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Servile Howard government
by dingo Monday, Jun 25 2007, 7:42pm
national / injustice/law / commentary

The following story from AAP would just be another internet related sex case but for the fact the U.S. is 'requesting' the American sex offender (facing paedophilia charges) be handed over to THEM to be tried by a Military Commission!

Australian Attorney General, Philip Ruddock

Australians are extremely familiar with the integrity (lack) of U.S. Military Commissions after the David Hicks 5 year ordeal and ‘fair trial’! To compound Australia’s shame and disgrace, recent coverage of the Hew Griffiths case (see link) rubs extra salt into the wound that was once the healthy body of the Australian character.

“This week also saw the spectre of the international centralisation of power in the form of jailing (for 51 months) a British born Australian citizen, Hew Griffiths, extradited to the United States for software piracy offences not relating to either Britain or Australia! Seems the force for an international totalitarian State has a star-spangled character! “Our agents and prosecutors are working tirelessly to nab intellectual property thieves, even where their crimes transcend international borders," US Attorney Chuck Rosenberg said. Griffiths fought extradition for years prior to the Australian lackey government of Howard surrendering him to the U.S. -- a nation which has legalised torture (Guantanamo Bay); engages in illegal invasions, oil plunder and flouts international law and convention whenever it chooses. Allow me to express the true Oz sentiment for such blatant hypocrisy, g.. f….. or as the English would say, f... o..!”

Govt considers handing over US sailor

The Australian government may grant the US Navy legal jurisdiction over one of its sailors facing paedophilia charges in NSW.

David Wayne Budd, 28, was granted bail in Sydney's Parramatta Local Court on charges of grooming an Australian child over the internet for sex.

He is set to be released from the city's Silverwater Jail once all his bail conditions are met.

Budd was arrested by detectives from the NSW Child Exploitation Unit as he arrived at Sydney Airport on Saturday, after allegedly engaging in an on-line conversation with a NSW Police Force detective posing as a 14-year-old girl.

The Petty Officer 2nd Class had been in Rockhampton as part of a joint US-Australian military training exercise.

He joined the operation from the US Navy's Southwest Regional Maintenance Centre in San Diego, California.

A police charge sheet tendered to Parramatta Local Court on Monday alleged the online contact between Budd and the NSW detective was made on June 21 while Budd was in Queensland for the exercise.

Under the Visiting Forces Act, the US Military Attache in Canberra has made a formal request to the Attorney-General's Department to waive jurisdiction so Budd can be tried by the US military justice system.

Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the charges levelled against Budd were serious and that Australia did not waive jurisdiction lightly.

Before making a decision, Mr Ruddock said, he would consider the specific laws the US would apply to the offence, what the sentence would be if Budd was convicted, the cost of a trial in Australia and whether justice would be better served for all parties if the process was conducted in the US.

"We would need to be satisfied that if the US were going to deal with the matter that the outcome would be commensurate with what we would expect here in Australia," Mr Ruddock said in a statement.

Budd faced the bail hearing by video link from Silverwater, where he has been on remand.

His lawyer, Lucy Meranga, and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution's Dean Mayr (Mayr) agreed on a series of bail conditions with which Budd must comply.

They include that he not leave Australia and not associate in any way with a child under the age of 16 unless the person is a family member.

He must report every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to the closest NSW police station and must provide police with details of the location of his NSW residence within 24 hours of his release.

The US Navy has yet to determine where Budd will reside.

The navy must also designate an officer senior to Budd to enter into an agreement with the crown to forfeit $1,000 if the accused breaches any of the bail conditions.

Budd will be granted a criminal justice visa by the federal government to allow him to stay in Australia during his court case.

A court spokeswoman said Budd was unlikely to satisfy all the bail conditions in time to be released from custody.

He is due to appear again in Parramatta Local Court on August 20.

Mr Ruddock said a brief of the issues relating to jurisdiction will be put before him and he will make decision "at an appropriate time".

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=274906