M A I N   N E W S

Haneef may be deported

Melbourne, July 22
Mohammed Haneef may be deported to contain any adverse political fallout in Australia after the government faced criticism for "mishandling" his case, as his lawyers accused the police of selectively leaking damaging allegations to make him look guilty.

Haneef's relative Imran Siddiqui, meanwhile, arrived in Brisbane to give moral support to the Indian doctor and pleaded that Australian authorities give him a fair hearing.

Australian newspapers quoting unnamed government sources said a number of senior political figures wanted the case against Haneef "shut down" before more damage is done.

They said such a move would contain any political fallout from a case whose legitimacy has come under question, 'The Australian' said.

"Our best option is to cancel the Criminal Justice Certificate, which was issued to keep Haneef here after we cancelled his visa, and that is my understanding of what our intentions are," one Government source told 'The Age'.

Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo today termed the reports that he may be involved in a planned terror attack in Gold Coast in Australia as baseless and fanciful.

Shocked at the reports, he alleged they were being leaked because the case against the doctor charged in connection with the failed terror plot in Britain was "extremely weak”.

The Melbourne Sun Herald and other News Ltd. newspapers today cited unnamed police sources as saying images were found on Haneef's laptop computer of a building and its foundations near where he lived in Queensland state during a raid at his home three weeks back. Police were investigating whether he was involved in an attack plot in Australia, a report said.

Quoting anonymous sources, the reports also said the AFP had information that Haneef was allegedly one of a group of doctors who had been learning to fly in Queensland.

"If the AFP and prosecution have any evidence on which they purport to base these serious allegations, they should provide copies of that evidence to Dr Haneef's solicitors," Russo said.

AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said in a statement the report was "inaccurate" and denied the information came from the federal police.

Civil libertarians and legal experts have already voiced concern that authorities have been overzealous in prosecuting Haneef.

Imran Siddiqui, a cousin of Haneef's wife, Firdaus Arshiya, spoke today to a crowd of supporters in Brisbane, where he arrived the day before from Bangalore to give moral support to Haneef..

“Back home, we are all saying that Haneef is the victim of circumstances,” said Siddiqui.

“I think authorities should definitely ... think about this and see that ... innocent people are not being targeted,” he said.

Siddiqui said he had sought permission to visit Haneef in jail, and that he wanted to give him a photograph of his newborn daughter.

"There has been significant misreporting on many aspects of this case," Keelty was quoted as saying by the media here.

"It is neither practical, nor the role of the AFP, to correct every wrong assertion or piece of speculation that has been put forward. We will be taking the extraordinary step of contacting Haneef's lawyer to correct the record.

Australian government is conducting a media trial against Haneef because its case against him is so flimsy, Russo alleged. — PTI

Wife wants Haneef’s name cleared

Bangalore, July 22
Firdous Arshiya, wife of Mohammad Haneef, said on Sunday that she was against Australia's reported move to deport him without dropping the charges against him.

Arshiya said she was awaiting an official word from Australia on its reported plans for Haneef, detained in Brisbane since July 2 and charged with being linked to his cousin and terror suspect Sabeel Ahmed in Britain.

Arshiya, a software engineer, said she stood by her earlier statement that she prefers her husband to face trial and come out clean rather than being sent home with stigma.

She took the stand after Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews revoked Haneef's visa within hours after he got bail from a Brisbane court last week. — IANS