I think there's the opposite argument that the allies could say, 'New Zealand is alert, New Zealand is sufficiently concerned about this matter and they're looking after whatever information this might be'. "While you could say, 'Is New Zealand a leaky sieve?', no, New Zealand is behaving properly and attending to the disciplinary side of a possible breach." If the soldier was found guilty next week, he wouldn't face the death penalty. This was removed from military law in 1989, but sentences for courts martial ranged from losing rank to a lengthy term in military prison. ADVERTISEMENT
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Espionage trial of NZ soldier shrouded in secrecy
By Jimmy Ellingham of RNZ A soldier with links to far-right groups and who is accused of spying will face a court martial hearing next week - a first-of-its-kind prosecution shrouded in secrecy for now. The Linton-based soldier's name is suppressed and so is the foreign country at the centre of the espionage case, as well as the names of some prosecution expert witnesses. RNZ is opposing these orders and a suppression hearing is scheduled for Monday morning, before the court martial begins. In late 2020, 17 charges under the Armed Forces Discipline Act were laid against the soldier, including espionage and possessing objectionable material. Since then, the case has wended its way through pre-trial hearings. RNZ has previously reported the soldier, aged 27 at the time of his arrest, was a member of far-right groups the Dominion Movement and Action Zealandia. First of its kind A similar case 50 years ago saw Bill Sutch tried and acquitted in the civilian court of espionage, for passing information to the Russians. Next week's court martial is the first military case. "I think 'unusual' is not the right term," said retired Auckland University law professor Bill Hodge about the prosecution. "I think 'unique' might be the correct term." Hodge said the suppression orders appeared extensive. "I've always been surprised that there could be information held by the armed forces, which absolutely had to be kept top secret. "There maybe information about the citizens of a foreign jurisdiction and what they're doing here, but still, that would be of public interest." Hodge said military courts were historically ahead of civilian ones on matters of justice and fairness, although they might hold concerns about making information public. "Remember, the background of a military court would concern hostilities and [be] in the face of the enemy. In that sort of situation, that sort of context, they would be greatly concerned with information that would aid the enemy. "I don't see an enemy at this moment, so I'm still mystified at what secrecy they'll be pursuing." Military panel to hear the case One difference between courts martial and civilian courts is that, instead of a jury, a panel of senior military officers hears the evidence, and decides on a defendant's guilt or innocence, and - if applicable - their sentence. In his previous career in the military, Hodge sat on these panels. "A military court is concerned with fairness, right to counsel, the insanity defence, for example, the discovery of information," he said. "One thing I could say firmly is the individual will have a fair trial, because in my experience, it's a fair system." David Pawson is an experienced court martial counsel and, in 30 years - firstly with the military police, then as a lawyer - he has never seen a similar case. "When I was a military police special investigator - that was at the end of the Cold War period - and even during that period, I was not aware of any investigation of that sort of nature. I have to say that was a new one to me." The system was robust and transparent, he said. "The court martial, in my experience, has always been very careful not to be seen as a secretive court and generally does apply those principles the same way that they do in the civil court." This meant the starting point for suppression decisions was open justice. Another experienced court martial lawyer, Michael Bott, said talking to a military panel was somewhat different to addressing a jury. "There are military values you have to take into account and also, with a court martial, it's governed by the Armed Forces Discipline Act, as opposed to the Criminal Procedure Act, but the Bill of Rights still applies. "When you're doing an opening and a closing, the processes and techniques are pretty much transferable." He said suppression arguments at courts martial sometimes included matters not applicable to civilian courts, such as national security. Hodge said he didn't think the court martial would reflect badly on New Zealand's reputation. "I think there's the opposite argument that the allies could say, 'New Zealand is alert, New Zealand is sufficiently concerned about this matter and they're looking after whatever information this might be'. "While you could say, 'Is New Zealand a leaky sieve?', no, New Zealand is behaving properly and attending to the disciplinary side of a possible breach." If the soldier is found guilty next week, he won't face the death penalty. This was removed from military law in 1989, but sentences for courts martial range from losing rank to a lengthy term in military prison.
