QC argues for MPs' exclusion from Zaoui case

Ahmed Zaoui

Lawyers for Algerian refugee Ahmed Zaoui have argued against letting a Cabinet minister decide his fate in the wake of increased political pressures after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

Queen's Counsel Rodney Harrison told the Supreme Court yesterday that post-September 11 the Executive had been fighting tooth and nail to expand its powers.
He said as soon as someone other than the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security made decisions on Mr Zaoui, it would enter the political arena.

Mr Harrison said the reality was the pressures which could be brought to bear on politicians - internally and externally and for vote-catching reasons - were well known.

Mr Zaoui's lawyers are supporting a Court of Appeal decision which ruled broader human rights issues must be considered by the Inspector General, who is to review whether a security risk certificate has been properly issued against him.

That certificate, issued in 2003 by the Security Intelligence Service before he was declared a refugee, relies on classified information and says Mr Zaoui is a threat to national security.

The Crown has appealed against the court's ruling, saying any decisions regarding human rights should be made by the Minister of Immigration, who will rule on deportation issues if the certificate is confirmed as proper.

Mr Zaoui, a former politician who fled Algeria, has been in New Zealand since December 2002. On arrival he claimed refugee status, which has been granted, but his future remains in doubt because of the suggestion he is a security risk.

He was released on bail last December, after two years in jail.

In court this week, Solicitor-General Terence Arnold said any issues surrounding human rights should properly be considered by the Government, and not the Inspector General.

Mr Harrison said yesterday that a political decision would be less transparent than that of the Inspector General, a retired High Court judge.

"There is no contest," he said.

The Crown has conceded it cannot legally deport Mr Zaoui to a country where he might be tortured or persecuted, and yesterday Mr Harrison said it was critical to know who it would be who decided what New Zealand's international human rights obligations were.

In a summary of his written submissions, Mr Harrison said the Inspector General would have access to all classified information about Mr Zaoui, which the minister might not have.

The court reserved its decision.