CGI's Dave404: Secret asylum boat report withheld from
police
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Secret asylum boat report withheld from police "A top-secret report into the Australian authorities’ response to the distress of the ill-fated asylum seeker boat known as the SIEV 358 was deliberately withheld from an investigation into the sinking, a court has heard. As a result, the investigating officer says he can no longer stand by his report. The WA Coroner’s Court has been told that an Australian Federal Police agent told Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Defence not to give the classified document to a police officer who had been asked to investigate the sinking as a major crime on June 21 last year. A total of 104 men died in the incident. The officer, Detective Inspector David Bryson, told the court he had no idea that information had been hidden from him until he arrived at court on Friday morning. He told the court, which is investigating the deaths of those on the boat, he had top-secret clearance and could have been shown any classified or secret information - but he was never told it existed. Detective Inspector Bryson said he could no longer stand by the conclusions in his own report into the deaths, knowing he had not been given all the facts. It would no longer be a full and honest report, he said. ‘‘My brief was to treat this job as a serious crime,’’ he said. Detective Inspector Bryson said he asked the AFP liaison officer who was to be the single point of contact for all Commonwealth agencies to provide all documents, videos and reports relating to the investigation. ‘‘It was a cover-all request for all documents, either secret or top secret,’’ he told the court. But counsel for Customs and Border Protection and Defence, Mr Peter Hanks QC, then revealed that an AFP officer had given direct instructions that Customs and Defence should not hand over the internal review of the sinking. The investigation had been ordered by Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare. ‘‘The AFP specially asked that the document not be provided,’’ said Mr Hanks. The WA Coroner, Alastair Hope, expressed surprise at the revelations. He has asked for the name of the officer who made the request, the date, the reasons and on whose direction it was made. Detective Inspector Bryson told the court that he knew ‘‘absolutely nothing’’ about the AFP withholding information. The inquest has been hearing evidence about the adequacy of the response of the Australian authorities to the passengers on the boat. It has been revealed they made 16 desperate phone calls to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) pleading for help, saying their boat was taking on water and they had no lifejackets. The phone calls began on June 19 and continued until the boat sank two days later. The report that was withheld from WA Police has already criticised AMSA for not being proactive enough in helping the boat and for transferring the responsibility for the search and rescue to its Indonesian counterparts, despite being told that they did not have the capability to conduct the search. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) later issued a statement saying there had been no attempt to keep the existence of the internal review secret, or to keep it from the investigation or inquest. The ACBPS said it had issued a release to the media in July last year announcing the review, which could be found on its website. It said counsel assisting the coroner requested access to the review report prior to the hearing of the inquest and it was provided last month. The ACBPS says it has provided full co-operation and every document requested of it." Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/secret-asylum-boat-report-withheld-from-police-20130726-2qp6c.html#ixzz2aD3nKnmI Dave404. |
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