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Secret evidence about the police investigation into military training camps in the Ureweras could be made public if there was an independent review, lawyer Moana Jackson said yesterday.
Pressure is mounting to show the public exactly what evidence was collected after a police attempt to charge 12 people under the Terrorism Suppression Act was refused by the Solicitor-General last week.
The Solicitor-General described the evidence as showing "disturbing activities", but most of it, including hours of intercepted communications, will remain under wraps because it cannot be used in trials for the 16 people now facing Arms Act charges.
Mr Jackson - who last week resigned as patron of a wing of police recruits in protest at the raids - said the Solicitor-General had indicated the evidence would not be seen because it was collected for terrorism charges, but "perhaps because of the public interest, he may wish to revisit that".
"If there is any release it's important there is context to it, and an independent review would be a good place for that."
He said an independent review would also set minds at rest, and was a good way to "make amends".
NZ First leader Winston Peters last week called for the evidence to be released, and two Auckland University law professors - constitutional law expert Bill Hodge and criminal procedure lecturer Scott Optican - have added to the call, saying public interest is too high for the evidence to stay secret.
However, Mr Jackson said any such matter should wait until after the court cases were over. "If Bill Bloggs was arrested for rape, nobody would expect all the evidence for that to be released before his trial."
He said leaks of the evidence to TV3's Campbell Live, and continuing commentary over the case, came perilously near to destroying the chances of a fair trial.
TV3 was leaked the evidence the Solicitor-General had, and ran small excerpts from intercepted communications on 3 News on Friday night, but had to pull a more extensive story from Campbell Live after crown lawyers threatened legal action.
Police have already said they will investigate the leak, and the Crown is checking to ensure none of the evidence revealed breached the law.
A spokesman for Police Minister Annette King said no decision could be made on any independent review of the case until after the trials, where some of the evidence would emerge.
