The Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT) Supreme Court has ruled the lawfulness of an alleged Australian spying operation in East Timor is not relevant to whistleblower Bernard Collaery’s charges.
Collaery is accused of unlawfully sharing classified information about the alleged bugging operation of the East Timor prime minister by Australian officials in 2004.
His defence team tried to subpoena the director-general of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), the proper officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the director-general of the Office of National Intelligence and the secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The agencies will not need to hand over documents relating to the alleged operations in East Timor after Justice David Mossop quashed the subpoenas in an ACT Supreme Court decision handed down on Monday.
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