http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=10991
Australian spy calls for tougher anti-terror laws ISN SECURITY WATCH (23/03/05) - Australia's intelligence chief has warned that potential terrorists were at liberty in the country because the evidence against them was insufficient for legal action. The Director-General of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization (ASIO), Dennis Richardson, told delegates at the LAWAsia conference on Wednesday that fewer than one in 10 people known to be involved with terrorist groups in Australia were ever likely to face court. He said the country would not be able to take action against a number of terror suspects because of the existing anti-terror laws in the country. "The great majority of people in Australia who are assessed to have trained with al-Qaida and associated groups remain free in the community because, amongst other reasons, the relevant laws did not come into force until July 2002," Richardson told the conference, according to local media. Richardson did not divulge the number of people who were on that list of suspects, but said law enforcement agencies needed to keep a watch on such "people of interest". Advocating the need for tougher laws, Richardson said the Foreign Ministry had cancelled approximately 20 to 25 passports to prevent such people from traveling overseas since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. Richardson indicated that Australian citizens had been training at al-Qaida and Gema'ah Islamiyah camps, and could be preparing for an attack inside the country. But Richardson's call for tougher anti-terror legislation in Australia came under criticism from former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who accused Australia of using anti-terror laws to chip away at human rights. Anwar said Australian and some other nations were using draconian laws against perceived threats. "How can you talk about combating terror and use terror in the process," Anwar said. There have been no terror attacks inside Australia, but Australian citizens and assets have been targeted by terrorists in Indonesia. Some 88 Australians died when a nightclub was bombed in Bali in 2002. The Australian embassy in Jakarta was targeted by a suspected Islamist suicide bomber last year, killing 11 people. (By Ravi Prasad in Colombo) ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
