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The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
REPORT

      The Christchurch
  Attacks: Blight on New
Zealand’s Secret Services
                   Khalil Dewan
The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
REPORT

           The Christchurch
            Attacks: Blight on
                New Zealand’s
               Secret Services
                                                                               Khalil Dewan

“ZSIS begin by saying ‘you’re not working for us’, but then force you to travel to different places
and report on people”, Abdullah Haytham, 32, Auckland1
“As soon as I converted to Islam in 2008, the ZSIS wanted to speak with me. I’m not sure whether
they get a notification or how they find out about people converting – maybe they’re monitoring
social media!” Daud Lane, 38, Auckland2
“Muslims in New Zealand feel vulnerable because of Islamophobia, even from the justice sys-
tem. Muslims feel it even in clinics, hospitals, schools, work, public space and all venues of in-
teraction”, Yousuf Ibrahim, member of the Muslim community.3
“Islamophobia has been an integral part and parcel of the lives of Muslim New Zealanders since
9/11. The difference is that in the New Zealand context where once it (Islamophobia) was subtle
in nature it has now got to a point where terrorism such as the Christchurch attack is the reality”,
Tayyaba Khan, New Zealand based Muslim, and founder of KLN.4
The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
The Christchurch Attacks:
              Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

© TRT WORLD RESEARCH CENTRE
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WRITTEN BY

KHALIL DEWAN

PUBLISHER

TRT WORLD RESEARCH CENTRE

MAY 2019

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The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
The Christchurch Attacks:
        Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Contents
Executive Summary                                                                  4
Introduction                                                                       5
Royal Commission of Inquiry                                                        5
Methodology                                                                        7
Acknowledgement                                                                    7
Background:                                                                        8
    •     PRE-9/11: Political Violence in the Form of Land & Race
    •     POST-9/11: Muslims as the ‘Quintessential Other’
Inherent Design Problems                                                           9
Adopting The Language of Terrorism                                                 9
Problematic Definition                                                             9
No Terrorism Trial: Signalling Double Standards                                    9
Designated Terrorist List: No Trace of Far Right or White Supremacy               11
Countering Foreign Fighters Bill                                                  11
ZSIS Change of Approach on Foreign Fighters                                       12
A Question of Engagement: Grieviances                                             12
Five Eyes Alliance                                                                13
‘Shitposting’: Ignored Evidence                                                   13
Rights Violations: Case Studies                                                   15
    •     Ahmed Zaoui: Algerian Refugee Turns National Security Risk              15
New Zealand’s Security Service Harrassment (ZSIS)                                 17
Recruiting Young Muslims                                                          17
    •     Bellal Hisham - Blackmailed Over a Facebook Post                        17
Double Quagmire: Pressure                                                         18
    •     Abdullah Haytham - Youth Worker ‘Fatigued’ with Zsis Demands            18
ZSIS Social Media Monitoring: Pre-Christchurch                                    19
Government Funded Cve Programmes: Caution Required                                20
    •     Charles Wardle - Entrapment Case                                        22
Damaging Impact on Suspect Communities                                            23
    •     British Experience: Entrapment Case Munir Farooqi                       23
    •     Daud Lane - New Muslim Convert Harassed by Zsis & Police Case           24
    •     British Experience: Work for British Intelligence or Face Detention &   26
          Harassment Case: Hashi & Others in Northwest London
Conclusion                                                                        27
Recommendations                                                                   28

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The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
The Christchurch Attacks:
          Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

    1. Executive Summary
    “It is important that no stone is left unturned to    For nearly two decades in New Zealand, the gov-
    get to the bottom of how this act of terrorism        ernment’s focus on the so-called War on Terror
    occurred and what, if any, opportunities we had       has preoccupied its intelligence and law enforce-
    to stop it,” Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime      ment agencies: over-focusing on Muslim suspect
    Minister.                                             communities. A review of New Zealand’s coun-
                                                          ter-terrorism instruments reveals that a blind eye
    “We can tackle racism and discrimination,
                                                          is turned to ‘other’ non-Muslim threats of violence
    which we must. We can review our security and
                                                          such as White Supremacy and the Far Right.
    intelligence settings, and we are”, Jacinda Ard-
    ern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister.                    What will be seen is that counter-terrorism meas-
                                                          ures in New Zealand are specifically engineered
    On March 15, two Mosques in Christchurch, New
                                                          to focus on violence related to the Muslim com-
    Zealand were attacked during the weekly Friday
                                                          munities. As buttressed in TRT World’s Policy
    prayers by the suspect Brenton Tarrant. Some 51
                                                          Outlook paper, there is an inherent-architectural
    Muslim worshipers were massacred with military
                                                          design flaw in counter-terrorism that has existed
    grade weapon systems, injuring 39 others. Prime
                                                          since 9/11, whereby political violence perpetrated
    Minister Jacinda Ardern’s intuitive response to the
                                                          by non-Muslims is not catered for within the War
    massacre is yet to be matched and should set an
                                                          on Terror framework (TRT World Research Cen-
    example for world leaders based purely on the
                                                          tre, 2019).5 This was an intended outcome, fram-
    genuine humanity shown to the impacted com-
                                                          ing Muslim political violence as terrorism, adding
    munities.
                                                          a layer of legitimacy in convicting crimes which
    But we must be honest and pragmatic about how         are already publishable by domestic criminal law.
    New Zealand reached this juncture, and where
                                                          As it stands, Tarrant has been charged with 50
    hard national security choices may have cost the
                                                          counts of murder, but the question still looms
    lives of its own citizens. New Zealand for nearly
                                                          whether Terrorism Legislation will be applied.
    two decades has acquiesced a system of discrim-
                                                          Muslim communities worldwide including in
    ination, racism and disenfranchisement via the
                                                          New Zealand have endured an unnecessary and
    War on Terror framework. This context in turn has
                                                          disproportional framework of laws and policies
    constrained New Zealand’s Security Intelligence
                                                          created in a state of frenzy to deal with Muslim-re-
    Service (ZSIS) in monitoring threats such as White
                                                          lated political violence abroad. This dynamic
    Supremacy and the Far Right.
                                                          following 9/11 marks an expectation among the
    The Christchurch massacre has triggered New           Muslim communities to apply the same frame-
    Zealand’s highest form of inquiry: The Royal Com-     work for attacks of a similar nature – this time
    mission. In response TRT World Research Centre        against White Supremacy and the far right.
    launched its investigation into New Zealand’s Se-
    curity Intelligence Service (ZSIS) counter-terror-
    ism practice on Muslim communities to ensure
    the voices of the victims of the massacre is heard.

