Prominent Maori lawyer Annette Sykes believes the public is entitled to know why police have dropped charges against most of those arrested in raids in the Ureweras and elsewhere in 2007.
The Crown says a Supreme Court decision last week has affected the case and there is no longer sufficient evidence to charge 13 of the group with firearms offences.
Ms Sykes, who represents the defendant Maraki Teepa, says she's ecstatic that he's free after four years of difficult bail conditions.
She says the Supreme Court has suppressed publication of its ruling, but called for submissions, and her instructions are to apply to have suppression lifted.
Ms Sykes says Maori iwi Tuhoe, along with the New Zealand and international community, should be allowed to know why the civil liberties of the Urewera defendants are now being upheld.
Tuhoe activist Tame Iti and three others are charged with firearms offences and being part of an organised criminal group.
Meanwhile, the Auckland Council for Civil Liberties says the dropping of charges against most of those arrested in the Urewera raids, is a massive backdown by police.
Council president Barry Wilson says the 2007 operation by police and SIS abused the basic freedoms of many innocent people.
He says people were held at gunpoint in their own homes, stopped at checkpoints, unlawfully detained and generally terrified by police.
Mr Wilson says now only four people are to stand trial on charges that are minor in comparison to the scale of the raids.
He says it is time police explained and apologised for their actions.
