Witness K was involved in airing allegations about a 2004 bugging operation against East Timor that appeared to give Australia an advantage in commercial negotiations to carve up oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea.
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The actions of Witness K and his former lawyer,Bernard Collaery,helped the East Timor government build a case against Australia at The Hague,which led to Canberra renegotiating the deal.
Witness K had always indicated he would plead guilty to breaching secrecy laws but there have been years of drawn-out negotiations between his defence and the prosecution over the agreed facts of the case as well as evidence that could be submitted in open court.
Mr Collaery,a barrister and former ACT attorney-general,is facing the prospect of jail for allegedly helping his client.
Mr Collaery is continuing to fight the charges against him in the ACT Supreme Court,where a two-day court hearing into an appeal brought by him challenging a secrecy order was last monthheld behind closed doors.
Independent senator Rex Patrick praised the actions of Witness K,labelling him as a hero and deriding his prosecution as a disgrace.
“Today I stand ashamed to be Australian,” Mr Patrick said.
“To be clear,Australia wasn’t spying on them for reasons of national security – they were trying to swindle the newest and poorest nation in the world of oil and gas royalties.
“ASIS officer Witness K blew the whistle on this conspiracy to defraud the people of Timor-Leste. He did so through formal channels.”
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Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyer Kieran Pender said in a statement that the saga is a “dark chapter in Australia’s history”.
“Witness K did the right thing. Whistleblowers should be protected,not punished”,he said.
“Instead of recognising the important role Witness K played in exposing wrongdoing,he was charged,prosecuted and has now been sentenced,with much of this process taking place in secret.
“There is no public interest in prosecuting whistleblowers.”
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