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HomeWorldAustraliaAustralian public broadcaster ABC loses legal challenge over police raids

Australian public broadcaster ABC loses legal challenge over police raids

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Daily US Times, Canberra: Australia’s national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) lost its legal challenge to controversial police raids on its Sydney newsroom last year.

In June last year, police searched the ABC newsroom and the home of a newspaper journalist over articles that relied on leaks from government whistleblowers.

The police raids created a huge outcry in the country and almost all media across the nation protested. The ABC authority challenged the raids on the court.

However, the federal court of Australia now ruled that the raids were legal.

ABC’s managing director David Anderson described the decision as “disappointing”. He said the police raids had been a high-profile “attempt to intimidate journalists for doing their job”.

What happened?

Australian Federal Police claimed the stories and reporters at the center of its searches had breached national security laws. Police seized thousands of documents over a 2017 ABC investigation which alleged Australian armed forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

Police also raided the home of News Corp reporter Annika Smethurst, who, in 2018, reported an alleged attempt by a government agency to spy on Australian citizens.

Australia’s conservative government tightened its security laws in 2018 which made it a criminal offense for journalists to receive classified information from military or intelligence sources.

Major Australian newspapers ran “censored” front pages last year in protest of the laws. Source: BBC

The country previously said that it supports press freedom but “no one was above the law”.

The ABC tried to challenge the raids whether it was legal, arguing that the search warrant breached an implied constitutional right for free speech on political matters.

But the country’s federal court rejected the argument saying ”the purpose of the warrant, in this case, was entirely legitimate as police had been investigating valid national security offenses”.

The court also said some legal protections for journalists’ sources were not applicable in this case.

The reactions

Australia’s media union described the court’s decision as “ongoing and serious threats to the public’s right to know”.

David Anderson of ABC said the court dismissal was “a blow for public interest journalism”.

He said, “Australia has by far the most onerous secrecy laws of any comparable western democracy – the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand.”

Australian Federal Police warrants used to raid ABC valid, Federal Court rules

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