By Neena Bhandari, IANS
Sydney : The Law Council of Australia, the country’s peak legal group, has asked the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to publicly answer questions on the handling of the Indian doctor Muhammed Haneef’s failed case.
On Monday, the Law Council sought answers to whether or not the AFP officers lawfully discharged their functions under the Commonwealth Crimes Act in relation to the Haneef case.
The Law Council, on Nov 2, had written to AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty asking nine questions about the conduct of the AFP in the Haneef case. The questions have not been answered yet.
Law Council President Ross Ray said: “Although the AFP has indicated an intention to reply, thus far the only responses the Law Council has received from the AFP have been directed at delaying the publication of the Law Council’s letter. Australians deserve answers to the questions posed by the Law Council, and many more beyond.
“It has become clear that our anti-terror laws, while draconian in certain respects, are only part of the problem. The source of the danger is not only what those laws say but what people, including AFP officers, think they say — we need to learn from the Haneef and (Izhar) ul-Haque cases,” Ray added.
In a statement, the Law Council said it feels that law enforcement agencies, like the AFP, have been encouraged by sweeping anti-terror laws and the enthusiastic and uncritical support of the federal government to use their authority and resources inappropriately in a ‘win at all costs’ way.
“The actual details of the law are ignored and calamitous results for ordinary people are only too apparent. It has become increasingly important to hold an independent, transparent and broad ranging inquiry into these matters and law enforcement culture,” Ray concluded.
Haneef was held in custody for 12 days following his arrest on July 2 before he was finally charged with supporting a terrorist organisation by “recklessly” giving his mobile phone SIM card to people planning the failed London and Glasgow bomb attacks.
After 25 days in detention, the Australian government absolved him of charges of supporting terrorism, amid demands that those behind the tragedy of errors must quit and that the Indian doctor be sent home honourably.
The AFP has admitted that there were irregularities in evidence and there was no prospect of conviction and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has acknowledged making “mistakes”, but no one has taken responsibility for the blunders.
An AFP spokesperson told the Australian Associated Press that it had replied to the Council. “The Australian Federal Police has twice written to the Law Council of Australia in response to the council’s letter about the conduct of the AFP during the Haneef case,” AFP spokesman Scott Kelleher told AAP.
Kelleher said because the Haneef case was still before the Federal Court it was not possible to fully answer the Council’s questions.