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The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
The Christchurch Attacks:
           Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

2. Introduction
This report focuses on the inner-workings of New Zea-       The purpose of this report is to record some of the
land’s Security Intelligence Service (ZSIS), in response    abuses in counter terrorism against the suspect Mus-
to the terms of reference for the Royal Commission          lim communities. This area remains under-investigat-
inquiry. TRT World Research Centre is concerned that        ed against the backdrop of International Human Rights
the ZSIS and law enforcement operate with a dispro-         and National Security Law scholarship. TRT World Re-
portional focus on Muslim communities, which has            search Centre has come across a plethora of cases in-
paved the way for oversight on the Far-Right and White      volving a spectrum of human rights violations from po-
Supremacist political violence.                             lice and the border force agency, however, the scope of
                                                            this endeavour will remain focused on New Zealand’s
With the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the
                                                            Security Intelligence Services operational activities
Christchurch mosque attacks due to start in May 2019,
                                                            and the over-focus on Muslim communities.
New Zealand’s government must not sidestep the Mus-
lim communities experience for the past 18 years of the
War on Terror. This would grossly ill-inform the inquiry
when attempting to understand why the ZSIS failed to
prevent the massacre at Christchurch.

3. Royal Commission of Inquiry
“What I can say today is there will be a focus on wheth-    New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern an-
er our intelligence community was concentrating its         nounced a Royal Commission of Inquiry into New
resources appropriately and whether there were any          Zealand’s security agencies following the massacre at
reports that could or should have alerted them to this      Christchurch on March 15. It is the highest level of in-
attack… I want recommendations on how any such              quiry, reserved for matters of the ‘gravest public impor-
attack in the future could be stopped”, Jacinda Ard-        tance’. It will be led by Justice William Young, which will
ern, Prime Minister of New Zealand.                         have a window between May 2019 and December 2019
                                                            to complete his investigation with the report due to be
“It is important that no stone is left unturned to get to
                                                            completed on Human Rights Day (December 10). The
the bottom of how this act of terrorism occurred and
                                                            agencies that will be taking part in the inquiry include
what, if any, opportunities we had to stop it,” Jacinda
                                                            ZSIS, GCSB, Police, border agencies and other agencies
Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister.
                                                            of the government.6

                                                                                                                     5
The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Terms of Reference
New Zealand must concentrate its resources on the following two terms of reference:

    Whether there were any impediments to relevant state sector agencies gathering or sharing information
    relevant to the attack, or acting upon such information, including legislative impediments, and

    Whether there was any inappropriate concentration or priority setting of counter terrorism resources by
    relevant state sector agencies prior to this attack.

The design of the Royal Commission lacks a separation        TRT World Research Centre recognises the importance
from state influences, including its Ministers and Execu-    of any sovereign government to protect its citizens, resi-
tives. As a result, there may not be a complete impartial    dents within its jurisdiction and territory. Human securi-
analysis of the issues at hand. The inquiry must ensure      ty is a human right, and must be ensured by all agencies
that the voices of the impacted communities are heard,       part of any government. In doing so, New Zealand must
including the victims, families and New Zealanders con-      ensure that the human rights guarantees are adhered to
cerned.                                                      at all times, including those relating to due process, fair
                                                             trials, rights to privacy, freedom of expression and free
A coronial inquest would have been better suited to deal
                                                             movement of people vis-à-vis counter terrorism meas-
with the Christchurch massacre, similar to that of the
                                                             ures.
London Bombings in 2005. This would provide a bet-
ter mode of inquiry and limiting any influence from the      Why is this important? Human rights is a central compo-
executive branch of New Zealand’s government. If New         nent to upholding due process and to ensure a healthy
Zealand do not execute this inquiry properly, it will re-    society remains in place amid tough national security
main a blight on its history.                                decisions that need to be made. This much is recognised
                                                             under the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.7

       On the ground, the same sentiment was shared by Tayyaba Khan, member of the Muslim community
       in New Zealand and Founder of Khadija Leadership Network (KLN):

       The emphasis on Brenton Tarrant’s movements and actions leading up to the attack seem an unneces-
       sary use of inquiry resources, when they would form part of the court case. It is also concerning that the
       invitation to contribute to evidence for the inquiry has been limited to a few in the Muslim community,
       who aren’t necessarily wrongfully impacted by the existing terrorism legislation. It is critical that the
       opportunity to redress the systematic discrimination purported by legislative tools is also given to those
       directly impacted, but not necessarily in positions of power.

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The Christchurch Attacks: Blight on New Zealand's Secret Services - REPORT - TRT World Research Centre
The Christchurch Attacks:
             Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

4. Methodology
The research for this report was conducted between         and human rights fieldwork on New Zealand’s counter
March 2019 and April 2019 using primary research           terrorism in practice, there was no substantive scholar-
fieldwork and secondary research. TRT World Research       ship to review or corroborate. The contents of this in-
Centre investigated and documented 11 testimonies of       vestigation remains unique in understanding how New
New Zealand based security intelligence service coer-      Zealand’s intelligence service implements counterter-
cion, blackmail or harassment that took place between      rorism in practice.
2008 and 2017.
                                                           All the names of the interviewees have been replaced
Three of the cases did not provide consent to include      with pseudonyms to protect their identities. TRT World
in the report, though it informed the inner-workings of    Research Centre retains the names on file of all inter-
how the ZSIS operate in practice. In addition, 2 British   viewees. Some official case names were used in the
cases were used to contextualise the abuses in counter     report, as they have already attained public attention.
terrorism.
                                                           It is not the purpose of this report to document a com-
For investigative casework gathering, a snowball meth-     prehensive record of legally questionable intelligence
odology was adopted to acquire subjects for interview,     service practices or any other agency working for the
which permitted a triangulation and verification pro-      New Zealand government. The purpose is to demon-
cess with local community leaders and organizations        strate the unnecessary and disproportional focus on
in New Zealand.                                            the Muslim communities in New Zealand under the
                                                           pretext of the War on Terror. This over-focus may have
TRT World Research Centre reviewed existing coun-
                                                           contributed to New Zealand’s failure to monitor threats
ter-terrorism law and policy documents available on
                                                           posed by the Far Right or White Supremacy as seen
open source platforms. Due to the lack of scholarship
                                                           with the massacre at Christchurch in March 2019.

