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| Down Under |
| Oz drops terror charge against Dr. Haneef |
| 2007-07-28 |
| Australian authorities today dropped a terror charge against an Indian-born doctor accused of supporting the failed bomb attacks on London and Glasgow. Mohamed Haneef, 27, had been accused of giving "reckless support" to terrorism by giving his mobile phone SIM card to a relative implicated in the plot. Australia's director of Public Prosecutions Damian Bugg said that, following a review of the case, "a mistake has been made". Mr Bugg told a press conference that he withdrew the charges because he was satisfied "there was no reasonable prospect of conviction". Mr Bugg said today: "In the circumstances of this case I do not believe that evidence to prove the case to the requisite standard will be obtained," he said. "On my view of the matter a mistake has been made." Dr Haneef has denied knowing anything about the British bomb plot, and told police he only gave his SIM card to his cousin so he could take advantage of extra minutes left on the account. Prosecutors had claimed that the SIM card had been found in the burning Jeep. But the case came under question after it later emerged the card had actually been found in a flat in Liverpool. Dr Haneef had been arrested at Brisbane airport on July 2 trying to board a flight to India with a one-way ticket within days of the failed attacks. He told police he was rushing to join his family because his daughter had been born a few days earlier by emergency Caesarean section. Dr Haneef's solicitor Peter Russo said today he would fight any move to have his client deported following the dropping of the charges. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |