Alliance says we should not deny justice to Ahmed Zaoui for one more day

Alliance spokesperson for Immigration and Refugees Marvin Hubbard says the Labour Government should be ashamed of themselves for their callous and unjustified treatment of Ahmed Zaoui and his family.

"In spite of being a government that claims to be family friendly, they have cruelly treated Ahmed Zaoui’s young family, not allowing them to visit their father."

Mr Hubbard says the New Zealand bureaucracy led by Helen Clark has, in effect, kept a family separated for the last four years.

He says Ahmed Zaoui has the choice between remaining in New Zealand apart from his family, or returning to an unsafe situation in Algeria where he might face prison and torture or assassination.

"Justice delayed is justice denied. If the Government has a strong case against Ahmed Zaoui why keep delaying his hearing for over four years?"

Mr Hubbard says the question is why has the Government not accepted the findings of the Refugee Status Authority’s findings?

"It seems this is not about justice or even Ahmed Zaoui but about offending the French and American Intelligence Services."

The NZ SIS "summary of allegations" against Ahmed Zaoui says that a decision to allow him to stay in New Zealand "would indicate that New Zealand has a lower level of concern about security than other like- minded countries [and] that would impact adversely on New Zealand's reputation with such countries and thus on New Zealand's well-being."

Mr Hubbard says the Alliance certainly believes that New Zealand should have a higher level of concern for justice and human rights than George W. Bush’s administration.

He says the Alliance would stop selling out New Zealand’s foreign and immigration policies to a bogus 'War on Terror' and respect our own Refugee Status Appeal Authority’s findings.

"We should not deny justice for Ahmed Zaoui for one more day."

ENDS

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