Australia arrested a former official who was going to be a witness at the Hague, and raided his lawyer's office for legal documents.

The case concerns Australian spying during negotiations with East Timor for a treaty over fossil fuels. The witness was going to prove that Australia bugged the Timorese negotiating team. Apparently the current Australian government is so subservient to fossil fuel interests that it will trash traditional civil liberties for them.

The court should regard the witness's claims as proven conclusively by his arrest. That will serve the cause of justice in this case. Repairing the damage to civil liberties in Australia will take rather more.