29 September, 2004

Spies walk free while Zaoui is left to rot

The Green Party today challenged the Labour Government to justify its incarceration of Ahmed Zaoui for 21 months without charge, when it has allowed two convicted spies to fly home to a hero's welcome after serving just three months of their sentence.

"I question the morality of two passport fraudsters being freed to return home to receive their Mossad medals, while Ahmed Zaoui - guilty of nothing more than being a democratically elected member of his country's Parliament - has every prospect of spending two years behind bars without a charge being laid against him," said Green Co-leader, Rod Donald.

"Neither Eli Cara or Uri Kelman have ever come clean on the identity of their paymaster, their accomplices or the purpose of their New Zealand operation. Yet they are free to return home to a hero's welcome after serving just half of their six-month sentence.

"The irony is that New Zealand has now let two spies loose to pursue their secret operations elsewhere in the world, while Ahmed Zaoui remains caged because he's a 'security risk'", said Mr Donald.

"If this government had any sense of morality and fairness it would release Ahmed Zaoui now and concentrate its security efforts on people who really threaten our peace."

ENDS

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