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Friday July 27, 07:31 PM
Haneef released as terror case collapses

The terrorist case against Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef collapsed spectacularly on Friday as embarrassed federal authorities admitted bungling the investigation.

Dr Haneef, 27, was released from a Brisbane jail into "residential detention" on Friday night, hours after a charge against him of providing support to a terrorist organisation was dropped.

GUILTY BY GOVERNMENT FOR POLITICAL GAIN .. UNTIL FORCED
TO ACCEPT HE IS INNOCENT .. EVERYBODY BLAMING EVERYBODY ELSE ..

His overjoyed wife, Firdous Arshiya, said the truth had finally come out after commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Damian Bugg, QC, admitted there was no prospect that Dr Haneef could be convicted on the evidence.

But Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said the investigation was still continuing and he refused to apologise to Dr Haneef.

Mr Bugg is now investigating how prosecutors and police made two major mistakes, including getting Dr Haneef's previous British address wrong and claiming that a SIM card owned by him had been found in a Jeep which crashed into Glasgow Airport as part of a failed terrorist attack.

The SIM card was actually found hundreds of kilometres away.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, who cancelled Dr Haneef's work visa last week when a Brisbane magistrate granted the doctor bail, is seeking advice from the commonwealth solicitor-general on whether to reverse his decision.

Mr Andrews released Dr Haneef into residential detention until the advice is provided, but refused to admit he had made a mistake.

"My decision, at the moment, stands," Mr Andrews said.

He refused to discuss any potential compensation payout for Dr Haneef, who was held in custody for more than three weeks.

Prime Minister John Howard distanced himself from the case, saying it was up to Mr Keelty and Mr Bugg to explain.

"Prime ministers don't conduct prosecutions, nor do attorneys-general - directors of public prosecutions do," Mr Howard said in Bali.

Dr Haneef, a registrar at the Gold Coast Hospital, was arrested at Brisbane international airport on July 2, two days after the failed UK terrorist bombings in London and Glasgow, as he prepared to board a flight back to India to visit his wife and their new baby.

British authorities were interested in him because his mobile phone SIM card had turned up in the belongings of a UK-based relative linked to the attacks.

After 12 days in custody, Dr Haneef was charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation.

But when a magistrate released him on bail, Mr Andrews took the extraordinary step of cancelling his visa on character grounds.

Mr Bugg personally reviewed the case this week after a series of bungles and leaks.

Today he said there was no reasonable prospect of Dr Haneef being convicted on the evidence.

"Mistakes are embarrassing, you're embarrassed if you do something wrong," Mr Bugg told reporters.

"I'm not embarrassed about it in terms of my own feelings. I'm disappointed that it's happened and I will first thing next week try and obtain a better understanding of how it came about."

Dr Haneef tonight emerged from Brisbane's Wolston Correctional Centre in a blue van and, after being taken to immigration offices in the city, left again for an unknown destination.

He will be required to report to the immigration department every day by phone and every few days in person.

But he will not get his passport back until his immigration status is decided.

Mr Keelty defended the AFP, saying it had operated professionally and within the boundaries of the law at all stages.

Asked by a journalist whether the case had been a fiasco, Mr Keelty said: "They are your words, not mine.

"The police investigation has been thorough, I make no apology for that, nor should I in a terrorism investigation in this country.

"We have done our job well in this instance, we have done our job professionally."

Mr Keelty listed challenges in the investigation, such as the volume of information that had to be considered and the time difference between Australia and the UK.

But he said Dr Haneef's arrest and charge could have been avoided had the doctor not tried to return to India.

Dr Haneef remains suspended without pay from the Gold Coast Hospital because he does not have a visa.

Queensland Premier Beattie, who was criticised by Mr Howard for labelling the AFP `Keystone Cops' over the case, said Dr Haneef could return to work if his visa was restored.

"In any democracy it is vital that people are free to openly question the system - whether it is the judicial system or the political system," Mr Beattie said.

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown will move for a Senate inquiry into the bungled prosecution when federal parliament resumes next month.

In Bangalore, Dr Haneef's wife, Firdous Arshiya, said she was extremely pleased the charges had been dropped.

"I am extremely happy that finally the day has come when the truth has come out," she said outside her parents' house.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/070722/2/140yr.html