Arabic version: عميل سابق في «أسيو» يعرض الإدلاء بشهادته أمام لجنة بوندي من الخارج

According to ABC News, a former ASIO agent known as Marcus has offered to give evidence from overseas to the Bondi royal commission after two applications for a visa to enter Australia were rejected. Marcus had sought to provide evidence in Australia because of its sensitivity and additional legal protections available while on Australian soil.

Marcus worked with ASIO to infiltrate Islamic State networks in Western Sydney before the Bondi attack. He told ABC Four Corners earlier this year that ASIO had been warned about Naveed and Sajid Akram in 2019, and claimed the attack resulted from errors and a disregard for information. ASIO has said it stood by its assessment at that time and described Marcus as “disgruntled and unreliable”, a characterisation he rejects.

The visa applications were refused on the basis that immigration authorities were not satisfied Marcus intended to remain in Australia temporarily. Commissioner Virginia Bell SC said the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion had been working with Marcus’s solicitors and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on arrangements for him to speak with the commission’s lawyers from abroad. Officials had sought a venue he could reach with a secure line.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said last week that Marcus was free to give evidence publicly and that ASIO had no concerns about his evidence. However, Bell said the commission would not hear him in open sessions because of the risk of prejudicing separate criminal proceedings. The commission has finished its scheduled hearings but can take further evidence if necessary. ABC News reported that Marcus has contacted authorities through solicitors and intends to speak to both the commission and separate NSW Police investigations.

Gabriel Shipton of the Information Rights Project said Marcus requires assurances that any overseas testimony will be secure, protect him from prosecution and not breach another country’s laws. Shipton said giving evidence in person in Australia would have been the safest and most secure option, comparable to arrangements afforded to other ASIO agents who testified to the commission in secret.