Thursday, March 13, 2008

Judicial Inquiry into the Haneef case

I was very pleased to hear that the Federal Government has announced details of a judicial inquiry into the Mohamed Haneef affair. You will find details here.

Attorney-General Robert McClelland said the inquiry, to be conducted by former NSW Supreme Court judge John Clarke, QC, would report by September 30.

Just to remind you of the details, Dr Haneef, an Indian-born doctor working at the Gold Coast Hospital, was kept in custody for 12 days last year before being charged with terrorism-related offences.

He was accused of having links with terrorists involved in bomb plots in Britain, including his second cousin, Sabeel Ahmed.

Former immigration minister Kevin Andrews revoked Dr Haneef's visa just hours after the doctor was granted bail on a charge of providing reckless support to a terrorist organisation. The case against him collapsed a fortnight later when then Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Damien Bugg told a federal magistrate there was no reasonable prospect of obtaining a conviction.

I have listed my posts on this matter at the end of this post.

My core concern lay in what I saw as a failure in due process, a failure that existed independent of the facts of the case. Now, at least, the whole thing will be tested.

The Haneef Posts

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