The name Urewera 17 refers to the seventeen people arrested during the 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids which mainly targeted camps in the Urewera mountain ranges. The name was coined on the New Zealand Indymedia website. Of those arrested about half have links with the Maori sovereignty movement, while most of the others are self-described anarchists.
The seventeen includes Maori activist Tame Iti, his nephew Rawiri Iti and Aucklander Jamie Lockett, the other fourteen have name suppression. Sixteen are facing firearms charges while one is facing a cannabis charge. All but one, who has health problems, currently remain in custody, and are expected to until early November.
|