Acknowledgement
TRT World Research Centre would like to thank all the      TRT World Research Centre consulted widely in pre-
interviewees who agreed to be interviewed for this         paring this report with New Zealand based legal profes-
report. It is an act of bravery to agree to speak about    sionals, journalists, community leaders, religious clergy
state-perpetrated abuses in counter terrorism. We          and community based organizations. This report has
hope that the concerns of all interviewees will be under   been authored by Researcher Khalil Dewan.
consideration by the New Zealand government.

                                                                                                                     7
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

5. Background
Pre-9/11: Political Violence in the form of Land & Race
Terrorism and conflict was not an issue in New Zealand        Zealand government called for the restriction on ac-
pre-dating the War on Terror. The majority of the vio-        cessing small arms. However, the group reverted back
lence was shaped through the lens of race and land is-        to acquiring fire arms, forcing them to better conceal
sues in the 19th century (J. Battersby, Studies in Conflict   their activities across New Zealand. Thus, it is very clear
& Terrorism, 2017). In one applicable incident in 1977,       from this case that the government did not adequately
New Zealand’s police conducted a raid in North Canter-        tackle the threat, or the access to lethal weapon sys-
bury, Lower Hutt and Palmerston North against a Chris-        tems in the possession of violent entities.
tian sect otherwise known as the Full Gospel Mission.
                                                              Is history repeating itself again? Before conducting
The raids captured some 200 firearms, 50,000 rounds
                                                              the mosque massacre, Brenton Tarrant claims that he
of ammunition and gun powder. The then head of the
                                                              obtained blessings for the attack from a clandestine
ZSIS at the time made a rare public statement over the
                                                              entity called the ‘Reborn Knights Templar’ – suggest-
large quantity of fire arms acquired by the Christian
                                                              ing a wider support network for the attack. The same
sect – referring specifically to the potential hostilities
                                                              groups have claimed that members of the police and
that could have occurred, based on the military train-
                                                              army across Europe and America support the Far Right
ing the group was receiving.10 Perhaps most concern-
                                                              and White Supremacist ideology. Currently there is no
ing for the intelligence service and law enforcement
                                                              empirical evidence to suggest this is the case, although
was the fact that the group had a number of members
                                                              some investigative media reporting claims there are
serving in New Zealand’s military.
                                                              traces of White Supremacy ideology within various po-
Restricting arms procurement: history repeating it-           lice forces in the United States.11
self?

Following the raid on the Christian sect in 1977, the New

Post-9/11: Muslims as the ‘Quintessential Other’
“The hypersensitivity for potential terrorism from            nation-states including the United States, United King-
Muslim communities is exacerbated by western me-              dom and other European countries shifted from a nor-
dia. Muslims in New Zealand feel vulnerable because           mative criminal law and law enforcement approach to
of Islamophobia, even from the justice system. Mus-           a new phenomenon: counter-terrorism (CT). This secu-
lim feel it even in clinics, hospitals, schools, work,        ritization of the Muslim communities equated to nearly
public space and all venues of interaction. The intelli-      two decades of questionable stop and search practices
gence and enforcement authorities have more atten-            on mainland and ports; detention without trial; rendi-
tion and focus on Muslims, while partially ignoring           tion; and the worst of them all extrajudicial killings via
other forms – the ‘other’ threats were just not given         targeted killings.
the same security priority”, Yousuf Ibrahim, Muslim
                                                              The second phase of the War on Terror paved the way
community member.8
                                                              for Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) policies, which
Since 9/11, Muslim communities around the world               effectively seek to police the belief system of Muslims
have been subjected to unnecessary and dispropor-             in what can best be understood as a pre-crime space.
tional counter terrorism laws and policies. Western           Some states have even introduced CVE on a national

8
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

level seeking to engineer how Muslim communities in            Muslim, bad Muslim” model (TRT World Research Cen-
the Western societies should think. This is implement-         tre, 2019).9
ed with full support of law to enforce a state-led “good

6. Inherent design problems
“Islamophobia has been an integral part and parcel             Problematic Definition: Counter Terrorism Project
of the lives of Muslim New Zealanders since 9/11.              Exposed
The difference is that in the New Zealand context
                                                               What is terrorism? This has been subject to critical as-
where once it (Islamophobia) was subtle in nature it
                                                               sessment throughout the years of the War on Terror.
has now got to a point where terrorism such as the
                                                               Any attempt to seek an agreed-upon definition of ter-
Christchurch attack is the reality, as well as many
                                                               rorism has only lead to increased verbal gymnastics
other Islamophobic incidents across the country.
                                                               and more ambiguity. The Terrorism Suppression Act
The Muslim community is therefore left to confront
                                                               2002 is no exception to this. The designated terrorist
their internalized racism, systematically introduced
                                                               list associated with such a definition becomes prob-
over almost two decades, and hence what their sense
                                                               lematic in application. New Zealand’s counter-terror-
of belonging means in this country”, Tayyaba Khan,
                                                               ism legal architecture only equates terrorism with Mus-
New Zealand based Muslim, and founder of KLN.
                                                               lim related violence.
Adopting the language of terrorism: Terrorism Sup-             Under Part 1 (5) of the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002,
pression Act 2002                                              New Zealand’s definition of ‘terrorism’ is an act “carried
In what looks like a bid to be seen as dependable part-        out for the purpose of advancing an ideological, politi-
ners in the fight against terror, New Zealand created          cal, or religious cause and to induce terror in a civilian
legislation that can only be described as a ‘knee-jerk’        population; or to unduly compel or force a government
reaction. The Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 focuses           or an international organisation to do or abstain from
on “Al-Qaeda and the Taliban” and any other entity “as-        doing any act”.
sociated with Usama bin Laden”. The 150-page pecu-
                                   12
                                                               The second legal clause is problematic, as it does not
liar piece of legislation fails to mention any other group     require a violent act or intention for terrorism to qualify
or entity – leaving out the Far-Right and White Suprem-        as per New Zealand’s definition. This also prematurely
acists. Why was such a framing adopted by New Zea-             paves the way for Countering Violent Extremism meas-
land? Additionally, why does its terrorism designation         ures programmes – although not an official policy or
list (designated entities) only include Muslim-affiliated      measure of the New Zealand government, its imple-
groups?                                                        mentation has been captured through casework testi-
                                                               monies by the TRT World Research Centre.

