A relative of Mohamed Haneef will arrive in Brisbane tonight to
provide support for the terrorism suspect and meet with his legal
team.
Imran Siddiqui, a cousin of Haneef's wife Firdous Arshiya, was
due to arrive on a flight from India, after the Immigration
Department this week granted him a visa following security
checks.
Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) was today still
refusing to comment on apparent flaws in the case presented in
court against Haneef, 27.
It was alleged by prosecutors in court a week ago that the Gold
Coast-based doctor had given his mobile phone SIM card to his
cousin Sabeel Ahmed when he left the UK last July.
The court was told Sabeel had then passed the card on to his
brother Kafeel, the driver of a jeep used in a terrorist attack on
Glasgow Airport on June 30, and that the card had been found in the
wreckage.
However, sources have told several Australian media outlets the
SIM card was actually with Sabeel Ahmed in Liverpool at the time of
the incident.
An AFP spokeswoman today refused to confirm or deny the reports
incorrect information had been given to the court.
"The AFP would not confirm or deny any allegations," the
spokeswoman said.
"Because it's before the court it's inappropriate to
comment."
Haneef, who is currently being detained in Brisbane's Wolston
Correctional Centre, has been in police custody since July 2.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie today warned the federal
government that mishandling of the Haneef case could lead to
foreign doctors becoming reluctant to work in Australia.
"If this turns out at the end not to be substantiated, it'll
make it very difficult for us to ever recruit overseas-trained
doctors again," Mr Beattie told ABC Radio.
"And frankly, we need them."
Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said the revelation the
SIM card had not been found in the jeep at Glasgow Airport showed
the federal government's terror laws were open to political
abuse.
"The Greens opposed the terror laws when they were introduced
because we were concerned that they were so broad that they could
be used politically," Senator Nettle told reporters in Sydney.
"That may well be precisely what is happening here."
The AFP was under "immense pressure" from the government to
produce charges in the case, leading them to makes "numerous
mistakes", she said.
Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network spokesman Waleed
Kadous said the Haneef case had sparked fears among members of the
Islamic community that they could easily fall foul of anti-terror
laws.
"They can imagine being in the same situation as Haneef was in,
that they left a SIM card with a relative before leaving the
country and then something happens a year later," Dr Kadeef told
ABC Radio.
"They can imagine borrowing money from someone and paying the
loan back, these are not unusual things."
AAP, 21 July 2007
