Any damages suit taken by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) against the Waihopai Three protesters will be a waste of taxpayer money, Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson Keith Locke said today.
Earlier this year a jury found the Waihopai Three, Teacher Adrian Leason, Dominican friar Peter Murnane, and farmer Sam Land, not guilty of charges of burglary and wilful damage relating to an attack on the Waihopai spybase. News reports today suggest the Crown will be taking a civil suit against the three peace activists.
“The GCSB should respect the jury’s decision which found the Waihopai Three not guilty,” said Mr Locke.
“In the original trial the GCSB didn’t even put up witnesses to challenge the political arguments the defendants used to justify their actions.
“Now the GCSB is going to waste New Zealand taxpayer money pursuing the Waihopai Three.
“The GCSB case would be handicapped by its reluctance to tell a court anything about Waihopai. It wishes to hide the fact that Waihopai is essentially a foreign intelligence base on New Zealand soil, whose main purpose is to provide intelligence for the United States Government.
“Rather than continue to harass the three peace activists, the GCSB should explain to New Zealanders what is really going on at Waihopai.”