No Terrorism Trial: Signalling Double Standards
Charging Tarrant with mere murder would be a seri-             or ideological” motive as per New Zealand’s Terrorism
ous understatement for killing 50 Muslim worshippers           Laws (Daily Sabah, 2019).
-including children, women -and 39 attempted murder
                                                               This selective application of terrorism legislation will
counts. Several media outlets have reported that New
                                                               send a clear signal that the government adopts double
Zealand will not charge Tarrant with terrorism because
                                                               stand.
it does not fulfil the requirement of attaining a “political

                                                                                                                        9
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

       TRT World Research Centre interviewed Tayyaba Khan13, a member of the Muslim community in
       New Zealand:

       “It would bring to question the need for the Terrorism Suppression Act and the Countering Terrorist
       Fighters Act if now is not when we use these legislative mechanisms to test their standing and validity
       within our judicial system. The fact that under multiple murder convictions he gets a longer minimal
       parole period only confirms that these bills were passed without rigorous consideration of the applica-
       tion of law in the case of an actual terrorist incident. What Tarrant committed was an act of terrorism,
       and that is what he should be charged with”.

Khan’s view resonates throughout New Zealand’s Mus-              ‘suspect communities’. Therefore, Tarrant’s actions may
lim communities, especially after enduring nearly two            only be accepted within the framework of terrorism.
decades of the War on Terror and its consequences as

       In another interview with TRT World Research Centre, Yousef Ibrahim14, a community member
       said:

       “The act is an act of terrorism. Saying that, the definition of terrorism activities traditionally is linked to
       political [violence] and thus it will be very interesting if we see New Zealand being the first county to
       define terrorism on a platform that excludes politics and religion from its workings.”

There are some voices in New Zealand advocating that             Criminal Law and creating Terrorism Legislation - ap-
Terrorism Law should not feature in Tarrant’s trial, as it       plying Terrorism Legislation in New Zealand would be
would “add length to the trial” without influencing the          considered normalised and ‘equality before the law’ as
sentencing powers.15 This type of thinking, even if it           per the Human Right Act 1993 and the Bill of Rights
may be well-intentioned in some quarters, effectively            Act 1990.16 Muslim communities would not expect an-
engineers nothing short of discrimination against the            ything short of their attackers being treated with the
Muslim communities impacted by the attacks. Justice              very same judicial tools that has been applied against
must not be rushed, especially with the high threshold           them since the beginning of the so-called War on Ter-
of criminality involved in this terrorist attack.                ror.

There are some clear merits as to not applying the
questionable Terrorism Law framework which erodes
basic human rights protections. New Zealand should
consider using this point in history in steering away
from a politicised terrorism framework, and adminis-
tering justice through an independent court of law that
will uphold the rule of law objectively.

Unfortunately, as New Zealand has adopted the legal
framework of the War on Terror - moving away from

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The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Designated Terrorist List: No Trace
of Far Right or White Supremacy
A cursory review of New Zealand’s Police ‘Designated          The same language was used by the United States’ 9/11
Terrorist Entities’ list reveals the disproportional nature   law – more formally known as the Authorization for the
of proscribing Muslim groups. The list is associated          Use of Military Force (AUMF) 2001 - which declares
with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions          “al-Qaeda, Taliban and associated forces” as the main
1267, 1989, 2253 and 1988, which includes just under          threat. The AUMF 2001 continues to be the primary un-
2,000 individuals and 455 groups listed, none of them         derpinning of the all military activity under the pretext
include the Far Right or White Supremacists.19 This           of the War on Terror, which continues to justify military
is highly telling of New Zealand’s over-focus on Mus-         operations across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yem-
lim political violence, without any trace of the threats      en and others.
posed by White Supremacy or the Far Right.20

The Countering Foreign Fighters Bill
“Foreign fighters taking part in, or returning from any       New Zealanders from travelling to join Islamic State
sort of conflict zone are a concern for many coun-            fighters in Syria and Iraq.18
tries.17 Our intelligence agencies are aware of the
                                                              The government’s approach was in simple terms: over-
risk and are focused on addressing it. We know that
                                                              reach. It proposed that the intelligence agencies could
a small number of New Zealanders have travelled
                                                              conduct visual surveillance of private properties for in-
overseas to engage in the fighting. We’re also aware
                                                              vestigations, access personal customs information for
of people within New Zealand who have a desire to
                                                              counter terrorism purposes – all without a warrant for
travel and fight for the Islamic State of Iraq and Le-
                                                              24 hours. The measures also included the suspension
vant (ISIL)” Former Prime Minister John Key.
                                                              of passports for 10 working days and cancellation of
On 14 October 2014, New Zeeland’s cabinet announced           passports for up to three years.
the need to create legislation to monitor foreign fight-
                                                              But what is interesting is that he claimed “from time to
ers. Lawmakers rushed the Counter Foreign Fighters
                                                              time we see specific threats emerge that we deal with
Bill on 11 December, only permitting 48-hours for ex-
                                                              on a case by case basis”. How this specific threat intelli-
ternal parties to review the piece of legislation. Without
                                                              gence was captured is of importance to the Royal Com-
a clear justification why such a law should be rushed
                                                              mission, as it would shed light on how the ZSIS prevent-
through Parliament without adequate consultation.
                                                              ed a potential criminal act.
The then Prime Minister attested that the number of
foreign fighter is “modest compared with the actual           Instead of amending or including new provisions with-
numbers of our partners”.                                     in existing Criminal Law – the government sought to
                                                              create a new framework to deal with a perceived threat.
The Bill at the time made amendments to the Customs
                                                              The legislation provides the ZSIS with greater power on
and Excise Act 1996, the New Zealand Security Intelli-
                                                              surveillance against suspect communities.
gence Service Act 1969, and the Passports Act to stop

                                                                                                                       11
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

ZSIS Change of Approach on
Foreign Fighters
Based on testimonies documented by TRT World Re-                police that an issue of foreign fighters was peripheral
search Centre, the ZSIS approached the Muslim com-              and no threat was posed. One Muslim organisation ex-
munity regarding Muslims travelling to conflict zones.          pressed the idea that perhaps ‘psychological’ sessions
The Muslim community organisations - which cannot               where youth could speak about their concerns would
be named in this report- explained to the ZSIS and              provide an avenue to vent their frustration.

        Abdullah Haytham told TRT World Research Centre:

        “The Muslim community acknowledged that there may have been some disillusioned youth that were
        emotionally driven by the conflict in Syria. Some of these youth had a gang background, and others
        addicted to drugs or from broken families. Their Islamic knowledge was also very basic. ZSIS came to
        us with their names”.

        There were less than five youth of concern, but the security services wanted to punish the whole Mus-
        lims community in New Zealand”, Abdullah Haytham continued.

