NSW: Investigation into shooting jeopardised, parliament told

AAP General News (Australia)
04-05-2006
NSW: Investigation into shooting jeopardised, parliament told

SYDNEY, April 5 AAP - The NSW opposition has used parliament to accuse the government
of jeopardising an investigation into a double murder in western Sydney.

Bassam Chami, 26, and his friend Ibrahim Assad, 27, died after being shot in Granville last week.

Parliament was today told that on Monday night, after shots were fired at a home on
the same street as the Granville murders, several carloads of middle-eastern "thugs" were
spotted outside Sydney's Silverwater jail.

Opposition justice spokesman Andrew Humpherson said that "four carloads of middle-eastern
thugs were spotted outside Silverwater jail communicating in Arabic with inmates, including
members of the Chami family".

He asked Premier Morris Iemma why the government had previously transferred the only
Silverwater perimeter guard capable of translating the comments - a move he claimed had
jeopardised intelligence gathering in the murder inquiry.

In response, Mr Iemma accused the opposition of undermining the work of police and
other authorities.

"You think so little of those that risk their lives in doing dangerous jobs that they
would participate in some sort of hidden agenda," he told parliament.

"Under the guise of an attack on the government, what you're in fact doing is undermining
the police and other authorities in this state and that's all that you ever do."

AAP pj/hn/cjh/de

KEYWORD: SHOTS OPPOSITION

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