Australian Greens Want US Execution Livestream Blocked; Flydubai Pilot's Australia Links Raise Concern
Australia's Greens want the government to ensure a planned US firing squad execution cannot be watched online in Australia. Separately, the opposition has pledged tighter visa rules after reports that a pilot involved in a foiled hijacking was radicalised while studying in Melbourne.
Australian politicians addressed two issues on Monday, 12 October: a planned US execution that is to be broadcast live, and reports about the Australian links of a flydubai pilot.
Call to block the execution stream
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has written to Australia's eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, and communications minister Anika Wells, seeking assurance that the firing squad execution will not be shown in Australia.
Last week, US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth said the public would be able to watch the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, on 3 December. Hanson-Young suggested digital platforms could face large fines if they showed the stream or failed to take steps to block the video later. She told the ABC she found the plan incredibly shocking and barbaric, and said Australians did not want it on their screens.
Flydubai pilot's links to Australia
Over the weekend, the attorney-general of the United Arab Emirates said that pilot Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, involved in a thwarted hijacking, underwent a "drift towards extremism and terrorism" while studying in Melbourne. Shadow home affairs minister Jonno Duniam called the reports deeply disturbing. He said the Coalition would tighten visa laws to keep out hate preachers and deport non-citizens who promote violent extremism.
Home affairs minister Tony Burke said the man was radicalised online, as extremist groups target young people, particularly men. He said the government wanted to properly screen people at the border and in online settings.
Al-Shamsi received a student visa for study in Australia in 2014. He left in 2017, and his visa was cancelled two years later.
