The top-secret trial, conviction, sentencing and jailing of a former military intelligence officer known as Witness J has been described as 'unusual' and 'unprecedented', with one of Australia's national security watchdogs warning it 'should never happen again'.
"Alan Johns shows how [the law] can be used to conduct a federal criminal prosecution in 'secret', from start to finish, and to maintain this secrecy, seemingly, indefinitely," his report said.Mr Donaldson raised concerns with how the ACT Supreme Court had agreed to closed hearings in the case, without even hearing any formal submissions from the parties involved, describing that decision as "extremely unusual".
He argued the decision not to publish any of the sentencing remarks of ACT Supreme Court Justice John Burns was "unprecedented". The INSLM recommended that, in "exceptional" cases where closed hearings were requested, the Attorney-General be forced to justify their position before the court.
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