60 Minutes

Former soldier granted bail over botched child recovery in Lebanon

Child recovery specialist and former Australian soldier Adam Whittington has been ordered to pay $US20,000 ($26,000) in bail.

Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner, Channel Nine's 60 Minutes crew members and Whittington and his associates were accused of trying to forcibly take Ms Faulkner's children — who were living in Beirut with her estranged ex-partner Ali Elamine — and return them to Australia.

Channel 9 should release review of 60 Minutes Beirut story, says Peter Greste

Channel 9 has completed part of its review into the 60 Minutes child abduction story in Beirut. Greste, an Al Jazeera journalist who spent more than a year in an Egyptian jail, has said the review should be made public, but it is unclear if and when it will be.

Former journalist says he never would have done the 60 Minutes story

Now a media ethics expert at University of Melbourne, Dr Denis Muller said allegedly paying a “child recovery” agency to kidnap children and sending reporters to cover it was “cowboy journalism”.

60 Minutes crew to be charged

Four members of the Channel Nine crew — presenter Tara Brown, producer Stephen Rice, cameraman Ben Williamson and sound recordist David Ballment — were among a group of people arrested after a botched attempt to take Ms Faulkner's children off the streets of the capital, Beirut.

Ms Faulkner emerged shaken and teary eyed after being questioned by the judge for about 20 minutes.

Her estranged husband Ali el-Amien — who took the children to Lebanon last year and refused to let them return — had already been questioned, and Ms Faulkner was questioned in front of him.