Listen Now: 
December 01, 2014
Spy legislation will lead to more prosecutions
Waatea Team
Posted On December 1, 2014
Tuhoe activist Tame Iti says the spy legislation being rushed through parliament will lead to more people being prosecuted on trumped up charges.
Mr Iti was sentenced to 30 months jail on arms offences stemming from illegal surveillance of what police claimed were military-style training camps in Te Urewera in 2006 and 2007.
He told Radio Waatea host Willie Jackson that the Government is using the threat of Islamic State terrorism to create paranoia and grab more power.
He says while he has often been visited by people advocating violent revolution, it’s not something he supports.
But he believes police conducting blanket surveillance misinterpreted conversations, leading eventually to Operation Eight and the arrest of 18 people on terrorism charges.
"I’m still a little bit not quite over that I had to do time there because of hearsay, it was not even real, it was not even true. As a result of it two of us spent time based on assumption," Mr Iti says.
He says going on what happened in Operation Eight, the Security Intelligence Service is probably using the new legislation to get legal cover for surveillance it is already doing.
The Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill be reported back to parliament today.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH TAME ITI CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjQ1NzA=
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
