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60 Minutes hearing postponed

Updated: 60 Minutes crew expected to be given bail in Lebanon if charges proceed.

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Crew members from 60 Minutes, including Tara Brown, remain in custody in Lebanon after authorities postponed a hearing, but are expected to be given bail if charges proceed.

Lebanese media reports Mount Lebanon’s general prosecutor questioned the seven suspects, over their alleged involvement in the abduction of two children from a southern suburb of Beirut last week.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had spoken with her Lebanese counterpart about the case, but the Australians will be on their own if it comes to court proceedings.

“The 60 Minutes crew and Ms Faulkner are being held as part of an ongoing investigation. We understand they will be able to apply for bail as part of Lebanese legal procedures should charges be laid as part of the investigative process,” the spokesman said.

Tara Brown, David “Tangles” Ballment, Stephen Rice and Ben Williamson have been moved to respective male and female detention centres in Beirut.

Nine’s Tom Steinfort reported they are in “relatively good spirits given the situation the find themselves in”, and “want to express thanks to Lebanese authorities for treatment in custody”.

Meanwhile ABC’s Media Watch reported Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner took her children to Australia nearly 3 years ago then tore up their passports, according to their father Ali al-Amin, and told him they weren’t coming back to Beirut.

“If 60 Minutes did effectively pay for the abduction of those two children—and that will be for a court to decide—they have behaved disgracefully. And whoever authorised it should be sacked,” said host Paul Barry.

Fairfax Media also details messages between Sally Faulkner and a Queensland-based ‘child recovery agency’ which was not hired, but gave advice. Publishing such communications online could also have serious impact on those facing court in Lebanon.

The diplomatic incident has now attracted international media coverage on CNN, FOX News, Daily Mail plus media in Europe, Israel, Nigeria and New Zealand.

Update: The Australian reports an investigative court will take testimonies from the suspects beginning on Tuesday.

They will be allowed translators and lawyers at their hearings, a judicial official said.

Source: News Corp, Fairfax Media, ABC The Australian

21 Responses

  1. Oceanographer, you’re forgetting that this is an organisation that tolerates casual racism (see Stefanovich & Wilkinson), condones blatant racism (see Johns, A) and rewards degraders of the vulnerable (see Johns, M). Whilst I agree with the Media Watch point, you can hardly expect an organisation with 9’s moral track record to respond with candour, can you?

  2. Mediawatch made a good point last night – why are Channel 9 or 60 Minutes refusing to deny that they have made any payments to the child recovery service. If they’re totally innocent and have nothing to hide why haven’t they denied making the payments then. Mediawatch also noted that when Nine initially reported on the abduction Nine said the 60 minutes crew were right there filming it. Channel Nine have a lot to answer for and the more we have found out the more suspicious they have looked.

  3. I’m organising a campaign called, ‘Let Them Stay There’. Anyone fancy joining me? Meet outside the Lebanon embassy, Canberra, then to DFAT…

  4. Remember they are there to report the news not to create it for the sake of ratings……. and that’s what its all about ratings it will come back and bite them

  5. Are they reporters or vigilantes of some sort ? What right have they got to go into another country n get involved in kidnapping? Never liked Tara brown

    1. Have never cared for Tara either – very hard-faced.
      Seems they regarded themselves, being a high profile Current Affairs Show, as somehow “above the law.”
      They are now finding out the hard way that this is clearly not the case.
      Not a good situation they find themselves in…

  6. I’m surprised by how little coverage this is getting on FTA TV Channel 7 and 10 . Is this competitor games or fear of skeletons in their own closets ? Or are they showing little displayed restraint so not to add to the fire? Fairfax and News are all over it. This is a huge news story that’s all but being ignored on TV

        1. It would be highly unlikely that Seven would care about anything but their own self interests. If they wanted to go for it and dance all over 9’s grave in this PR disaster, they would.

    1. It would be commonsense to back off, stop speculating and only report “news”, not add fuel to the fire. 7 & 10, and ABC would be heeding what DFAT may have suggested. “Cool it”.
      As above “Fairfax Media also details messages between Sally Faulkner and a Queensland-based ‘child recovery agency’ which was not hired, but gave advice. Publishing such communications online could also have serious impact on those facing court in Lebanon.”
      Totally irresponsible of Fairfax. No doubt the Beirut Prosecutor has a copy of this in his file by now.

      1. The other TV networks wouldn’t be abiding by any order from Government (or courts) that print media has not received and is not bound by. If anything print media would have firmer restrictions because as you say anything we read here can be read online in Beruit. The other TV networks aren’t running the story because they don’t want to , and given the disaster this is for 9 that is a strange unseen tactic (from 7 particularly)

        1. There has been no “order from Government” (we’ve not been taken over by Fiji yet). It would be a polite request from Hon. Julie Bishop. All media can be read and viewed anywhere using VPN, including
          9news.com.au/national/2016/04/12/09/24/legal-proceedings-for-detained-60-minutes-crew-and-brisbane-mother-delayed
          “The other TV networks aren’t running the story because they don’t want to”. Not quite. The other TV networks aren’t running the story because there’s nothing new to report and broadcasting speculation and “sources say” is irresponsible and unhelpful.

    2. This is a perfect example why we need media diversity. Imagine if 7 and Ten also owned the major newspapers. You would get even less news on this story.

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