Haneef bungle gets even lousier

[hongi]

Not one shred of evidence

Even before charging him last year, the Australian Federal Police knew Mohammed Haneef's old SIM card was not used by a terrorist cell. In the public's mind, that card was the one sexy piece of evidence somehow linking the Gold Coast doctor to botched attempts by his cousin Kafeel Ahmed to blow up a London nightclub and Glasgow airport. The police have now admitted they knew the card was never used and never there. But it grounded the charge.

From the mountain of paper about the Haneef fiasco - to which the AFP added last Thursday a brief public defence of its role in what was known as "Operation Rain" - it is now clear the Australian police had run out of options by the time the Indian medico was charged with recklessly giving his card to a terrorist cell. The case was threadbare. The lawyers were circling. It had come down to this: Haneef had to be charged or released.

For 11 days the AFP had been holding him in the Brisbane watchhouse under brand new powers that allow terrorism suspects to be imprisoned without charge virtually indefinitely. Public scrutiny was intense. The laws had never been used before. The Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the Police Commissioner were calling almost daily press conferences in Canberra to underscore the grave allegations Haneef faced.

But despite the public air of national emergency, Operation Rain was in trouble. Intense police efforts here and in Britain were yielding nothing to implicate this man in the British outrages. Police had their suspicions. They had seized a huge amount of material to analyse. There were many interesting leads to follow. But after nearly a fortnight they had found nothing that would hold up in court.

And they knew it. A document released to Haneef's lawyers under freedom of information shows a senior investigator with Operation Rain concluding at this time: "I do not believe that I currently have sufficient evidence to charge Haneef." ASIO was delivering the same verdict to the Government. Queensland police attached to Operation Rain also believed there was insufficient evidence to charge the man.

But three days later, at the end of an all-night interrogation, Haneef was charged under section 102.7(2) of the Commonwealth's Criminal Code with providing a SIM card to a terrorist organisation a year earlier and "being reckless as to whether the organisation was a terrorist organisation".

...

In a nutshell: they never had anything concrete to link Mohammed Haneef to his cousin's crimes; they were never very interested in the SIM card; they were living all along in the hope that something damning would turn up in Britain. The mantra of Operation Rain and the hapless DPP official drawn into the police net was: something's on its way from over there. But it never came.

So there's the utterly retarded police investigation, and there's the utterly retarded witch-hunt that was spun by people like Kevin Andrews. He should have been subject to an inquiry. Seriously, how could they botch it up so bad?

[Chris OFarrell]

Easy.

Just look at him! He's one of THEM! From over THERE! How can he NOT be guilty, given that he was related to one of the bombers in London!?!?! Keep digging, we'll find the evidence eventually!

Seriously, I would not be in the slightest surprised if that was the exact argument, cleaned up a little, behind the whole thing.

[thejester]

These are the people charged with safeguarding us from terrorists. Unbelievable.

Coming on the heals of Jihad Jack's release, must surely bring the terror laws into review...

[mr friendly guy]

At least Kevin Andrews lost his job. Its only fair after Haneef lost his due to Andrews manipulation. Its more than fair consider Andrews lost his fair and square, via the election. I only hope Andrews gets called up to give evidence. Hopefully Howard too if more evidence comes up about the involvement of his office.

[Lusankya]

Is anyone actually likely to get put on trial for this? I mean, EVERYONE knows that they violated due process and were basically shitting on the law during the whole affair. Surely there's enough evidence out there.

[Ekiqa]

Is anyone actually likely to get put on trial for this? I mean, EVERYONE knows that they violated due process and were basically shitting on the law during the whole affair. Surely there's enough evidence out there.

Does the police ever get put on trial in Australia? They might be sued by Haneef, but I doubt anything much beyond that.

[weemadando]

Yeah, the police have regularly been put on trial. But I don't think we've ever had a case that would call for the Federal Police commissioner (think the Head of the FBI), several ministers (and possibly a Prime Minister), State and Federal prosecutors, a multitude of State and Federal police and perhaps even some choice members of intelligence agencies to all be sharing the space in the dock.

This case, if it ever went to trial could wipe out half of the upper echelons of some of Australia's law enforcements agencies, not to mention sending a lot of politicians to gaol.

[bobalot]

The government at the time wanted to capture a "TERRORIST!!!" up drum up public support, it just happened to be not that far from an election as well. What is outrageous is they have no sense of shame over the whole affair and the FEDERAL police were in on this political stunt. They still defend their actions along with their arse kissing right wing pundits in the media.

I have been told, most state police think the fed's are a joke. I can see why.

[mr friendly guy]

I remember somewhere when the Federal Police questioned Haneef, they asked him some standard questions like what does your wife do? He replied IT. To which the cop asked (and I am paraphrasing) that's got something to do with computers right?. Someone help us if these clowns are protecting us from TEH EVEL TERRORISTS.

[The_Saint]

Disturbingly I know of a couple of state cases that have operated to the same political tune... "a political statement needs t obe made, a criminal case needs t obe held to justify the political statement, a scapegoat is found, the police dig like made and come up with nothing, they hand nothing over to the dpp and the dpp won't touch the case with a ten foot barge pole... now the police is stuck with a case they can hardly prosecute but they can't drop it or the political posturing becomes meangingless.