Details surrounding the rare case of a soldier accused of espionage have been suppressed in a pre-trial hearing today at Linton Military Camp.
The solider with far-right links was charged with spying in November last year as the result of a joint investigation by the defence force and police.
The country in which the Linton-based soldier is accused of providing information to has been suppressed for security reasons, along with the identities and job titles of witnesses who are planned to speak in the trial.
Chief Judge of the Court Martial of New Zealand Kevin Riordan said making this information public would prejudice national security and be a risk to the witnesses’ individual roles.
The military court trial for the accused has been delayed after it was planned to take place next week.
Riordan said this was necessary so evidence can be discussed before the trial in another pre-trial hearing.
The solider appeared via audio visual link today; his first appearance since he was taken into military custody in December 2019 after police carried out a search warrant at Linton Military Camp, near Palmerston North.
One previous pre-trial hearing has taken place and two have been cancelled.
Riordan ordered interim name suppression to continue until the next appearance of the accused, and also ordered that the wife of the soldier could not be named in the interim.
A separate pre-trial hearing is planned for suppression to be considered again.
The judge also ordered further assessment of the soldier’s mental health to be carried out as part of this.
A suggestion for police vetting to be the process that allows media to be present to hear certain restricted information in the trial by the Crown’s prosecution was thrown out by the judge.
Riordan said the circumstances of this case are complicated.
A defence force spokesperson said to the best of their knowledge, no other staff member has been charged with espionage in modern times.
The soldier is facing 17 charges in a military court, including four charges of espionage, two charges of attempted espionage, two charges of possession of an objectionable publication, and one charge of doing an act likely to prejudice service discipline or bring discredit on the service.
Espionage is communicating information or delivering an object to a country or organisation with the intention to undermine New Zealand's interests.
It carries a maximum sentence of 14 years.
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