Based on the responses received during the uptick of            Instead of working with the Muslim community, the
violence in the Syrian conflict in 2011, the ZSIS “lost         ZSIS decided to shut-down communication with the
trust” in the Muslim community and its leaders. It re-          Muslim communities, and treat everyone as a potential
sulted in the ZSIS operating a spying campaign target-          suspect. This is a trend witnessed with intelligence and
ing the community. TRT World Research Centre is con-            law enforcement entities in the UK and US among oth-
cerned that several human rights violations have taken          ers.
place during this time.

A Question of Engagement:
Grievances
There are serious concerns about the way communi-               between the community that the New Zealand security
ties will engage with the Royal Commission, particular-         and intelligence community. These sentiments are not
ly when there are pre-existing grievances with sections         unfounded, and were acquired very early on with the
of the Muslim community. Based on testimonies gath-             mishandling Ahmed Zaoui and other cases in the years
ered for this report, it is clear that there is some mistrust   following the enactment of anti-terrorism legislation.

12
The Christchurch Attacks:
             Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Five Eyes Alliance
In 2013 Edward Snowdon, a whistle-blower and former          It is concerning that several human rights and nation-
CIA employee made it clear to the world by releasing         al security considerations may have been violated, in-
classified information that communication surveil-           cluding the Freedom of Expression, Right to Privacy
lance was being conducted by the Five Eyes Alliance          and principles of transparency, necessity and propor-
– an intelligence sharing alliance between the United        tionality. These matters are protected under the Univer-
States, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – led      sal Declaration on Human rights (UDHR) and the Inter-
by the US’ National Security Agency (NSA).                   national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

This mass-scaled collection of data contravenes the          What is of concern for this report is whether New Zea-
very essence of the rights to privacy in the digital age,    land failed to act on threat intelligence on the Far Right
a position advanced by the a UN General Assembly in          and White Supremacy vis-à-vis the intelligence agen-
the adoption of resolution 68/167, ‘The right to priva-      cies and law enforcement. A question which must be
cy in the digital age’. A report by the Office of the High   answered in the Royal Commission with full transpar-
Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2014 noted             ency for the best interest of the public.
“deep concerns” over policies and practices that exploit
                                                             It is reasonable to question then, how both New Zea-
vulnerability communications for surveillance across
                                                             land and the FIVE Eyes Alliance failed to pick up on the
the globe.
                                                             following ‘shitposting’ remarks, allegedly by Tarrant:

‘Shitposting’: Ignored evidence
Brenton Tarrant engaged in ‘shitposting’: a strategy         The following open source intelligence capture shows
used to upload large amounts of information with iro-        Tarrant notifying his online community that he will
ny to provoke an emotional response (Bellingcat 2019).       conduct the attack: “Well lads, it’s time to stop shitpost-
Tarrant used various platforms including the ‘8chan’         ing and time to make a real life effort post. I will carry
platform and Twitter, to upload white supremacist            out and attack against the invaders, and will even live
propaganda online. Tarrant even uploaded pictures of         stream the attack via Facebook.” Tarrant’s followers,
the weapons he would later use to commit the attacks         then go on to encourage the attack:
in Christchurch.

                                                                                                                      13
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Just hours before the Christchurch massacre took place, Tarrant pasted his manifesto, titled ‘The Great Replacement’
on seven different sites.21

14
The Christchurch Attacks:
           Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

                                                          It is reasonable to question why New Zealand’s Security
                                                          Intelligence Service (ZSIS) or the Five Eyes Alliance did
                                                          not act on this intelligence. One possible conclusion is
                                                          that Tarrant’s white supremacy threat was not on the
                                                          threat radar.

7. Rights Violations: Case Studies
This section of the report provides case studies on how   tional basis. Drawing on the following testimonies with
New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service (ZSIS) has    primary source interviews, this report identifies a num-
focused on the Muslim communities in New Zealand          ber of cases which demonstrates ZSIS and law enforce-
on what amounts to an unnecessary and dispropor-          ment over-reach.

Algerian Refugee turns National Security Risk Case:
“Ahmed Zaoui”‘
In what should have been a straight forward immigra-      France to Burkino Faso, West Africa where he feared for
tion control case, turned into a four and half year na-   his personal safety and left for South Africa and then
tional security ordeal in New Zealand. Ahmed Zaoui22,     Asia.
a Professor of Sociology and former democratically
                                                          Zaoui sought refuge in New Zealand in 2002, having
elected representative of the Algeria Islamic Front for
                                                          claimed that he would be subject to torture and inhu-
Salvation in December 1991 became New Zealand’s
                                                          man treatment if sent back to Algeria. Zaoui spent two
counter terrorism litmus test. In 1992, the new gov-
                                                          years of his life in New Zealand in prison including 10
ernment in Algeria was overthrown in a military coup,
                                                          months in solitary confinement due to ZSIS labelling
prompting Zaoui to relocate to Europe. Allegations
                                                          him as a security threat without ever presenting the
were levied against Zaoui of being associated with Is-
                                                          evidence. Zaoui continues to categorically deny that he
lamic-inspired armed groups despite categorically de-
                                                          was ever a security threat to New Zealand.
nying the allegations. Zaoui was then deported from

                                                                                                                 15
The Christchurch Attacks:
               Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

In 2003, Zaoui was declared a refugee in accordance              ror’ gathered by New Zealand’s customs at the airport
to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority, and finally re-         on behalf of the ZSIS.
leased in December 2004. Despite the official refugee
                                                                 Despite the clear disproportional handling of Zaoui’s
status following the ruling, the ZSIS Director Warren
                                                                 case, the ZSIS, Crown, Ministers and the then Prime
Tucker conceded that the initial decision to hold Zaoui
                                                                 Minister continued to allege that Zaoui was a threat to
was justified based on intelligence they possessed. In
                                                                 New Zealand. It must be questioned then, why an en-
addition, the former Intelligence and Security Inspec-
                                                                 vironment of human rights abuse as part of New Zea-
tor Justice Laurie Grieg, who supported the initial rul-
                                                                 land’s legal and political infrastructure permitted such
ing against Zaoui resigned in 2004 after the High Court
                                                                 human rights violations to take place.
ruled “[Greig] should not participate further in this re-
view”.23                                                         It is imperative that New Zealand adopts greater checks
                                                                 and balances over its intelligence agencies to ensure
Based on Zaoui’s meticulous legal counsel, it was made
                                                                 rights violations are not taking place.
clear to New Zealand’s judiciary system that the case
was based on unreliable information that was not veri-
fied by the ZSIS. Zaoui’s detention was based on an ‘er-

           TRT World Research Centre interviewed Ahmed Zaoui24, about the Christchurch attacks, to which
           he said the following:

           “There have been some police mishandling reports by survivors but these claims shall be investigated
           to ascertain their credibility. This experience is not normal for police to handle and thus can produce
           some inconsistencies that could be truly or falsely deemed as police shortcomings”.

