Julian Burnside – The secret trial of Witness J
Too few Australians know about the case of Witness J – not to be confused with the case against Witness K and Bernard Collaery, itself a disgraceful overreach of the law.
But a veil of secrecy shrouds the case of Witness J that should be of concern to all of us.
- Julian Burnside
- Mikele Prestia
- The Saturday Paper
Witness J was secretly tried in Canberra, and secretly sentenced to a term of imprisonment at the Alexander Maconochie Centre in the ACT.
When all this first emerged last month, even the ACT justice minister was unaware of Witness J’s case.
It was only through a civil action brought by J against the general manager of the prison in which he served his secret sentence that we have been able to glean a few facts.
The case of Witness J was revealed by author Robert Macklin in Canberra’s CityNews on November 13. J is understood to be a former military intelligence officer.
We don’t know who he is; we don’t know what crimes he has committed. The ABC reported that he had been held in custody since May 2018, was…