Appeal Hearing Federal Court of NSW, Court Room 20B, September 10, 2008, at 10:15am

 PRESS RELEASE
10th September 2008

The third and last day of Daniel Snedden’s Section 21 application will be heard today in the Federal Court in Sydney (NOTE: Court Room 20B, at 10:15am). It is expected that Justice Cowdroy will need time to fully consider the material presented before making a determination.

 “This case appears to be another one in the legacy of the former Howard Government’s inept and harsh, inhuman handling of citizen’s rights on Australian soil and its processing is sadly hampered by an Extradition Act that is deficient in its ability to deal with the circumstances of Daniel’s position,” the group’s spokesperson Ilija Glisic reiterated. He went on to say that justice has been hampered by the constraints and limitations imposed by the legal process in progress.

“While the Dr Haneef Howard Government bungle still receives headline treatment, Daniel’s case is receiving little to no media attention,” Mr Glisic stated. He went on to say: “Sadly, Daniel will probably remain incarcerated in maximum security – in Parklea jail – for an indefinite period of time pending further legal proceedings and hoping that the community will continue to support him in his predicament with funds for ongoing legal costs as the case is escalated through the various appeals mechanisms available.”

“Recently we have heard the present Government talking publicly about human rights in China and taking a stand on issues such as the Convention relating to torture. However, it has been slow to acknowledge that we have an innocent Australian incarcerated in an Australian jail without charge and without evidence provided to support an extradition request (the request is for questioning) by a foreign country and that this Australian has been in jail for more than two and a half years! We have a gross injustice on our own doorstep and very few people in Government seem to care. Daniel’s life is in danger should he be extradited” Mr Glisic continued.

Mr Glisic ended by saying “America has Guantanamo Bay as a place to mishandle prisoners and their rights, Australia has Parklea coupled with the legacy of the Howard Government. The only difference is that in Parklea we have an innocent citizen deprived of his rights to mount an appropriate defense to a contrived request for his extradition by a former military belligerent.”

Serbs for Justice Australia