Sim Card Ties Doctor To Terrorists, Court Hears
Sun Herald
Sunday July 15, 2007
AN Indian doctor charged by the Australian Federal Police faces up to 15 years in jail if allegations he provided assistance to a British terrorist group are proven CORRECT.
Investigators in Brisbane yesterday ended 12 days of holding Gold Coast resident Mohamed Haneef under anti-terrorism provisions to formally lay charges against him. Haneef, 27, was charged with supplying a SIM card to his second cousin Sabeel Ahmed. Sabeel and his brother Kafeel Ahmed allegedly took part in terrorism attacks in London and Glasgow last month. The charge alleges that, in supplying the card, Haneef was reckless about whether the two might have been involved in terrorism. Haneef faced Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday to apply for bail. Wearing a check shirt, brown pullover and dark trousers, the handcuffed Haneef sat in the dock calmly listening to evidence.The Commonwealth alleged Haneef was on close terms with the British bombing suspects and had lived, associated and possibly worked with them during a stay in Britain last year. Commonwealth prosecutor Clive Porritt said that, before leaving Britain, Haneef provided the SIM card to Sabeel. It was alleged Sabeel passed the card on to Kafeel and that the card was used until June 29 this year, the day of the London bombing attempt. The card was allegedly subsequently found in a car used in an attempted terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport. Mr Porritt said that, by providing the card, Haneef had supplied the alleged terrorists with a usable alternative identity. Mr Porritt said that, on July 2, the day of Haneef's arrest, Haneef had received a flurry of phone calls from relatives in India and sought seven days' leave from his job at Gold Coast Hospital. When he was arrested, Haneef was in possession of a one-way ticket and his medical qualifications. Mr Porritt opposed bail, saying Haneef was a flight risk and the Crimes Act allowed bail in cases of terrorism only under exceptional circumstances. But Haneef's barrister, Stephen Keim, said the case against his client was weak and at worst the doctor was a foolish dupe. He questioned whether, given the relatively non-serious nature of the alleged offences against Haneef, exceptional circumstances were necessary for bail. Mr Keim said his client had simply provided an associate with a SIM card that was no longer of use to him. He had no way of knowing the card would later be linked to alleged acts of terrorism. "My client is a man of impeccable character apart from the allegations made against him by this court," he said. Mr Keim said given the media coverage of the case it would be impossible for Haneef to flee the country. "Not only is the case against him weak but any opportunity that he would have to be able to remain undetected in Australia, let alone get out of the country, is non-existent." Mr Keim said Haneef may have made false statements to police about leaving Australia to visit his child who was sick in India, but they were the false explanations of an innocent man. Magistrate Jacqui Payne adjourned the hearing to later yesterday to allow both sides to gather supplementary submissions. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty yesterday defended the long incarceration and interrogation of Haneef as being a balancing act between human rights and the need to establish the facts.Mr Keelty said the inquiries involved the seizure of electronic material "from various locations" equivalent to "something in the order of 36,000 four-drawer filing cabinets".Three hundred lawyers and police were involved in the investigation, and members of the public had provided information to the national security hotline.Mr Keelty could not say whether British police would seek to extradite Haneef for possible offences outside Australia.Attorney-General Philip Ruddock stressed the importance of Haneef being seen as innocent until proven guilty.
© 2007 Sun Herald
