Domovina Urednistvo
Australski odvjetnik Sebastian De Brennan koji je godinama aktivno uključen u obranu šestorice hrvatskih rodoljuba – slučaj tzv. „Hrvatske šestorke“ ili „Croatian Six“ (koji su nevino optuženi kao teroristi još davne 1981. godine) – poziva hrvatsku zajednicu Australije da mu pomogne novčanim prilozima radi odvjetničkih troškova u tom sudskom procesu čija se lažna presuda nastoji pobiti i srušiti u procesu koji počinje u drugoj polovici ove 2023. godine pred Vrhovnim sudom NSW u Sydneyu.
Dragi moji Hrvati i Hrvatice, draga moja hrvatska zajednico Australije, otvorimo srca, otvorimo naše novčanike i šaljimo novac koji je potreban za daljnji nastavak pravne borbe i istjerajmo stvar do kraja! Australska država, tj. naša australska država treba na kraju ovog pravnog procesa koji će ako Bog da našom borbom i našim novčanim prilozima završiti konačnom istinom – da su lažno optuženi i osuđeni šest Hrvata davne 1981. godine a sa njima i cijela naša hrvatska zajednica kroz sve ove godine pa i danas – te vjerujem službenom isprikom našoj zajednici i novčanom nadoknadom štete članovima „Croatian Six“ i njihovim obiteljima.
Kao što je našoj australskoj državi trebalo vremena da shvati, prihvati i pokuša ispraviti nepravdu koju su od početka činili prvim stanovnicima ovog kontinenta, ne vidim problem da isto učine i prema hrvatskoj zajednici u Australiji koja je desetljećima radi namještenog i lažnog procesa „Hrvatskoj šestorci“ trpila a i danas nosi veliku laž i ljagu na sebi da je nacija terorista.
Ovdje su podatci za uplatu novčanih sredstava,
Acct Name: Marsdens Trust Account
BSB: 062517
Acct No: 10526169
Ref: Cro 6 SLR
a u nastavku, objavljujemo pismo, tj. e mail odvjetnika Sebastiana De Brennan i odvjetničkog društva Marsdens iz Sydneya:
”
Dear Supporters of the Croatian Six,
I hope this email finds you well.
My name is Sebastian De Brennan. I am a criminal and human rights lawyer who has been working to see the Croatian Six declared innocent since 2012: Croatian Six – Wikipedia
At the time of their arrest in 1979 the Croatian Six were members of Croatian national organisations that sought the creation of an independent Croatian state. The Croatian Six were charged with a number of serious offences including conspiracy to bomb as well as explosives and firearms offences. All the men, bar one, were also charged with conspiracy to murder. During 1980 and early 1981, their trial took place. At the time, it was the longest trial in Australian legal history, occupying 172 sitting days. 111 witnesses gave evidence. Security precautions not before seen in Australian courts were adopted including a helicopter overhead and police on the roof of the court building at Taylor Square in Sydney. To give an indication as to just how large the trial was, the trial transcript alone exceeds 5,000 pages.
Two important aspects of the evidence at the trial were:
- testimony from a witness known as Mr Vico Virkez (whose despite professing to be Croatian was a Serb), who was allegedly involved in the bombing conspiracy before reporting his and the others’ plan to police in 1979; and
- the evidence from 39 police officers including evidence of confessions said to have been made by the six men, following their arrest, to police (including Sgt Roger Rogerson who has since been found guilty of offences such as murder and perjury) and evidence of police officers as to explosives and equipment said to have been found by the officers at locations or premises associated with the six men.
The credibility and reliability of Mr Virkez were strongly challenged during the trial. At that time, the Yugoslav government included a Department of State Security, known as UDBa, and the accused sought to establish that Mr Virkez was a Yugoslav or UDBa agent and that he had a motive to lie.
As to the police officers’ evidence, the six men denied that they had made the confessional statements which police sought to attribute to them and four of the six alleged they had been severely beaten by police. Further, except for one man, the men denied possessing explosives or associated equipment and contended that the police evidence of finding the explosives and equipment had been “planted” on them. In the other case, it was suggested that Mr Virkez (said to be a Yugoslavian spy) had stolen these himself from a power station.
