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December 19, 2013
Police breached human rights in 2007 raids
Waatea Team
Posted On December 19, 2013
The Human Rights Commission says police actions against what they claimed were suspected terrorists operating in Te Urewera in 2007 exposed innocent people to unnecessary trauma and negatively impacted their human rights.
The commission yesterday released its long-awaited report on the so-called Operation Eight, which resulted in the eventual prosecution and conviction of Tuhoe activist Tame Iti and three others on weapons charges.
It says it received 31 complaints about police actions covering a range of concerns including being stopped at the roadblock at Ruatoki and photographed without consent, the negative implications of using the Terrorism Suppression Act, and the impact on children confined for several hours, some without food.
Chief commissioner David Rutherford says the complainants, none of whom were arrested or charged, had done nothing wrong and did not break any laws but had their basic rights trampled.
He says there was no comprehensive assessment of the impact on innocent people and insufficient support for those people.
Mr Rutherford says there has been much progress since 2007, with changes in police processes and policies such as a review of Police policy for dealing with children and vulnerable people when executing search warrants.
He says he understands there has also been substantial progress in repairing the relationship between police and Tuhoe.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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