60 Minutes crew detained in Lebanon until Monday as judge warns charges are not going away
TARA Brown and her 60 Minutes crew have been warned there is “no chance” the charges against them will be dropped.
Judge orders estranged couple to seek resolution
60 Minutes crew questioned individually
Brit said to be “very sick”
Father of children laments “really big mess”
JUDGE Rami Abdullah has warned the 60 Minutes crew there is “no chance” the charges against them will be dropped as the case will be held over until Monday.
Australian mother Sally Faulkner has been ordered to reach an agreement with her estranged husband Ali Elamine over access to their children, according to her lawyer Ghassan Moughabghab.
He said the judge wants Mr Elamine to drop charges against Ms Faulkner over the bungled attempt to kidnap their children she had not seen for more than a year. But that would involve giving up her claim of custody and settling for full access rights instead.
“The husband has to drop the charges,” Mr Moughabghab said. “The judge is pushing [for him] to do that.”
“We are finding a solution that will resolve all of the problems. The solution is an agreement between her and her husband. It will not be a private agreement but one the court will accept. They are talking now, a couple of times.”
It was initially thought a resolution from the couple could help the chances of the 60 Minutes team detained in Beirut. However those hopes appeared to be dashed when Judge Abdullah said the case would be adjourned and the group will be detained for another five days.
“There is no way for charges to be dropped, there is violence of Lebanese authority by all these people, okay, this is a crime okay,” he said in his chambers
The judge said: "There is no chance the charges will be dropped. It is a violation of the Lebanese law by all of these people"
— Tom Steinfort (@tomsteinfort) April 13, 2016
QUESTIONED IN HANDCUFFS
On Wednesday, Sally Faulker and the 60 Minutes team members were brought before Investigative Judge Rami Abdullah in handcuffs to face private questioning over the botched child retrieval mission captured on CCTV.
Channel Nine’s News Director Darren Wick arrived at court to support thecrew that includes reporter Tara Brown, producer Stephen Rice, cameraman Ben Williamson and sound recordist David Ballment.
Two other local men and two Britons also faced questioning at the Babda Palace of Justice. One of the Britons involved said he was “very sick” earlier as he walked past reporters at the court.
60 Minutes has confirmed their crew has been formally charged with:
• Hiding information
• Forming an association with two or more people to commit crime against a person
• Kidnapping or holding a minor even with their approval
• Physical assault
The judge must decide whether to uphold or dismiss the charges, or whether to grant bail pending further inquiries. If found guilty they could face up to 20 years in jail.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Sky News this is an “investigative stage, we don’t have a direct equivalent in Australian law.”
The television crew were led separately for questioning and appeared drawn and downcast amid chaotic corridors filled with people in handcuffs surrounded by heavy security.
The interviews took place behind closed doors with no cameras allowed inside. Reporters had phones confiscated by security, who checked their photo libraries and deleted any pictures of the two women.
Outside the court, Mr Elamine said Noah 4, and Lahela, 6 were fine and “being sheltered from it all.”
Lebanese authorities said they would establish a joint commission to examine the case which they hope will not affect broader Australian-Lebanese relations.
‘IT’S A BIG MESS’
On Tuesday, the father of the two children Ali Elamine told News Corp Australia he was dismayed by the situation.
“It is a big mess, a really big mess, 100 per cent,” he said. “The children are good, they are in good health and that is all that matters not the media not what happened, but it (CCTV of the botched operation) is for everyone to view.
“But the children, I’ve calmed them down as much as I can. It was a bit rough and tough.
“She (his ex Sally Faulkner) could have gone about it in a different way, not like this.
“What happened shouldn’t have happened and the kids should not have been put in a situation where someone could have been harmed; the kids should not have been dragged into this.
His comments come as rival business operator Col Chapman, who has been engaged in a public feud with the agency that is believed to have carried out the attempted kidnapping, told news.com.au the attempt was unsafe and over-the-top.
“Do they think they are the SAS taking Bin Laden off the street? It was bizarre,” said the man involved in the much criticised Italian sisters case.
“They were spear-tackled almost into the back of the car. I’m very critical of it, as you can guess. (It was) very amateurish, very dangerous.”
JULIE BISHOP IN TALKS
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, currently in China, has confirmed discussions have occurred between Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her Lebanese counterpart.
Mr Turnbull said the five were receiving full consular support from Australian diplomats and consular officials in Beirut.
“We are providing them with every support but of course we expect the Lebanese legal system and their right to investigate and take proceedings if they feel offences have been committed,” he said.
“But we support Australians who find themselves in these difficulties and these circumstances right around the world and of course we’re doing that with respect to the 60 Minutes crew in Beirut at the moment.”
Earlier a spokesman for the Foreign Minister said Australian consular staff in Beirut are continuing to provide ongoing assistance. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth office confirmed it is also providing assistance to two British nationals following the April 7 arrests.
Lebanese news service the Daily Star reports the charges could lead to 20 years’ jail time.
According to the ABC, child abduction charges against Ms Faulkner and the 60 Minutes crew could be downgraded from the more serious “deprivation of liberty” to a misdemeanour because it was not a case of kidnapping for ransom but instead about reuniting the children with their mother.
Bruce Haigh, a former senior Australian diplomat who has worked in several Middle Eastern countries, believes the Nine Network needs to “grovel” if it wants its staff released.
“You need to go and make an abject apology to the Lebanese government and you need to say, ‘Look, we made a huge error, a bad error of judgment and we really apologise for what’s occurred.’
“Nothing short of that will get these people out,” he told ABC Radio.
RISKY BUSINESS OF CHILD RECOVERY
The media crew is believed to have engaged Child Abduction Recovery International to carry out the retrieval of the children.
The controversial group is based in Britain and led by ex-Australian soldier Adam Whittington who has had run-ins with the law before, notably in Singapore where he was sentenced to 16 weeks jail during a previous case.
It claims to be staffed by ex-military with specialist skills and recovery operations can cost upwards of $20,000 each. While some have been satisfied with their services, other experts warn mediation is the best route for retrieving a child internationally.
The company has been the subject of an ITV documentary Abducted before, focusing on the recovery of a child from her mother in Poland.
- With Victoria Craw
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