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| Down Under | |
| Australia charges Dr. Haneef over UK terror links | |
| 2007-07-14 | |
| Gold Coast doctor Mohamed Haneef has been charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement today. Police will allege Gold Coast doctor Mohamed Haneef supported a terrorist organisation by "recklessly" giving his mobile phone SIM card to people planning car bomb attacks in the UK. Dr Haneef, an Indian national who worked as a registrar at Gold Coast Hospital, will today face Brisbane Magistrates Court. "The specific allegation involves recklessness rather than intention,'' Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said today. "The allegation being that he was reckless about some of the support he provided to that group, in particular the provision of his SIM card for the use of the group.'' There is a presumption against bail for people charged with terrorism offences and Mr Keelty confirmed police would oppose bail. The maximum penalty for the terrorism support offence is 15 years jail. Dr Haneef has been held in custody in Brisbane since his arrest at the city's airport on July 2 in connection with foiled bomb attacks in London and Glasgow. The Gold Coast Hospital doctor is related to two men detained in the UK over the plot, Sabeel and Kafeel Ahmed, who allegedly drove a Jeep Cherokee into Glasgow airport. Police today had 12 hours to question Dr Haneef before they had to either release him or charge him. He has been held in custody for 12 days, under new Australian anti-terrorism laws. He was arrested at Brisbane airport on July 2 with a one-way ticket to India. Dr Haneef told authorities he was on his way to Bangalore to visit his wife, who had just given birth.
His client is very upset by the news and will apply for bail, Mr Russo said. Dr Haneef reportedly shared a house in the British city of Liverpool with Kafeel and Sabeel Ahmed for up to two years before Dr Haneef moved to Australia, and remained in contact by phone and online messaging after that. Police have also said they suggest a possible link between Dr Haneef and Mr Abdullah. Australian officials have previously said Dr Haneef was arrested after his mobile phone's SIM card was found in the possession of one of the British suspects, later identified by media reports as Sabeel Ahmed. Official documents cited by The Australian newspaper yesterday said Dr Haneef gave the SIM card to Sabeel Ahmed before he moved to Australia from Britain last year so that his cousin could take advantage of free minutes left on his mobile phone plan. | |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #2 It's not all that surprising the wife would want to be with her family to give birth, especially with a doctor husband working round the clock. It would be interesting to know if she really had been pregnant, though, as claimed. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-07-14 08:48 |
| #1 I wonder why his wife was in India and not in Australia with her husband? It's not like we have a high neonatal death rate here. Did she also share the house with the other two "suspects" in Britain before her husband moved to Australia last year? It just seems a bit too suspicious that he was about to skip the country on a one way ticket as this all unfolded. |
| Posted by: Gladys 2007-07-14 05:20 |