Police Raid on Activists Around NZ (report from NZ indymedia site)

Early Monday morning there were simultaneous raids across the North
Island, in Auckland, Whakatane, Wellington, Ruatoki, and Hamilton.
Later in the morning, Police came to at least four houses in
Christchurch. Around a dozen people have been arrested so far, and
reports are that up to 60 are being sought for questioning.

The raids were under the Suppression Of Terrorism Act and the Firearms
Act. They have been targetted at people involved in the Tino
Rangatiratanga, Peace and Environmental movements.

Aotearoa Indymedia Feature: 17 activists arrested, denied bail. 300+ Police raid houses across the country | Video: Solidarity protest at NZ Consulate Melbourne | Sydney Solidarity with Aotearoa Arrestees: Protest Report

Prominent Tino Rangatiratanga activist Tame Iti was among the first
arrested at his home at 4am Monday morning. At 6am raids were carried
out at A Space Inside anarchist social centre in Auckland [ Search Warrant ] and the 128 activist Community Centre in Wellington [ Video of police raid ].
In Tuhoe Country, the town of Ruatoki was blockaded by armed police for
several hours, with no cars allowed in and many searched, including a
school bus full of children.

14 of the arrestees appeared in court hearings in Auckland, Rotorua and
Wellington this afternoon and were all refused bail. All but two
recieved name supression. They have all been charged under the Arms Act
with various offences relating to alleged possesion of various firearms
and ammunition. More charges may be added in the future.

TV3 footage of the raid on 128, the Wellington activist community centre, can be viewed at www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/2303.html

Support the arrestees!

Support meetings or rallies have been held in Aukland, Christchurch and other towns in New Zealand, with protests happening or about to happen in Melbourne and Sydney.

Links: Video interview with Annette Sykes, lawyer for Tame Iti | TV3 News video | Please remember security culture

The four Wellington arrestees (2 women and 2 men) have recieved a total
of 20 charges. On Wednesday they will be back in court as the
prosecution attempts to move their trial to Auckland, while they will
have an opportunity to apply for bail hearing on Friday.

5
arrestees (1 woman and 4 men) in Auckland will remain in custody until
Friday while a 6th, Jamie Beattie Lockett, who faces 3 charges under
the Firearms Act, will have a bail hearing Tuesday morning.

An arrestee in the Hamilton District Court, charged with 6 charges, will appear in the Auckland District Court on Friday.

In Rotorua, Tame Iti, facing 8 charges, will have a bail application
heard Tuesday at 3pm. A woman in the Rotorua District Court, facing 5
charges, has been remanded in custody for 2 weeks, although will be
allowed to apply for bail during that time.

The Police will
make a decision in the coming days/weeks as to whether they will apply
to the Solicitor General to allow charges to be laid under the 2002
Terrorism Supression Act. If they do get permission, it would be the
first time charges have been laid under the act. There may still be
more arrests and more charges as well.

Initial Report Updates from Monday

1:43pm - The people arrested in Wellington will apparently appear in
court at 2:15pm, and word is that cops will be opposing bail. It is not
yet known what charges have been laid. Tame Iti will face arms charges
in the Rotorua District Court this afternoon.

3:13pm - The four Wellington arrestees are still waiting to be heard in
court, but we have recieved information that they are being charged
with possession of firearms and ammunition at some point in the past.

3:52pm - It is now being reported that there have been around 20
arrests, including 10 in Auckland, 4 in Wellington and 2 in Rotorua.