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| Down Under |
| Judge refuses to say Australia target |
| 2005-07-18 |
| TOP French anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere has refused to say whether he thinks Australia is at risk of a terrorist attack. Mr Bruguiere was responsible for interrogating Willie Brigitte, the suspected terrorist alleged to have been planning an attack in Sydney. The judge was in Canberra today to exchange information with Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, but neither man would discuss the Brigitte case with the media. Mr Bruguiere said international co-operation was vital to fighting terrorism, and he thanked Australia for its assistance. "To be effective today, even more than yesterday, one has to be (working) in the international framework and to look all the time to international cooperation at all levels, intelligence, police work, and the legal systems," Mr Bruguiere said through an interpreter. "The work that I am here to undertake shows that we are on both sides able to come up with the necessary response to the threat. "You will understand that for security as well as for procedural reasons I will not enter in detail, either of the investigations I've been (making) with the various Australian agencies ... or the discussions I have had." Asked if he believed there would be a terrorist attack in Australia, Mr Bruguiere said it was not for him to comment. "What is important is that we should continue our cooperation," he said. "If I am in Australia, it is that we have common interests, on affairs of common interest. "But more important is that to meet a global threat we are now having a global response on all continents, whatever the political, constitutional or legal systems." Mr Ruddock refused to comment on what Mr Bruguiere had told him about the Brigitte case, or any further potential threats to Australia. "I would simply refer to the fact that there are on the public record matters relating to the Brigitte investigation and people have been committed to trial here in Australia arising out of that investigation," Mr Ruddock said. "These are operational issues about which I don't normally talk." Mr Bruguiere interrogated Brigitte, who is alleged to have links to al-Qaeda and to have travelled to Australia to carry out a terrorist attack. The French judge is also reportedly interested in travelling to Perth to interrogate convicted Australian bomb plotter Jack Roche as part of a bid to better understand al-Qaeda. |
| Posted by:Spavirt Pheng6042 |
| #1 No response = affirmative |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-07-18 14:39 |