Australia Frees Doctor in Glasgow Bombing Investigation

The Australian authorities released Dr. Mohamed Haneef after detaining him on charges of supporting an extremist organization. His second cousin was allegedly part of the attack on Glasgow airport, and he had bought his relative a SIM card for his mobile phone. After a month’s detention, the Australian Chief Prosecutor dropped the charges. It turns out the SIM card was found not in the burning vehicle at Glasgow's airport, but quite a distance away in Liverpool. That seemed to be the only evidence the police had.

The Australian Government of John Howard is as happy to play the terrorist card as the Bush White House. Australia still stings from the loss of several of its citizens in the Bali bombings, which feature in the Aussie national mind much as the World Trade Center’s collapse does in America’s. So, it is no surprise that the Australian authorities respond to any suspicion with a rather heavy hand.

Despite having the charges dropped, and despite the Chief Prosecutor calling the charges a “mistake,” the Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews has withdrawn Dr. Haneef’s working visa. “Nothing that I saw in the interview with Dr. Haneef changed my mind as to the suspicions and doubts that I had about the matter,” he said. Dr. Haneef’s lawyer is instituting action to force the government to reinstate the visa, but from the sounds of it, the doctor doesn’t seem to want to come back right away.

Maybe there was other evidence that couldn’t be used in court. Maybe Dr. Haneef really is more than just a 27-year-old medical man. Maybe, his cousin got him into things about which he should have spoken to the authorities. Mr. Andrews claims there is "secret" evidence which may come to light in future. And maybe not. Maybe, the doctor really is innocent.

Any judicial system is flawed because human beings operate it. Dr. Haneef, though, was operating under Australian law, not American. Had he been a physician in the US, he would probably be living in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without access to a lawyer and without a presumption of innocence. He told Australian radio that he felt, “victimized by the Australian authorities” after being held for four weeks. Some in Guantanamo have been there four years. If their guilt were proved, forty years would be adequate. But there could well be an innocent man there. Dr. Haneef’s case reminds the world that the one thing crucial to protecting liberty and establishing security is a legal system that rests upon evidence, not on the say-so of the authorities.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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