MIQ soldier spoke of rape and military rule to scared returnee
Defence review allegations after a woman in managed isolation was left afraid to leave her room. George Block reports.
A Kiwi soldier stationed at a managed isolation facility in Auckland asked a returnee ‘‘when was the last time you’ve been raped?’’
His comments to the woman, captured in a recording supplied to Sunday News, included positive references to military dictatorships and arming troops at quarantine facilities.
Ahead of the allegations becoming public, the Defence Force said it was reviewing the actions of three military personnel involved.
The returnee’s partner, Auckland criminal defence barrister Tudor Clee, has laid complaints about several incidents. He said the couple remained unhappy with how the complaints were handled.
The saga began in September, when Giota Kalogirou returned to New Zealand and checked in at the Novotel Auckland Airport hotel for her mandatory twoweek stay in isolation.
Conflict first arose over whether and how she was allowed to perform yoga outdoors within the hotel’s fenced recreation area.
Matters escalated when Kalogirou was told by the isolation hotel’s manager that she was unable to converse with Clee through the fence.
The practice of visitors coming to the fence to speak with returnees at a distance has been observed at many isolation hotels since their inception.
Over several days from September 11, 2020, Kalogirou had a series of encounters with NZDF staff that she said left her confined to her room in fear.
A version of events, supported by recordings of the interactions, was provided by Clee to Sunday News and formed part of his complaints to MBIE and later to the Ombudsman.
On September 13, Clee visited the hotel’s fence line in the early afternoon, speaking to Kalogirou while she exercised.
During their chat he was approached by a uniformed soldier, who Clee said was initially friendly, making polite small talk.
But the conversation took an unexpected turn when the serviceman suggested troops deployed in New Zealand should be armed. The comments came during a discussion between Kalogirou, Clee and the soldier about how the isolation facilities were run and appeared to allude to the Argentinian military junta of the 1970s.
‘‘Argentina . . . they literally, they’re armed dudes, they rock around with, like, weapons and stuff and I’d love them to do that here,’’ the soldier said.
Clee replied: ‘‘No, but this is the whole point . . . those are dictatorships.’’
‘‘Yeah, but like, it works,’’ the soldier said, in comments that were verified by a recording of the exchange.
Later in the conversation, Clee told the soldier he believed it was hard for the Army get over the fact the isolation hotel was not a military base.
In response, the soldier told Clee and Kalogirou that people should be grateful for the freedoms they enjoyed thanks to what he said were the sacrifices of troops in previous conflicts.
‘‘We are not a communist country because of, you know, the Anzacs, the world wars, there are so many people that died for us to be here right now,’’ he said.
‘‘When was the last time you’ve been raped? When was the last time you’ve been murdered? How safe is it right now and you’re worried about what?’’
Kalogirou said she already felt afraid and the soldier’s comments made things worse.
‘Argentina . . . they literally, they’re armed dudes, they rock around with, like, weapons and stuff and I’d love them to do that here.’ RECORDING OF MIQ SOLDIER’S CONVERSATION WITH TUDOR CLEE
‘‘When he asked me ‘when was the last time you were raped? When was the last time you were murdered?’ this fear multiplied.’’
The fact the soldier had shared how he idolised dictatorial regimes and wished he had guns led her to fear for her safety, she said.
The exchange left Kalogirou unwilling to leave her room for several days while the soldier remained on site.
It was not Kalogirou’s first run-in with Defence personnel at the Novotel.
Two days earlier, the manager of the facility, a senior non-commissioned officer in the Navy, had phoned her to say visitors to the fence line were not allowed.
Roving patrols would break up any such meetings, the officer said in the call, which was also recorded.
Correspondence released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) showed a directive banning fence meetings, circulated by the manager, was unauthorised.
A naval officer was the third Defence staffer at the Novotel subject to complaints by Clee and Kalogirou.
He was accused, among other things, of being ‘‘rude and condescending’’ to Kalogirou in saying she was not allowed to talk while performing yoga outside.
Clee complained to MBIE on September 14, and the ministry launched an investigation.
But the NZDF refused in November to undertake a separate inquiry, and an officer said it believed MBIE’s investigation was sufficient.
It also would not provide the names of the three personnel involved, as Clee had requested.
The findings of MBIE’s investigation were released to Clee on October 9.
An MBIE official said that during Kalogirou’s stay, a new public health order had come into effect.
The order resulted in new restrictions on conversations between visitors and returnees, the official said, in a summary of the findings.
The official also denied the manager was hinting at physical violence in relation to unauthorised fence meetings.
‘‘The MIF Manager cannot recall using the term ‘broken up’, but assuming she did, certainly did not intend anything she said to be interpreted as a threat of physical violence. In any event we consider that the term ‘broken up’ in this context would not ordinarily be construed as a threat of violence.’’
The official said the soldier did not recall speaking of rape or murder in his discussions with
Clee and Kalogirou.
‘‘We are unable to resolve the differences between the accounts of events.’’
The complaint highlighted a number of areas for improvement, especially regarding communication, the official said.
‘‘As a result of your complaint, we accept that there has been a number of miscommunications . . . I apologise for this.’’
Clee and Kalogirou remain unsatisfied with how the complaint was handled and are pursuing a further complaint with the Ombudsman.
A Defence spokesman said NZDF is now conducting its own review.
‘‘NZDF was not considering any additional disciplinary action for the reasons provided by MBIE in their response to Mr Clee,’’ the spokesman said.
‘‘However, as a result of additional queries raised by Mr Clee and in consultation with Crown Law, NZDF has undertaken to put the information before each of the individual’s Commanding Officers in order for the [Commanding Officers] to determine whether there is a well-founded allegation.’’
Neither the soldier who made the rape comment nor the other two Defence personnel are currently working in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, the spokesman said.