Leaked documents show New Zealand begged for pretext to ban freedom journalists
Thousands of Kiwis gathered last week to protest Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s authoritarian regime, which used COVID-19 to divide the country and even surpass the Taliban in citizen oppression. As the country now descends into a cost-of-living crisis, the protesters converged on Parliament’s “Beehive” location in Wellington to tell Ardern that “enough is enough.”
But when Rebel News journalists Avi Yemini and Rukshan Fernandes attempted to enter New Zealand to cover the protest, he was barred entry. Qantas Airways informed Yemini at check-in that his passport was flagged by New Zealand immigration authorities. An immigration officer who identified herself only as “Sarah” informed the Australian reporter over the phone that the decision was being made based on an August 20th article in the New Zealand Herald, the country’s paper of record, in which the mainstream outlet referred to Yemini as a “far-right extremist” and “conspiracy commentator” who is “known to spread misinformation and falsehoods.” The article, which contained no byline, claimed Yemini had assaulted his former wife and defamed his brother.
Based on that anonymous article, New Zealand denied Yemini entry.
A day after the article was published, however, Interpol’s Wellington branch sent an email to its counterpart in Canberra, Australia, appearing to beg for dirt on Yemini and his colleague Rukshan Fernandes, that could be used to prevent them from entering the country.
"Interpol Wellington has received information that the two above named are believed to be Australian nationals intending to travel to NZ to join protest activity at Parliament scheduled on 23 August 2022," the email read.
“NZ Police would like to stop the two from entering NZ and URGENTLY seek any information regarding criminal convictions or any information tending to show they are individuals of bad character, associated to criminal groups and individuals or Far-Right extremism groups."
The email, leaked to The BFD, went on to say that “NZ Police do not have any information on the two subjects,” and mimicked the Herald’s accusation that Yemini is a “far-right extremist commentator” and Fernandes is a “misinformation super spreader.”
When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked about the affair this week, she said she “knows nothing.”
"I know nothing of what you claim on behalf of the agencies you claim," she responded, according to Rebel News. "I am aware of someone who was recently denied access at the border. My understanding is that was because of criminal convictions that deemed them ineligible for travel."
When journalist Sean Plunket pushed back, saying that the crime attributed to Yemini was a summary offense that does not legally qualify for refusal, Ardern claimed she “can't verify.”
"I can't verify anything you're putting to me at this time," Ardern said. "I'm not familiar with anything that you've raised and the individual that was denied entry last week ... that was a decision at an operational level that did not involve ministers."
After the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Ardern warned her citizens not to believe any source of information other than the government, who would be their “single source of truth.”
“You can trust us as a source of that information. You can also trust the Director General of Health and the Ministry of Health. For that information, do feel free to visit – at any time – to clarify any rumour you may hear.
“Otherwise, dismiss anything else. We will continue to be your single source of truth.
“We will provide information frequently. We will share everything we can. Everything else you see – a grain of salt. And so I really ask people to focus.”
Ardern became famous for her hostility towards the unvaccinated, revealing in October her intent to use the vaccine to create two separate classes.
“So, you’ve basically said, this is gonna be like, well it’s almost like, and you probably don’t see it like this, [inaudible] two different classes of people, if you’re vaccinated or if you’re unvaccinated,” Ardern was asked by a reporter. “You have all these rights if you are vaccinated–”
“That is what it is,” confirmed Ardern, smiling. “So, yep. Yep.”
