Indian doctor Dr Haneef was charged on the weekend — after being held without charge for twelve days — with “recklessly” supporting a terrorist organisation by giving his cousin a mobile phone SIM card around one year ago. Dr Haneef argues that he gave it to his cousin before departing the UK because he had unused credit remaining on his account. The government alleges that by giving the SIM card to his cousin, Haneef had recklessly supported a terrorist organisation although they do not suggest that he was involved in the act or had foreknowledge of the act.
As Peter Faris, QC, summarises today, four things now need to be established to prove his guilt:
First, that Haneef provided the card to the terrorists.
Second, that at the time he knew or believed they were planning a terrorist attack.
Third, that he knew or believed the SIM card might be used in the attack or the planning of it.
Fourth, knowing or believing all these things, he recklessly supplied the card.
The proof of all this will be difficult and the case is probably a very weak one.
In a bail hearing today, the judge ordered him released on $10,000 bail. Given what we know of the facts of his case so far, the decision of the judge today was not surprising. However, what happened afterwards is surprising.
Despite being released on bail, the immigration minister decided to cancel Dr Haneef’s temporary work visa. This resulted in Dr Haneef being kept in custody, awaiting transfer to the immigration detention facility in Sydney. The only way he can avoid ending up in the detention centre is if he fails to post bail; thereby leaving himself remanded in custody (and therefore with more rights available to him, it seems).
Explaining this unexpected turn of events, the immigration minister Mr Andrews argued that Dr Haneef had failed a ‘character test’. He said:
Today I’ve exercised my powers … to cancel the visa of Dr Mohamed Haneef…Based on information and advice I have received from the Australian Federal Police, I reasonably suspect that Dr Haneef has had or has an association with persons involved in criminal conduct, namely terrorism…I’m satisfied the cancellation is in the national interest…I have a responsibility and a duty as minister under the (Migration) Act to turn my mind to the question of whether Dr Haneef passes the character test.
This is, of course, within the powers of the Immigration Minister. However, as the Sydney Morning Herald wrote:
In a strict legal sense, Mr Andrews’s decision is separate to the criminal proceedings under way in Brisbane. Haneef will join many other immigrants in Villawood whose visas have been cancelled on character grounds.
But in a practical sense, the visa cancellation is a mechanism that has allowed the Government to override the decision of the Brisbane magistrate and ensure that Haneef, whether guilty or not guilty of the terrorism charges, never tastes freedom again in Australia.
On this matter of character, Hedley Thomas, one of the journalists covering the case of for The Australian, commented, “in my view, the only person to fail a character test was Kevin Andrews.” Ouch.
Of course, about the only thing that isn’t surprising in this case is that the leader of the opposition Kevin Rudd agrees with it all.
For a more detailed discussion of the legal issues surrounding the case, this discussion [mp3] with John Dowd, QC makes interesting listening.
UPDATE: Larvatus Prodeo, Senator Andrew Bartlett, The Legal Soapbox, and Ambit Gambit all have interesting thoughts on the case and this most recent development.
UPDATE 2: After failing to reach bail conditions, Haneef has been transferred to a maximum security prison where he will be made to follow a plan that regulates “every aspect of his daily life”.
16 comments ↓
Seems like the Australian government is a mere reflection of the Bush administration. If you can’t catch ‘em one way, ensnare them with another!
How difficult is it to imagine that this guy gave his OWN cousin a SIM card while being sheerly ignorant of his cousin’s state of mind? Anyone who has family or friends knows that this is entirely probably… and to put a guy in jail and subject his family to the mental horror of this incident is unjust and unfair. But then again, the term injustice does not exist in the dictionary when dealing with Muslims these days.
Shame on the Australian government for destroying a person’s life based on the flimsiest of evidence and on grounds of guilt by association.
One major problem I have with this (and it is difficult trying to isolate just one in this monstrosity) is that his failure of the character test all but removes the assumption of innocent until proven guilty, but without anything resembling a trial. This will surely be a hurdle to getting a fair trial will it not?
I would think so but perhaps, as Faris, QC, suggests in the piece linked to above, the intent of the charges and so on is really just to keep Haneef in prison/detention long enough for the British to get their paperwork together so they can extradite him.
What’s one sacrificial lamb the slaughter eh? I just cannot believe that my free, democratic, civilized country is just as bad as all the tin-pot dictatorships around the world. *Sigh*.
Howard is clearly baiting the left and so called “do gooders” to come after him, so that he can wedge rudd.
The playbook is this: now that howard is under pressure about the detention, there will be leaks to sympathetic newspapers ( I predict the Herald Sun and the OZ) defaming Haneef and hinting at a dark past etc..
Howard will play out national security and hope to get a Tampa like realignment of the politics. I also expect that this will happen to some extent.
If I was advising Rudd, I would tell him to give a full throated support to Howard on this matter. Obviously it will cost him something in the PLP but its better than falling for the old one two.
There is no chance for this fellow, his life is destroyed.
Haneef, Hicks, second cousins?
The use of Section 501 to overcome the effect of granting bail to Haneef, and the character assassination of the magistrate who made that decision, all point to moves characteristic of fascism. I’ve commented on this here: http://mike-servethepeople.blogspot.com
My bleeding left leanings grew out as the grey hairs grew in, nevertheless I find the parallel to the USA, Guantamano Bay and David Hicks absolutely uncanny. With another election looming is was of course an imperative that another major security threat would need to be manufactured. ….helpfully fanned by the media and the opposition. Pity about the rule of law!!
This is about the election nothing more. These fascist thugs do not care about Haneef or terrorism. Their only terror is that may get wiped in a democratic election.
“As a nation, we began by declaring that “all men are created equal.” We now practically read it “all men are created equal, except Negroes.” When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read “all men are created equal, except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics.” When it comes to this, I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure and without the base alloy of hypocrisy”
Abraham Lincoln August 24, 1855
During Stalin’s times, vast numbers of innocent Soviets were falsely convicted of the crime of:
Terrorism.
During the Nazi occupation of Europe, the Nazi regime called members of the resistance:
Terrorists.
The unelected regime in the White House today and their poodle allies accuse Muslims of:
Terrorism.
Have we learnt nothing from history? Are we going to take their word for it? Again?
Andrews may be perfectly within his rights to revoke Haneef’s visa but he should also revoke the visas of every other foreigner who has been charged with an offence. There are people on remand who have done far worse than lend a SIM card to their cousin one year before their cousin carried out a failed terrorist attack. If he doesn’t apply his powers evenly and fairly then the only thing we can conclude is that this is all politricks.
The Australian has the first interview “leaked” and it clearly shows that the feds know he has not done anything other than contact his cousin in a chat room. Wow, what a crime.
Now they have cancelled the wife’s visa out of sheer spite and if he is going to be deported anyway with his life destroyed what is the point of pushing this anymore?
Ruddock didn’t even have a clue what he had been “charged with” and nor does Andrews.
This is cruel and vicious and is not excusable on any level.
[...] Australian have published a leaked transcript [pdf] of Dr Haneef’s interview with the Australian Federal Police. Hedley Thomas, whose reporting of the incident so far [...]
India now has its very own David Hicks and Villawood has become the new Gitmo.
[...] noteworthy was Austrolabe’s effort, although also good was LawFont’s piece, along with [...]
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