Prove my son was a terrorist — heartbroken mum’s demand
DARYL JONES, the Kiwi killed by a drone strike alongside al Qaeda militants in Yemen, was the son of a former police officer and his brother is involved in a controversial form of Islam in Christchurch.
Jones’ grieving mother wants our Government to provide proof her son was a terrorist and justification for his execution without trial. The education worker has been described as a ‘‘broken woman’’ following Jones’ death.
The New Zealand man’s background has been a mystery until now but a Sunday Star-Times investigation has found:
Jones’ father was a police officer in Australia before moving to a sensitive security role for a Government agency in Christchurch. He refused to comment on his son.
Jones’ younger brother, Nathan, runs a drop-in centre in Christchurch promoting the Salafi sect, a puritanical Islamic movement. He denounces terrorism and his brother’s actions.
Jones, also known as Muslim bin John, was killed in a missile strike on a convoy in Hadhramaut province on November 19, reportedly aimed at an al Qaeda operative associated with Osama bin Laden.
Also killed was Australian Christopher Havard, whose parents say was radicalised at a mosque in Christchurch. Jones and Havard were the first New Zealand and Australian victims of America’s controversial drone programme and have been described as ‘‘collateral damage’’.
Prime Minister John Key has refused to divulge what he knows about Jones and his ex-judicial killing and would not discuss any of the Star-Times’ findings.
We sought information from the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Internal Affairs under the Official Information Act, but was turned down on privacy and national security grounds.
A senior Internal Affairs source said pressure was exerted from the Prime Minister’s office not to release information.
An Internal Affairs manager Ross McPherson said the department would not be releasing citizenship and passport information on Jones. He confirmed the Sunday Star-Times’ request led to three phone calls and an email between Internal Affairs and two agencies, identified as either the Security Intelligence Service, Prime Minister’s office or the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
McPherson said there was no request from anyone to handle the information request in any particular way, but he would not release the correspondence.
Key shrugged off the killing when it was first reported in April, saying ‘‘some New Zealanders . . .put themselves in harm’s way’’ and claiming most people would not have a problem with it, given Jones had associated with terrorist groups.
Green MP Kennedy Graham said that was not satisfactory. ‘‘Basically they shrug off any responsibility for the death. Even though they acknowledge that New Zealand intelligence shares with American intelligence anything that New Zealand knows about the monitoring of New Zealand citizens overseas.’’
He said suspected terrorists should be subject to normal justice procedures, not a military strike.
He sympathised with the Jones family. ‘‘[Jones] can’t defend himself and the family are left with an impugned reputation of one of their family members and no evidence.’’