In publicly exposing alleged evidence from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) against two potential terrorists, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott jeopardized the defendants’ right to a fair trial asserts barrister and columnist Greg Barns on The Drum.
Omar Al-Kutobi, 24, and Mohammad Kiad, 25, were arrested in Sydney in early February after the AFP uncovered what perceived to be a plot for an imminent terrorist act.
By publicly commenting on the assumed guilt of the two men, Barns says that PM Abbott unfairly acted on the assumption that the AFP material will be accepted by the court as evidence and furthermore presumed that the material equated guilt.
Chaninat and Leeds’ attorneys have multiple decades of trail and litigation experience prosecuting and defending Thailand criminal law cases for our clients.
Barns accuses Abbott of doing so for political gain and “in the full knowledge that because it is the Prime Minister speaking the comments he made would get maximum coverage, and that there is a very strong chance that potential jurors in an any trial against these men will recall the Prime Minister’s utterances before they even start to hear the evidence.”
In Barns’ opinion, Abbott “undermined the rule of law” because it is a right of every accused person to have their guilt or innocence determined by the courts, not by the public opinion.
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Abbott’s terror comments could prejudice trial by Greg Barns
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