Neena Bhandari, IANS
Sydney : Indian doctor Muhammad Haneef, charged in connection with the failed terror plot in Britain, was Wednesday moved to a correction centre where he would be kept in solitary confinement as his lawyers filed an appeal against the Australian government's decision to revoke his visa.
The 27-year-old Haneef has been moved to the Wolston Correctional Centre at Richlands on the western outskirts of Brisbane after he failed to reach bail conditions, two days after he was granted bail on the condition that he provides a surety of AU $10,000 and report to the Southport police station in the state of Queensland three times a week.
Haneef, who was arrested on July 2 while flying out to India on a one-way ticket from Brisbane and charged with recklessly giving his mobile phone SIM card to people planning the bomb attacks in London and Glasgow, will be in solitary confinement with access to books, radio and TV.
However, he will not be allowed access to computers and will be allowed an hour's exercise time.
"He will be safely and securely managed and will be subject to an intensive management plan that sets out the details of every aspect of his daily life. He will be provided with access to his legal adviser, the official visitors scheme and the chief inspector," said Queensland Police and Corrective Services Minister Judy Spence.
Haneef's appeal seeking a judicial review of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Kevin Andrews's decision to revoke his 457 Visa and keep him behind bars will come up in the Brisbane federal court Wednesday afternoon.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty said the police interview with Haneef leaked to The Australian newspaper – in which the doctor says he is a Muslim with moderate views and fears being "framed" over the SIM card he gave to his second cousin Sabeel Ahmed, the third person charged in the case – has not come from police officers and it undermines the judicial process.
In the 142-page transcript published Wednesday, Haneef told police he had never had firearms, explosives or terrorist training and had never been asked "to take part in jihad or anything that could be considered similar to jihad".
Haneef said he made repeated telephone calls to British police to explain the SIM card issue but the calls were unanswered, and that his father-in-law had paid for his ticket to India because he didn't have any money.
The documents reveal Kafeel Ahmed, who suffered 90 percent burns while driving a burning jeep in Glasgow, loaned 300 pounds to Haneef in 2004 so he could sit for a medical exam. Haneef also remained in regular contact with Sabeel Ahmed after leaving Britain in September 2006.
Haneef and Sabeel Ahmed had last communicated online on June 26 – three days before undetonated car bombs were located in London.
Meanwhile, there is confusion about the wording of the exact charge against Haneef. Federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock was unable to put the record straight whether it was "intentionally" or "recklessly".
Though Commissioner Keelty on Saturday had stated the specific allegation involved "recklessness rather than intention", documents used to revoke his visa, released by his lawyers, reportedly say Haneef has been charged with "intentionally" providing resources to a terrorist organisation, and being reckless as to whether the organisation was a terrorist organisation.
Australian authorities are also investigating a report in The Asian Age that alleged Haneef was a senior organiser for the now-banned group the student Islamic Movement of India, when he was at medical school.