Timor-Leste spy case: star witness asked for legal advice in 2004

Lawyer Bernard Collaery says the former spy expressed his concerns about intelligence gathering during gas treaty talks

Lenore Taylor political editor

The former spy who is the star witness in the Timor-Leste espionage allegations against Australia received permission from Australia’s inspector general of security to take legal advice about his concerns about intelligence gathering in 2004 during negotiations for a lucrative gas treaty, according to Timor-Leste’s lawyer Bernard Collaery.

Collaery said the Australian Security Intelligence Service (Asis) officer, who had his passport confiscated during Asio raids this week at his Canberra home, got the permission from Ian Carnell, who served as inspector general from 2004 to 2010.

Attorney general George Brandis, who approved warrants for searches of the former officer’s home and Collaery’s office, rejected suggestions that he was trying to interfere in the international arbitration of the case, in which procedural hearings will start on Friday in The Hague.

Brandis told the Senate on Wednesday these were “wild and injudicious claims” and that the search warrants had been issued at the request of Asio to protect Australia’s national security.

He said he had instructed Asio not to share any material gathered in Tuesday’s raids with Australia’s legal team in The Hague “under any circumstances”.

The former Asis officer has also retained his own senior counsel, Bernard Grose QC, who is in The Hague.

Timor-Leste’s ambassador to Australia said his country was “deeply disappointed” that Australian intelligence agencies had resorted to raids and thought “fair-minded” Australians would reject the “national security” explanation given by George Brandis as ridiculous.

Collaery, who is one of a team of lawyers representing Timor-Leste in the international arbitration, has argued the raids were a deliberate effort by the Australian government to disrupt the proceedings, in which Timor-Leste alleges that in 2004 Australia improperly spied on the Timorese during treaty negotiations in order to extract a commercial benefit.

--

--

--

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/05/timor-leste-spy-case-star-witness-asked-for-legal-advice-in-2004