Those Aussies are f@#$wits!!! And they have a f&^%wit lawyer too!!!
Lawyer: "Your Honor, my client wants to sue the airline. They maliciously prosecuted my clients!"
Judge: "The airline brought criminal charges against your clients?"
Lawyer: "Yes Your Honor. They also put them in a jail for a month and only gave them camels to eat!"
Judge: "The airline put them in jail?"
Lawyer: "Yes Your Honor. And the biggest crime was that my client were served warm champagne!"
Judge: "Yes, you have a case. We need to show those "less fortunate" people that they shouldn't mess with us. In fact, you win!"
Get over it guys. Governments deal with criminals in any way they see fit. Not all governments are angels but the Aussies are going to have a hard time convincing the courts that the airline had such overwhelming control over the government that the government was obliged to listen to them.
If the government could "assist" Etihad in this manner, what would stop them from "assisting" any other airline that was facing the same predicament? Being thrown in jail awaiting trail is nothing new, too bad for the guys it was summer.