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Thursday, 2 August 2007

Haneef: Perhaps the public can be told the real facts sometime

Peter Faris QC, former chairman of the National Crime Authority, writes:

On 30 June, a vehicle was driven into the terminal at Glasgow airport. Two men were in the vehicle, one of whom was Kafeel Ahmed, who was critically burned. Later that day, a number of people were arrested by the UK police.

One of these was Sabeel Ahmed who was arrested in Liverpool some hours later. His house was searched. Sabeel and Kafeel are brothers and are second cousins of Dr Mohamed Haneef.

On 14 July 2007, Dr Haneef made a bail application to the Brisbane Magistrates’ Court. The Prosecution, represented by Clive Porritt, senior solicitor at the Commonwealth DPP office in Brisbane, outlined the facts to the court. The principal allegation was that Haneef’s SIM card was found in the Glasgow vehicle.

Bail was granted. Immediately after, Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews revoked Haneef’s work visa.

Yesterday, 1 August, Andrews made public an Opinion that he had obtained from the Commonwealth Solicitor-General, David Bennett QC. Bennett had reviewed the decision and had access to the documents that Andrews had relied upon. Bennett writes at page 7:

There was no suggestion in the material before the Minister than (sic) the phone or the card had been found in one of the cars.

At page 8, Bennett writes further:

The Minister had been told that the phone and Sim card were found in Sabeel’s possession when he was arrested. The fact is that the Sim card was found at Sabeel’s home. The phone has not been found.

Yesterday, Mr Keelty, the Commissioner of the AFP said:

For all that’s been said about the SIM card, the SIM card is still in the vicinity of London at the time that the devices were attempted to be exploded.

 The SIM card is still at Glasgow, at the airport at the time that the attempted bombing happened there.

An AFP spokesman later made a comment which may or may not be construed as a retraction.

In summary, the Solicitor-General says that the documents shown to Andrews place the card in Liverpool in the custody of Sabeel Ahmed. The CDPP prosecutor Porritt and the AFP Commissioner Keelty place the card at Glasgow airport presumably in the custody of Kafeel Ahmed.

If Porritt and Keelty have it wrong, they both should be sacked immediately — but it is very curious that they should each make the same mistake. If the Solicitor-General has got it wrong then God help us all.

Perhaps the public can be told the real facts at some stage.