16
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

New Zealand’s Security
Service Harassment (ZSIS)
Following the adoption of the War on Terror frame-             links, particularly those of Middle Eastern descent. This
work, the ZSIS implemented a plethora of means and             disproportional and unnecessary focus led to a pleth-
methods to effectively spy on the Muslim communities.          ora of rights violations, including harassment, as well
The securitization of the suspect communities led to           as coercion to work for the ZSIS. General informal talks
excessive and disproportional surveillance. New Zea-           with young Muslim males in coffee shops quickly trans-
land’s government made a clear decision: to scrutinize         formed into coercion to operate for the ZSIS as inform-
all Muslim community members for potential terrorism           ers.

‘Recruiting’ Young Muslims
Based on testimonies gathered as part of TRT World             they are entitled as per the law to voice an opinion or
Research Centre’s investigation, it is clear that the ZSIS     share sentiments on Middle Eastern conflicts. The ZSIS
sought to recruit young men who shared anti-west-              exploited these individuals and used personal issues
ern sentiments on social media as a result of conflicts        as pressure points as leverage to work for them. Others
in the Middle East. Some of these young men, where             were offered monetary compensation and advanced
not religiously devout while others were experiencing          spying equipment – though it is unclear if they accept-
turbulent life events. Regardless of the stage these men       ed.
were in their life, it should not detract from the fact that

       Bellal Hisham25 said about his interaction with ZSIS:

       “We’re scared, because they [ZSIS] can take the information and flick it back on to you. Interviews are
       chat, chat, chat and then at the end they bring in a Facebook post – didn’t expect it! I felt very shocked.
       That’s when it hit me, they’re here for me”.26

What is clear from the ZSIS’s interaction with young           gence service to monitor such sentiments, it becomes
Muslims in New Zealand is that ZSIS are using social           problematic when it is only used against targeted com-
media as a tool to monitor what is being said in the           munities and then used as leverage to pressure youth
community – effectively mapping their worldviews.              into spying on their own communities.
Though one can argue that it is normal for the intelli-

                                                                                                                      17
The Christchurch Attacks:
           Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Double Quagmire: ‘Pressure’
Young Muslim men coerced into spying against Mus-              communities in Western countries, as a result of the
lim communities experience a double quagmire of                War on Terror experience, have developed a peripheral
pressure: First, they are subject to a carefully planned       ‘us and them’ psyche. As a result, they have alienated
approach to coerce them into cooperating with the              those known to be informers and adopted a suspicious
ZSIS. This pressure is supported by the ZSIS using the         attitude towards outsiders. In one case, one of the in-
potential informer’s social media comments about in-           formers left New Zealand to relocate in Australia to es-
ternational affairs as leverage. Second, many Muslim           cape the pressure.

Harassment – Youth Worker ‘Fatigued’ with
ZSIS Demands Feature Case: Abdullah Haytham
TRT World Research Centre interviewed Abdullah Hay-            meetings to talk about five young Muslim youth who
tham27, a former youth worker based in New Zealand.            made it onto the radar of the ZSIS based on their social
Haytham’s case demonstrates how the ZSIS wanted to             media posts:
recruit a community youth worker and initiated several

     “In 2007, ZSIS approached me to talk generally about the Muslim community. I didn’t think much of it, and
     spoke to them. I thought I was obliged to talk with them”.

     “Just before the Hajj (pilgrimage) season [in 2013], many people were approached by ZSIS, called up and
     even visited by ZSIS. One time, the ZSIS demanded that I give them names of Muslims that may pose a
     threat to New Zealand. I was shocked! I didn’t give anyone’s name! They didn’t contact me again…”

     “Towards the end of 2014, ZSIS approached me again nearly every single week because I was a youth coor-
     dinator with [redacted Muslim organisation]. They wanted to know about the Muslim youth, their religious
     beliefs and global thinking on The Islamic State in Syria / Iraq. They would call me on my phone seeking
     information– but I’d try to avoid because I wasn’t interested to talk to them. The ZSIS was pressuring me to
     cooperate and work for them”.

     “As a youth coordinator, I can tell who’s working for ZSIS. Strange questions are being asked in the mosques
     and community places on conflict, Jihad and other issues. The Muslim community reject these people.

     “ZSIS begin their approach by saying ‘you’re not working for us’, but then the ZSIS force you to travel to dif-
     ferent places and report on people”.

Based on this part of the testimony, it becomes clear          ly to interactions with law enforcement as oversight
that the ZSIS are involved in coercing informers to            for the intelligence service is minimal. Due to the sen-
work for them, using a similar strategy that has been          sitive nature of the activities of the ZSIS, it is possible
seen as part of the War on Terror in the United States         that activities such as this may never be officially made
and United Kingdom. It is common for communities               public If anything, ZSIS and other associated agency
impacted by the War on Terror to not be fully aware of         activities would never be made public in an inquiry, as
their rights when interacting with agents of the state.        their inner-working would be deemed as sensitive and
These types of interactions are out of the ordinary for        covered by national security protections.
most members of society. Furthermore, it differs stark-

18
The Christchurch Attacks:
           Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

ZSIS Social Media Monitoring Pre-Christchurch
TRT World Research Centre interviewed Abdullah Hay-          meetings to talk about five young Muslim youth who
tham28, a former youth worker based in New Zealand.          made it onto the radar of the ZSIS based on their social
Haytham’s case demonstrates how the ZSIS wanted to           media posts:
recruit a community youth worker and initiated several

     “Many people were watching ISIS propaganda videos in 2014 – they were also played on the news! This
     prompted the SIS to spy on the Muslims. Shortly after, New Zealand started arresting and charging people
     for watching these videos and saw it as a path to extremism and terrorism”, Abdullah said.

     “Some youth expressed support for ISIS on Facebook – early on in the conflict. In one meeting with ZSIS,
     they told me the names of five people that wrote statuses on Facebook in support of the conflict in Syria.
     They wanted more information on them, but how did they know [about them]?

