By PAUL MILLAR
THE DEFENCE Department will refuse to disclose the identity of soldiers who intercepted protesters after they breached security at a top-secret Swan Island training facility.
Three of the protesters claim Defence Force members assualted them when they snuck onto the Queenscliff base, where the army trains elite troops, including SAS soldiers.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn has filed proceedings in the Victorian Supreme Court to force Defence and the Commonwealth to provide the names of the soldiers involved in the incident last October.
Lawyer Jacob Varghese said the protesters would then sue them for assault and battery.
But a Defence spokesman said the names would remain secret.
The protesters who reached the island were trespassers, he said.
“Four of the protesters were arrested by Victoria Police, the remaining four individuals were arrested by Defence members before being handed over to the Victoria Police. These individuals were subsequently charged with trespass offences.”
The spokesman said a Defence inquiry was considering the protesters’ allegations of mistreatment as well as their alleged trespassing.
The department respected Australians’ right to express opinions in a peaceful, law-abiding way but soldiers also had a right to arrest trespassers, he said.
“ADF members have the power under relevant legislation to arrest individuals who enter Defence premises without authorisation. At the time of the incident the protesters were trespassing on the Swan Island training facility.”
Defence had counselled the soldiers about the “manner and measure of their response” to the incident, the spokesperson said.
He confirmed the department had received a request to disclose their identities.
“Defence has declined to name the members … Defence has not received any civil legal proceedings arising from this incident.”
The protesters claimed they were part of a peace movement objecting to Australia’s involvement in foreign wars.
A number of unidentified officers confronted them when they swam onto the island, they said.
The protesters alleged they “were thrown to the ground and dragged, had bags put over their heads and were stripped naked”. One was allegedly threatened with rape and another with drowning.