Despite a strenuous defence being put on behalf of the Croatian Six, they were convicted and sentenced to serve 15 years imprisonment.
Long history of unsuccessful appeals
After their trial, all appealed their decisions to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. They were unsuccessful there. They then appealed to the High Court of Australia where they were again unsuccessful.
Between 1991 and 1994 applications were made on behalf of members of the Croatian Six to the Attorney General for a review/pardon. This followed a 1991 Four Corners Program in which Mr Virkez – the witness that had given evidence against them – admitted he had received undercover training which came from his membership of the Serbian Black Hand, had been acting as a spy in Australia, had lied at trial, had been coached and told by police things that he needed to say, had made deals with the authorities, and had thought that the Croatian Six could be innocent. However, on 13 July 1994 the Governor of NSW refused the applications.
In early 2012, Hamish McDonald, a journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald, published a short e-book, Framed, which dealt with the Croatian Six case. The E-book had many concerning revelations in it, and it was at that point that I was approached to assist with the Croatian Six case. Thus, in 2012, a further application for an Inquiry was made by David Buchanan SC and myself requesting that the Supreme Court of NSW reconsider the matter.
Unfortunately, despite countless hours of pro bono work, we were again unsuccessful.
Down but not out, over the next decade a group consisting of Hamish McDonald (journalist), Helen Cook and myself continued to work on the case, culminating in the submission of another detailed application for review. The team has now expanded to include Sharon Ramsden of the law firm Marsdens Law Group.
Finally, a step in the right direction
On 30 August 2022 (and after 41 years) his Honour Justice Wright of the Supreme Court of NSW directed that an inquiry be conducted by a judicial officer into the convictions of the Croatian Six, his Honour finding that he was “comfortably satisfied, that there are a number of doubts or questions as to parts of the evidence in the case and the guilt of the Croatian Six”.
Justice Wright also said there was a “real possibility that the Yugoslav Intelligence Service used Mr Virkez as an agent provocateur or informer, to cause false information to be given to the NSW Police, and possibly ASIO, as to the existence of a bombing conspiracy involving the Croatian Six, in order to discredit Croatians in Australia”.
Described as a “historic decision”, the case was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald: NSW Supreme Court orders inquiry over ‘Croatian Six’ bomb plot convictions (smh.com.au)
A full copy of the judgment can be accessed here: Application by Maksimilian Bebic, Mile Nekic and Vjekoslav Brajkovic pursuant to s 78 of the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) – NSW Caselaw
The case has also been the subject of a two-part ABC podcast which can be accessed here: Australia’s greatest miscarriage of justice? The Croatian Six – part one – ABC Radio National
Help needed to fund this litigation
The matter has now been set down for a full judicial Inquiry in late 2023 and we need your help.
To date, our legal team has not received a cent for working on the appeals of the Croatian Six. For my part, hundreds of thousands of dollars of work have happily been donated to the cause since I first became involved in 2012. In contrast, lawyers working on the other side to ensure that the matter was not reopened have been funded by the government and have been very well-resourced with larger legal teams including Senior Counsel.
Now that we have been successful in achieving an Inquiry into the convictions, we need to raise funds to progress the case including, to begin with, photocopying costs to make 3 copies of the trial transcript plus other documents (approximately 25,000 pages).
Financial Assistance
Many Croatian Australians are passionate about this case believing that it was used to blacken their reputation in the community. Should you be in a position to assist in funding the matter, you can do so by following the instructions in the attached letter from Marsdens Law Group who are the firm of solicitors with carriage of the matter.
Your support with this important case is appreciated.
Please do not hesitate to contact the writer or Sharon Ramsden of Marsdens Law Group at sramsden@marsdens.net.au should you have any questions.
Kind regards,
| Sebastian De Brennan | |||||
| Barrister | |||||
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