What is clear from this part of the testimony, is that the   Monitoring other threats?
ZSIS were monitoring social media accounts in order
                                                             It is reasonable to question why the ZSIS and other law
to capture any statements of support for Islamic State
                                                             enforcement agencies in New Zealand did not monitor
in Syria and Iraq. Based on the specific questions asked
                                                             the threat by Tarrant who was responsible for killing
about certain individuals in the Muslim community, it
                                                             over 50 Muslim worshippers at Christchurch. Tarrant
is clear they were qualitative in nature vis-à-vis state-
                                                             posted a plethora of white supremacist propaganda
ments made on Facebook.
                                                             online – including on Facebook – and live-streamed the
                                                             massacre. Yet, the ZSIS and law enforcement failed to
                                                             capture the threat.

                                                                                                                   19
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Police
       “I was also contacted by the police – they were a little more professional and had a better understanding
       of the Muslim culture and religion. The police asked to work with the youth as part of our community
       outreach project - so we organized this – there was soccer games and BBQ’s. In contrast the ZSIS were
       just collecting intelligence and just removed passports for those few that went to join ISIS.”

       “ZSIS didn’t have any problem with me doing the youth outreach. They just wanted to know who is a
       threat…this is how our counter terrorism experience began after this intelligence gathering process”

Although these youth were less than 5, the security services cast a shadow of suspicion on all 50,000 members of
the Muslim communities.

Do you pray in a local Mosque?
ZSIS would ask Muslim youth questions which were very telling of the simplistic nature of their investigation on any
threats.

     “ZSIS asked the young Muslims whether they pray Fajr (dawn prayer) and whether they attend a local
     mosque, Abdullah told TRT World Research Centre. ZSIS asked Muslim youth about their views on Ameri-
     can foreign policy in the Middle East, especially the Syria conflict”. This evidences that ZSIS are focused on
     applying US’s War on Terror framework.

“Before the emergence of ISIS, most of the meet-               It’s important to attain transparency on where and
ings were with the community leaders. But after ISIS           how these ZSIS interview responses are used, as it is
emerged, SIS began approaching general Muslims                 a concern that the statements obtained through these
about Middle Eastern conflicts. The community lead-            interactions could be shared with various other secu-
er’s kept on saying there’s no problem within the com-         rity bodies including customs and border protection
munity with ISIS, so the ZSIS stopped asking them              agencies potentially leading to disproportional stop
– didn’t believe the community anymore”, Abdullah              and search measures .
Haytham said.

Government Funded CVE Programmes:
Caution Required
Some parts of the Muslim community in New Zealand              would be attached to any controversial counter-terror-
are seeking government funding for social and com-             ism and counter violent extremism (CVE) agendas – as
munity projects to deal with ZSIS concerns of home-            seen in the context of the United Kingdom’s PREVENT
grown terrorism. However, it is not clear how govern-          programme.
ment funding would be used and whether the funding

20
The Christchurch Attacks:
             Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

The Muslim communities in New Zealand should                 Similar experiences where communities have engaged
approach such endeavours with caution: acquiring             in government funded projects under the guise of
government funding for community projects in the             community outreach have resulted in the violation of
context of the War on Terror is a risky option. There        basic human rights – for example in the United King-
is no denying that critical thinking is required before      dom with the government’s PREVENT de-radicalisa-
committing to government projects. Ultimately, recent        tion programme. What has been witnessed is that the
history has shown that the counter-terrorism and coun-       UK sought regular ‘results’ from the funding to feed into
tering violent extremism (CVE) agenda’s in places such       the counter-terrorism framework and justify national
as the US and the UK have demonstrated an inordinate         security measures.
focus and their hostility towards Muslim communities.

Why?
CVE projects funded by the government within the sus-        a state-led “Good Muslim and bad Muslim” model (TRT
pect communities are designed to monitor and even            Word Research Centre, 2019).
control the thoughts and beliefs of Muslims in a pre-
                                                             CVE projects undermine basic human rights of the sus-
crime space. The characteristics of CVE programmes
                                                             pect community, including the Freedom of Thought,
lead one to the conclusion that they are effectively a
                                                             Conscience and Religion – all guaranteed protections
type of social-engineering projects, designed to shape
                                                             as per New Zealand’s human rights framework and in-
the accepted forms of beliefs for Muslim communities
                                                             ternational law.
living in the West. The implementation of it is threaten-
ing over time, with the force of law and policy, applying

    Abdullah Haytham told TRT World Research Centre that government funding will not work for community
    outreach projects:

    “At one stage a government funded outreach was a good thing for young Muslims thinking about going to
    Syria. But they [young Muslims] found themselves isolated because of the media attacks (Islamophobia)
    against Muslims – and the entire terrorism discourse.”

Muslim communities are arguably better off seeking           Although New Zealand do not have an officially pro-
private funding for social and community projects –          nounced CVE policy, there is no denying that TRT
independent from external and particularly state in-         World Research Centre has monitored its preliminary
fluence. In this manner, the projects will be objective-     workings on the ground. Ultimately, communities have
ly separated from any CVE agendas which has been             a choice if they want to engage in these flawed archi-
proven to be incessant in basic human rights violations      tectural counter terrorism designs.
elsewhere.

                                                                                                                    21
The Christchurch Attacks:
           Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Entrapment Case: Charles Wardle
Charles Wardle, a 28 year-old spy working for the ZSIS       was apparently sent to fight in Iraq with Ansar al-Islam
in 2011 attempted to engineer entrapment cases with-         (Partisans of Islam). According to one report, Wardle
in New Zealand’s Muslim communities. Wardle was in           was sent for explosive device training in United Arab
the borders of Pakistan during the 9/11, and tried to        Emirates, and then expelled by the authorities and sent
join non-state armed groups fighting in Afghanistan.         back to New Zealand in 2003.29 This is when Wardle
He reportedly has a background in martial arts. War-         came in contact with ZSIS and agreed to work with the
dle accepted Islam reportedly with the leader of Lash-       intelligence and received $450 per week as a tax free
kar-e-Taibah (Army of the Righteous) in Pakistan and         salary.

       In describing Wardle’s clandestine activities in the Muslim communities in New Zealand, Abdullah
       Haytham told TRT World Research Centre:

       “ZSIS sent a new convert as a spy [Wardle] – he travelled to all problematic countries and then started
       working with ZSIS. He was teaching Muslims karate. After one year, he mentioned that he didn’t get a
       salary from the ZSIS. He was clearly involved in ENTRAPMENT!!!!” Abdullah Haytham said.

