Crook justice

It's gotta be tough for those pollies. Here they have this guy who they just know is a dirty rotten scumbag (and they may be right). But the evidence they have to prove it is rejected by the appeals court (it's one of those little technical things, like it was an involuntary confession made without benefit of counsel). Unlike those AWB chappies who paid millions of dollars to bribe the Iraq government and corrupt the UN oil for food program, this idiot accepted a bribe from Al Queda to return home and lay low. Simply despicable.

"Australia court imposes first control order on released terror suspect":

"Thomas was the first Australian incarcerated under the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Act 2002 [text]. A jury convicted [BBC report] Thomas in February of receiving $3,500 from a senior Al Qaeda member and of carrying a fake passport, but the conviction was overturned because authorities were found to have interviewed Thomas against his will and without access to a lawyer when he was arrested in Pakistan in 2003. Control orders have also been controversial in the UK, where an appeals judge earlier this month upheld a lower court ruling [JURIST report] that using them to restrict uncharged terror suspects violates the European Convention on Human Rights [PDF text]."

Attorney General Ruddock says you just cannot trust the crook judicial system to protect us from the likes of Thomas: "You wouldn't need control orders if you could rely on the criminal justice system to provide ongoing protection." (Quote from Reuters newswire story today by Michael Perry.)

Fortunately for Ruddock, and Australia, the Government doesn't have to rely on the judicial system. Stuff 'em! They've got their own powers to be sheriff, judge and jury. Who needs a whimpy old legal system in these days of rampant terrorism. You got a terrorist on the street what needs a good fear put in him, well just rely on the terrorists with badges and lock him up.

See, "Ruddock accused of vilifying Jack Thomas"

And while we're at it, let the media goons have a go at him too. The only jury a good pollie needs is a popular press. According to a Reuters newswire story today by Michael Perry, "the Australian newspaper's legal affairs editor wrote ... 'Anyone who aligns themselves with Australia's enemies and trains with al Qaeda should expect nothing less'."

It seems the proof of the "alignment" was contained in evidence the Australian courts rejected. But even if that evidence was not good enough for a court of law, it is good enough to throw a "control order" rope around Jack Thomas.

Australia issues control order for terror suspect

"Joseph Thomas was taking a beach vacation in eastern Victoria with his young family when police served the order, his brother said.

The order was made possible by a raft of new laws condemned by civil libertarians that came into effect in December designed to reduce the risk of homegrown terrorism following the London transport bombing in July last year.

Courts can order such restrictions, including that suspected extremists be monitored with tracking bracelets for up to a year, if a magistrate finds that they are necessary to protect the public from a terrorist attack or that the suspect has been trained by a terrorist group."