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Indian police stall Dr. Haneef probe
Indian police have refused to co-operate with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation into the background of arrested Gold Coast doctor Mohammed Haneef.An AFP officer arrived in India at the weekend to begin examining Dr Haneef's local connections. But India's Criminal Investigation Bureau says it will not share information with the Australian officer until he presents an Australian court-issued document relating to the case. The investigation is now at a halt until the paperwork is processed. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson, who is on a visit to India, says Australia and India need to improve ties on conducting criminal investigations. Meanwhile in Australia, Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says Dr Haneef will be able to resume his life "free of any taint" if he is eventually freed without charge. The Indian national was detained last week as part of investigations into the failed UK car bomb plots. Yesterday Australian Federal Police (AFP) sought a third custody extension, but legal argument and procedural matters took up most of the day and the hearing was adjourned until Friday. Mr Ruddock says the police request for more time to detain Dr Haneef will be considered when the hearing resumes. "We are a society where people are frequently charged and it's thought that there is sufficient evidence that people have a case to answer, but if they're found not guilty, then the presumption of innocence until proven guilty applies and people are able to resume their lives, free of any taint," he said. "When you have to deal with authorities abroad .. they're talking to law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom and as I understand it in India ... that liaison over different time zones is a factor that needs to be taken into account. "And the reasonableness of any request is to be determined by a judicial officer." Questions over magistrate The legal wrangle over Dr Haneef's on-going detention has now reportedly embroiled the Brisbane magistrate hearing his case. It is understood Dr Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo has asked for the un-named magistrate to disqualify himself on the grounds of possible bias. Mr Russo would not elaborate, but is remaining optimistic. "We are making headway," he said. "Part of the application was this legal argument which we have done now." Police 'desperate'? Meanwhile a justice expert from the Australian National University says it appears that the AFP are becoming desperate in their attempt to charge Dr Haneef. Dr Brett Bowden from the Centre for International Governance and Justice says it looks like police are struggling to find a concrete link between Dr Haneef and the attacks in London and Glasgow. "Whether it's a sign that they actually don't have anything or they're just trying to gather more, to get some concrete links to the failed terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow [I do not know]," he said. "I fear that nine days without charge may mean that they don't actually have anything. "Nine days seems an awful long time to be honest. "As I understand it, the police have gone back to his apartment to gather more forensic evidence. "Whether that means they didn't do a thorough enough job the first time around, or that they're getting desperate, you'd hope that if they'd found something to charge him with they would've done it by now." Posted by: Oztralian 2007-07-11 |
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