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DOTCOM saga - updates
IainB:
At the time of the Dotom raid, the news reports said that there were several operational CCTV security cameras located on the Dotcom's residence and that footage from them - that would have included footage of the raid itself - had been confiscated by the police. I wondered why at the time.
I also noticed this about the Stuff article, where it said:
The Crown is seeking for all images and CCTV footage from the raids to be suppressed.
--- End quote ---
And I wondered why. If it had all been done right and proper, then there should be nothing to hide.
This point has been picked up in a post by Techdirt, who asked the same question on 2012-08-07:Why Are New Zealand Prosecutors Seeking To Suppress All Images & Video Of Megaupload Raid?
However, on 2012-08-08, this report from the 3News website:
VIDEO: Suppression lifted on Dotcom raid footage
Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:10p.m.
Footage of the raid on Kim Dotcom’s house was being played in court today.
Today Dotcom told the Auckland High Court that if Police had just knocked on his door, he would've let them in.
Instead the Special Tactics group raided Dotcom's Coatesville mansion in January, entering the grounds by helicopter and seizing belongings and computers allegedly being used for illegal activity.
Mr Dotcom told the court that officers used unnecessary force in the operation and claims he was punched and kicked during the raid.
Dotcom is in court as part of a judicial review of a ruling that said the US government had to give Dotcom and his co-accused access to seized evidence.
The CCTV footage of the raid was also seized by police, and is part of the evidence Dotcom wants access to. Footage taken from the police helicopter as it approached Dotcom's house during the raid was shown in court today and the CCTV footage is expected to be shown at some point this week.
The Crown wants the footage and any images from the raids to be suppressed and Chief High Court Judge Helen Winkelmann has ordered interim suppression of the material, NBR reports.
Identities of Special Tactics officers due to give evidence are also suppressed.
The US is trying to extradite Dotcom and his co-accused on charges of racketeering, copyright infringement and money laundering relating to the Megaupload file-sharing website Dotcom founded.
--- End quote ---
The video shown in the above post is taken from the police helicopter, and shows very little of interest. The interesting stuff will be on the confiscated Dotcom CCTV footage, assuming none of it has been tampered with or deleted.
I won't be the only voting Kiwi who is looking on with keen interest to see how ethically and legitimately this case has been handled. We already have the judiciary coming out with the documented and stunning judgement that the raid was illegal (QED), and it appears that the US side of things was illegal too (QED).
I hope my faith in the judiciary and in the professionalism of the NZ Police/SS will not be shaken any more by unfolding events than it already has been by this business. There is nothing like a Second Amendment in NZ, and none of us want to wake up one morning to find ourselves in the reality of living in a police state run by thugs.
Renegade:
I won't be the only voting Kiwi who is looking on with keen interest to see how ethically and legitimately this case has been handled. We already have the judiciary coming out with the documented and stunning judgement that the raid was illegal (QED), and it appears that the US side of things was illegal too (QED).
-IainB (August 08, 2012, 04:32 AM)
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Unfortunately today, it seems that in matters of law enforcement and legislation, the words "ethical" and "legitimate" simply no longer apply.
Like seriously. It is virtually impossible to go a single day without hearing about some kind of government or law enforcement violation of some law or basic human right -- from some supposedly "free" country, e.g. UK, US, Canada, NZ, Oz, EU, etc. etc.
This case really has a huge impact worldwide though. It's not just a NZ/US issue. Because if the thugs in jackboots will kick in a Kiwi's teeth, they'll kick in a Canuck's teeth faster. (We're a bit closer after all.) I hope that this case gets more attention. It certainly deserves it. But, probably some pop singer will die of a drug overdose, or get charged with something, and that will be all you hear about until the next episode of "Jersey Shore" or some other vapid reality show. Sigh...
I hope my faith in the judiciary and in the professionalism of the NZ Police/SS will not be shaken any more by unfolding events than it already has been by this business. There is nothing like a Second Amendment in NZ, and none of us want to wake up one morning to find ourselves in the reality of living in a police state run by thugs.
-IainB (August 08, 2012, 04:32 AM)
--- End quote ---
When I first got to Australia, an Australian friend told me that there is no such thing as free speech here. I just about pooped myself. I looked it up. He's right. You pretty much have zero rights here. I was shocked.
No idea what it's like in NZ though... I hope it's a better situation than here.
IainB:
@Renegade: I presume the NZ judiciary and the Government will be doing their best to be open and clearly communicating about this raid, as they should be, for the NZ public. They will also be aware that the world is likely to be watching, and that observers will be drawing their own conclusions where something is otherwise suppressed, concealed, obfuscated or inadequately explained.
Certainly, NZ doesn't want itself to look to the world like a banana republic.
Today: VIDEO: What really happened in the Dotcom raid?
I recommend you watch it all - and Campbell's commentary. Very interesting.
There is more footage - mostly from helicopter views and associated open radio chatter between the operatives - but there is one bit from a Dotcom CCTV security camera mounted in a tree.
Footage in-court shows Dotcom giving his testimony of the raid.
There is also in-court testimony from an anonymous (out-of-camera-view, for security) SS operative, who sounds like he was being evasive in his responses. He was also told off by the barrister questioning him for looking for queues from Queen's Counsel when being questioned - which is rather telling. He presumably knew something that he might blurt out and that could make a mess of the Crown's case, and so he was being minimally helpful and very guarded in what he said.
I think this is what might be called "a hostile witness", but it didn't look as though he was being allowed to get away with it - the court is not staffed with idiots.
It really worries me though, when, in an NZ court of law a police or SS officer is clearly being evasive or economical with the truth - presumably to avoid it messing-up the Crown's case for goodness' sake! Surely the case is not that insubstantial/flaky?
Obvious questions: What's to hide - and why?
Maybe there is a lot that is not being revealed about this case and that might never be revealed.
Who knows?
Renegade:
Today: VIDEO: What really happened in the Dotcom raid?
I recommend you watch it all - and Campbell's commentary. Very interesting.
-IainB (August 08, 2012, 06:20 AM)
--- End quote ---
Watched. Saddened. That's pretty shameful.
I just saw another short news video with Mike Adams interviewing Michael Schmidt in Ontario, Canada. While Schmidt is a farmer, you still hear all the same kinds of tactics.
Whether it's "piracy" or "milk" or "pigs" or "rain", we see all the same things --- armed troops attacking unarmed civilians, stealing their property, and throwing them in prison.
This isn't about "law and order". This is about destroying and controlling people.
All of these kinds of cases are sickening.
IainB:
There is an arsTechnica post here: Helicopters, guns, attack dogs: New video shows raid on Dotcom home
In the discussion thread that follows it, some of the readers' comments/points are really rather interesting. For example:
ReaderBot | Ars Tribunus Militum
I don't think even George Orwell foresaw the state using overwhelming force to protect the interests of private corporations that actively resist state oversight of their interests.
We are in Bizzaro Future.
___________________________________
Jon Brodkin | Senior IT reporter |
Story Author
ClownRazer wrote:
If this is the typical journalistic quality of a standard newscast in NZ, I'm impressed. It wasn't edited for an ADHD audience and actually discussed real issues, not what Justin Bieber had for breakfast.
--- End quote ---
I agree!
If TV news was like this in the US I might actually watch it once in a while.
___________________________________
kkipple | Ars Centurion
So is New Zealand America's 51 state or what?
Someone help me understand how our laws apply over there? Are they just that eager to please?
--- End quote ---
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