       “The spy use to bring MMA fighting videos to the Mosque. I warned him that it wasn’t allowed to play
       them here. When the prayer time came in, he didn’t care about praying…” Abdullah Haytham

       “I was suspicious of him and had many questions around him – for example who was sponsoring his
       trips and living costs to these sensitive conflict zones. The spy would talk openly about meeting many
       armed groups, openly in the mosque with the youth”, Abdullah Haytham said.

Muslim communities in New Zealand would recognize            would often lead to the shunning of the individual sus-
informers purely based on the sensitive topics spoken        pected of being an informer and, consequently, leave a
about including: Middle Eastern conflicts and Jihad in       negative impression of the government and authorities
terms of offensive armed conflict. These interactions        in the targeted communities.

       “Strange questions are being asked in the mosques and community centres by these informers on con-
       flict, Jihad and other issues. The Muslim community reject these people”, Haytham said.

22
The Christchurch Attacks:
           Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

Damaging Impact on
‘Suspect’ Communities
New Zealand’s strategy in the use of informants and         Fearful of practising faith and expressing political
spies in counter terrorism operations is disingenuous.      beliefs
Such a strategy is riddled with violations of basic hu-
                                                            As seen with experiences of the War on Terror in the
man rights and disrupts trust between communities
                                                            United Kingdom and United States, Muslim commu-
and government. What can be seen from Wardle’s spy-
                                                            nities are forced to curtail their right to conscience,
ing activities is that Muslim communities, in the wake
                                                            thought and practice of religion as a result of intrusive
of such incidents, lose trust in the state. This in turn
                                                            strategies adopted by the state. All political discussions
triggers a negative reverberating impact with com-
                                                            are then shut down and not spoken about in mosques
munity cohesion. Naturally, it disrupts the perception
                                                            and community events in fear of being misconstrued
of young Muslims: as a normal interaction with the lo-
                                                            by intelligence agencies or law enforcement. This
cal police then becomes a potentially hostile situation.
                                                            clearly violates the communities’ right to the Freedom
Instead of using a clandestine manner to monitor po-
                                                            of Thought, Conscience, and Religion under New Zea-
tential threats, the government should reach out to the
                                                            land’s Bill of Rights Act 1990.30
Muslim communities and discuss any concerns over
beliefs and worldviews.

British Experience:
Entrapment CASE: Munir Farooqi
The UK based case of Munir Farooqi is a worthy com-         The Farooqi family as a whole invited the two under-
parison, whereby undercover police and other agents         cover agents into their home on many occasions, where
were placed within the British Muslim community with        friendly discussions would take place in addition to
the sole purpose of facilitating convictions vis-à-vis      lunches and dinners over time. The spies initiated con-
terrorism legislation.31 Munir Farooqi, a British nation-   versations of a political nature and ‘how to join the jihad
al and Muslim man who would engage in propagation           in Afghanistan and Iraq’ against British and American
of the Islamic faith in a peaceful manner within the        troops. The undercover agents according to the Faroo-
boundaries of the law in Manchester, northern England       qi family even ‘cried’ over the wars in Muslim majority
was sentenced to approximately 10 years in prison.32        countries. The case surrounds Farooqi encouraging
He provided free leaflets, documentaries and engaged        the undercover agents to fight in Afghanistan. But the
in conversation with interested pedestrians. However,       difficulty with the case was that there was no material
in 2008, two undercover police officers approached the      evidence to prosecute Farooqi. After the court verdict,
stall and gradually attained the trust of Farooqi and his   Tony Porter, head of the North West Counter Terrorism
family.                                                     Unit, (NWCTU) said: “This was an extremely challeng-

                                                                                                                    23
The Christchurch Attacks:
            Blight on New Zealand’s Intelligence

ing case, both to investigate and successfully prose-       sentences and to serve some nine years as a minimum
cute at court, because we did not recover any blueprint,    in prison before review for parole.
attack plan or endgame for these men”.33
                                                            There are some severe concerns around using inform-
What was not known at the time of these frequent vis-       ants and undercover agents within suspect commu-
its, was that hundreds of hours of conversations were       nities. It violates basic human rights to privacy and
recorded in the family home, which was then used            triggers concerns over due process. The use of agents
to form a conviction. Munir Farooqi in 2011 was sen-        in this manner not only would result in questionable
tenced for his comments under the conditions of en-         convictions, but more importantly impact the trust of
trapment and found guilty in 2011 by the British courts     suspect communities when the state should be pro-
for preparing for acts of terrorism, soliciting murder      tecting them and treating individual cases on the basis
and disseminating literature. Farooqi was given four life   of equality before the law.

New Muslim Convert Harassed by
ZSIS & Police Case: Daud Lane
“As soon as I converted to Islam in 2008, the ZSIS          ZSIS then approached Daud to speak to him about
wanted to speak with me. I’m not sure whether ZSIS          working as an informant. “ZSIS knew I was a poor stu-
get a notification or how they find out about people        dent. They wanted me to provide intelligence on the
converting to Islam – maybe they’re monitoring social       Muslim community and gather information. Every
media. But they wanted to speak to me about working         now and then, I would come home to see a few bags of
with them! – that’s when I freaked out”, Dawud Lane,        groceries waiting for me at my home door, my mobile
Auckland.                                                   phone topped-up by them or a meeting at the nicest
                                                            restaurants in town!. I felt like I was being bribed in do-
The testimony of Daud Lane34, documented by the TRT
                                                            ing all of this. They’d call it ‘strengthening of ties’ to work
World Research Centre demonstrates how the ZSIS ap-
                                                            with ZSIS – but It was definitely bribery”, Daud said.
proached a new convert to Islam in New Zealand and
used his self-proclaimed ‘personal life disadvantages’      Shortly after Daud declined to work for the ZSIS, the
as leverage to spy on his own new religious communi-        Criminal Investigation Branch part of New Zealand’s
ties.                                                       Police turned against him and started investigating him
                                                            for terrorism links. This strategy has been seen before
“The president of a Muslim community organisation
                                                            in the War on Terror, especially in the United States and
[REDACTED] told me that ZSIS wanted to speak to me
                                                            United Kingdom whereby Muslims who refuse to work
and left a number behind. Later that day I called ZSIS,
                                                            for the intelligence agencies are then subject to coun-
and asked them: what the hell is up? Why are you look-
                                                            ter terrorism investigations.
ing for me? All they [ZSIS] said was: “Can we meet you?”
I declined, but then they turned up outside my house!”

24
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