Court ends trial secrecy by intelligence services

In a major blow for the knee-jerk secrecy typically favoured by the intelligence services of many countries, the High Court in Namibia has ruled that a defamation case involving a woman refused clearance by the Central Intelligence Services (CIS) there must be heard in open court. The woman, Fiina Elago, has held high office in various government departments, but she was recently refused clearance on the grounds of a ‘pending case with a previous employer’. In response, she launched a defamation action saying the finding wasn’t true. It defamed her and cost her the senior job for which she’d been selected, as well as the salary benefits. The intelligence service then asked for the defamation case to be heard behind closed doors, with none of the documents made public. The High Court has rejected that blanket application, although the way could still be open for the CIS to make a properly-motivated in camera request around specific documents or testimony during the course of the trial. Read more in Carmel Rickard's A Matter of Justice column on the Legalbrief site.