The Guardian 25 July, 2007
A trail of lies, deception & secrecy
More damning evidence keeps emerging that leaves no doubt the man being held as a terrorist suspect has been incarcerated on trumped up charges. It has now been revealed in The Australian newspaper that the names of overseas terrorist suspects were written in Dr Mohamed Haneef’s personal diary by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers who were interrogating him.
The revelation came as AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty was forced to deny claims that Dr Haneef was being investigated in relation to an alleged planned attack on a high rise Gold Coast building.
Earlier the AFP refused to confirm or deny whether its officers found photographs of a Gold Coast building in Dr Haneef’s unit. Then Keelty came out and said the reports were “inaccurate". It has already been revealed that the mobile phone SIM card belonging to the doctor was not found in the jeep that was exploded at Glasgow Airport, as the Crown Prosecutor had told a Brisbane court.
The trail of lies, deception and secrecy gets longer and more cluttered by the day. Dr Haneef’s lawyer, Peter Russo, speaking of the photos of the Gold Coast high rise, stated: “There is some talk (in the police interrogation) about photos that were downloaded off the computer, which I regard as tourist photos — nothing sinister at all."
As for the claim there were also diagrams of the building’s foundations, Mr Russo commented, “I don’t have anything to indicate anything about it. The only people who would be privy to anything like that would be the Australian Federal Police."
Another Indian doctor, this time in Perth, who did not want to be named, has been interrogated by AFP officers, who searched his home for 12 hours earlier this month and took away computer equipment. He and the others living in the home have since been cleared. “Our families want us to come home", the man said. “Not many people know that we are the doctors involved. I am just worried about my career. It might be difficult. If everything goes bad, I will go home."
The Law Council of Australia has criticised the Howard Government for allowing a political judgement about what is in the national interest to “overwhelm important matters of principle" in its dealings with Dr Haneef.
The peak legal body has been especially critical of Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews’ decision to revoke Dr Haneef’s work visa just hours after a Brisbane court granted the doctor bail. “The Immigration Minister’s decision has effectively undermined Australia’s judicial system", said Law Council president Tim Bugg.
“There’s more than a whiff of political opportunism about the decision which infringes on the principle that every citizen is innocent until proven guilty. The procedure the Minister followed was cloaked in secrecy.
“It meant Dr Haneef had no chance to represent his position, and it reduces, and might be seen to calculatedly reduce, his chances in the future of receiving a fair trial."
Mr Bugg said the latest developments reignited the debate over the government’s anti-terrorism laws; laws he said are being used by governments to interfere with people’s basic rights.
As far as a fair trial is concerned, Kevin Andrews stated last week that Dr Haneef will be deported, no matter what. “Kevin Andrews’ announcement that Haneef will be deported regardless of the criminal process indicates that the government is not willing to subject the evidence against Haneef to the independent scrutiny of the courts", said Simeon Beckett, president of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights.
“It doesn’t matter whether a court finds him guilty or not guilty of the criminal charges laid against him, the government has made a decision that he should be deported without giving him an opportunity to put his defence."
The Migration Act allows the Minister to cancel a visa on character grounds without giving the visa holder an opportunity to know the case against him or her. “It may be legal to do so but it is far from fair", said Mr Beckett.
“The government seeks to hide behind national security as the reason for not supplying Dr Haneef or the public with the reasons for the detention. Dr Haneef is entitled as a matter of international human rights law to know the evidence against him and have an opportunity to defend himself.
“It is an appalling breach of human rights where executive detention and deportation are used to avoid proper scrutiny of government action by the courts."
Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle has called for an investigation into the leaks and misinformation surrounding Dr Haneef’s prosecution. “I am deeply concerned that this case is raising both serious and ongoing questions about the possibility of government involvement in trying to tarnish Dr Haneef’s name.
“In particular there needs to be an investigation into who leaked the untrue claim that Dr Haneef was looking at skyscrapers in Australia for a sinister purpose.
“Commissioner Keelty was quick to talk about investigations into who leaked the AFP record of interview but I have not heard him talk about an investigation into who leaked this information that created more suspicion about Dr Haneef."
Senator Nettle also asked if the officers involved in writing in Dr Haneef’s diary are still investigating the case. “What does Commissioner Keelty have to say about Federal Police constructing evidence in this way?
“I renew my call for Kevin Andrews to review his decision to cancel Dr Haneef’s visa …"