October 15th Solidarity - Remember the state terror raids

29/05/08 - One of the arrestees in the state terror raids on Te Urewera has had his depositions hearing set down for 20 November 2008 in the District Court Tauranga when briefs of evidence will be handed up. One charge against Raunatiri Hunt was withdrawn by the Crown. Hunt is one of the 20 people jointly charged with attending so-called ‘paramilitary-style training camps’ in Te Urewera.

Hunt is the only one of the 20 defendants that has successfully challenged the Crown in moving the trial to Auckland. All of the other defendants have been remanded on bail until depositions hearing in the Auckland District Court starting on 1 September. These hearings are expected to last one month to six weeks.

If the charges are not thrown out, any trial would be unlikely to happen before the end of 2009 due to backlogs in the Auckland District Court.