The SIG at it again

The capitalist media reports that "an Iraqi man convicted of immigration fraud after an investigation by police into possible terror links is fighting to stay in New Zealand."

"Salam Mansoor Abdelabbas Al-Bawi was sentenced to six months' home detention in March after admitting coming to New Zealand on a false Danish passport and later applying for citizenship and a passport using the fake name John Joseph. The Department of Internal Affairs is investigating his citizenship, beginning a process that could lead to his deportation."

It turns out that Al-Bawi was investigated by Detective Sergeant Aaron Pascoe and the Special Investigation Group (SIG). Pascoe and the SIG are of course also behind the raids on Tuhoe and activists around the country on 15th October 2007. In February 2006, detectives from the SIG searched Al-Bawi's Remuera home and found the false Danish passport and other apparently fake documents.

But how did this become an 'anti-terrorist' operation with a potential 'threat to national security'? The Special Investigation Groups were established in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in January 2005. In the year ending 30th June 2006, "Police [were] involved in two regional policing operations that have potential implications for New Zealand's national security in a regional context." (Police Annual Report 2006) Was Al-Bawi one and Operation 8 the other?

The NZ Herald writes: "In the documents, Detective Sergeant Aaron Pascoe said: 'We didn't know why Mr Al-Bawi had been to Iraq, but we were certainly concerned it could have been for a reason that could have included being involved in insurgency, terrorism.'" There it is - Red Alert, Red Alert, Red Alert: the T-word. So here is an Iraqi who arrives in NZ in 2000 after fleeing, who in May 2005 withdraws US$76,000 from a Parnell bank (reported as a 'suspicious transaction), receives $200,000 from a person in Lebanon, spends $11,500 a month on toll calls and then visits Iraq on two occasions ("a cause for concern") and the obvious conclusion at Harlech House - the offices of the SIG in Otahuhu - is, that Al-Bawi is not only an insurgent but also a terrorist.

Pascoe's conclusion seems to be: "If you go to Iraq, you must be a terrorist." And to be consistent: "If you go to Ruatoki, you must be a terrorist."

Salam Al-Bawi was sentenced to six months' home detention in March of this year after pleading guilty to four charges fraud-related charges. His lawyer, Paul Davison, QC, said he was intending to appeal against the convictions on the grounds that the guilty pleas were made without the right advice from an earlier lawyer. However, the Department of Internal Affairs is investigating him and beginning a process that could lead to deportation.

Al-Bawi runs a Fish and Chip shop on the North Shore (174D Mokia Rd) called the Fishmonger (and I am told they are good chips).