New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Akeel Hassan Abbas AL BAIIATY

Hearing: 19 August 2019

at Rimutaka Prison

Members of the Board:

• Sir Ron Young – Chairperson
• Ms P Rose
• Dr J Skipworth

Counsel:

• Ms J Fyfe

In Attendance:

• Mr A Spierling – NZPB Manager
• Ms C Van Leuven – Department Of Corrections
• Ms M Swainson – Arabic Interpreter

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Mr Al Baiiaty was sentenced to preventive detention for abduction for sex, raping a woman and assaulting her in 2005. That rape was committed while he was on parole. In 1997 he committed two rapes and assault with intent to commit rape. So Mr Al Baiiaty, apart from a brief period in 2004/2005 when he was on parole, has been in prison since 1998.
2. We last saw him in April 2019. By then he had completed all the rehabilitation recommended for him. He was to be deported to Iraq and had not challenged that deportation decision. He said that he had made arrangements for living with his family in Iraq.  He had a safety plan which he had given to his brother in Australia. The Board considered that much more needed to be done to explain to his family in Iraq about his offending including his high-risk situations and early warning signs. The typical information that would be contained within his safety plan.
3. As to the current situation, Mr Al Baiiaty has been continuing to do one-on-one psychological work. He has had a reintegration meeting by phone. His safety plan has been translated and sent to the family. We have an updating report about the reintegration meeting by phone but there are a number of concerns about that occasion.  It seemed clear to us that Mr Al Baiiaty, because of difficulties with the phone connection, was not able to give a thorough account of his offending or his offending process or his high-risk situations or early warning signs, including the kind of information as we have mentioned that would typically be in his safety plan.
4. Mr Al Baiiaty has completed all of the rehabilitation necessary. We are satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made, as far as we are able to ascertain, with his family for accommodation. There is apparently also available a private psychologist who can help and support Mr Al Baiiaty. In addition he has employment and the prospect of marriage. That together, subject to one matter we will mention in a moment, is sufficient to satisfy us he is no longer an undue risk.
5. The one matter that we are concerned about is the fact that he has still not been able by telephone to adequately advise his family and fiancé of the matters that would be typically contained within a reintegration meeting. We have mentioned most of those above. And so we make it clear that while we give Mr Al Baiiaty a release date, we are likely to revoke that release if a telephone reintegration meeting has not been held by his release date.
6. We will release him on 14 October [2019]. We expect Corrections to advise us by email at least seven days prior to 14 October, that the reintegration meeting by telephone has been held with his family. For it to be clear, we consider that the reintegration discussion should include his sister, his fiancé as well as other family members.
7. Mr Al Baiiaty will therefore be released on 14 October with the following special conditions.
8. The special conditions are:

   (1) To be released into the custody of the New Zealand Immigration authorities, or to the New Zealand Police, for deportation from New Zealand.

   (2) Not to return to New Zealand.

   (3) Not to have contact or otherwise associate, with any victim of your offending, [including previous offending] directly or indirectly, unless you have the prior written approval of a probation officer.