Five days before the court’s decision more than 200 people rallied outside Auckland Central Remand prison to demand Zaoui’s release. Speakers at the rally included representatives from trade unions, immigrant groups, church organizations, and prominent artists and musicians. When other inmates at the prison saw television coverage of the protest, they began chanting, “Free Zaoui now!” from their cells. This and other actions around the country demonstrated growing public support for Zaoui, whose case has become, in the words of the New Zealand Herald, a “cause celebre.”

Zaoui was elected to Algeria’s parliament in 1991 as a member of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), until the Algerian military staged a coup and his party was outlawed. He arrived in New Zealand in December 2002 and claimed refugee status.

The Refugee Status Appeals Authority (RSAA) granted him asylum in August 2003, but the government refused to release him, citing a “Security Risk Certificate” issued by the Security Intelligence Service (SIS), the secret police. This is the first use of such a document, created by 1999 legislation that increased the powers of the immigration police. The certificates allow the detention and deportation of immigrants based on secret evidence.

Government officials claim that Zaoui poses a possible “threat to national security.” They have attempted to link him to the Islamic Armed Group (GIA), a split-off from the armed wing of the FIS that they brand “terrorist.” In a television interview screened on the day of his release, Zaoui branded such claims “a fairytale,” and challenged the government to make public any information it held on him.

Zaoui still faces deportation, depending on the outcome of a review of the certificate, to be conducted by the inspector general of the SIS. The government is appealing an earlier court decision that Zaoui’s human rights must be taken into account as a part of this review.

At the Supreme Court hearing, the government opposed granting Zaoui bail, but reversed its earlier stance by announcing it would not oppose his transfer to the Mangere Refugee and Resettlement Centre. Chief Justice Sian Elias rejected this, saying it would have been a continuation of Zaoui’s detention.

In an editorial, the New Zealand Herald called the Supreme Court’s decision to grant Zaoui bail “a snubbing” of the government that had put it in “an embarrassing position.” The court, the Herald’s editors opined, “has gone a sizeable step too far.”

The Supreme Court only came into existence this year, replacing the Privy Council in London as New Zealand’s final court of appeal. The government claimed the new court would add to the legitimacy of the legal system. In a speech before its first sitting in July, Attorney General Margaret Wilson said, “At long last New Zealanders can take ownership and responsibility for all aspects of our justice system.” But the court’s first few months of operation have been marked by controversy. Some capitalist politicians have expressed concerns that politically appointed judges might give the court a liberal bias or diminish its authority.  
 
 
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