Now Australians blame British over Haneef saga

SYDNEY: The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is now blaming its British counterparts over the humiliation it has suffered over the jailing of Indian doctor Muhammad Haneef on terror charges and his later release.

AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty has said they were 'obliged to charge' Hannef even as the police admitted that there were irregularities in evidence and there was no prospect of conviction.

After detaining Haneef in the Brisbane Watch House for 13 days, the AFP on July 14 charged him with 'recklessly' supporting a terrorist group by giving his mobile phone SIM card to those who planned the failed Britain bombings.

In an interview in the 'Sun Herald' on Sunday, Keelty put the onus of errors in the failed terrorism case against Haneef on British investigators.

But a source close to the British investigation had told the 'Sydney Herald' on July 25 that the information of a SIM card registered in Haneef's name being found in the jeep that rammed into Glasgow airport June 30 had been made 'at the Australian end' and was not communicated by British investigators.

Contradicting this, Keelty told the newspaper that it was the British police that initially told AFP that Haneef's mobile phone SIM card had been found inside the jeep used by his cousin Kafeel Ahmed that had crashed into Glasgow airport.

It was later revealed that the SIM card was found with Kafeel's brother Sabeel in Liverpool.

Keelty said, "Whatever else you may think of Haneef, the fact remains his SIM card was found in the possession of the person labelled as a suspect" in the failed Glasgow attack.

"Two steps went against the investigation team. One, Haneef attempted to leave the country. If we had let him go we would have been accused of letting a terrorist escape our shores.

"We were obliged to charge him. Had the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) not said there was sufficient evidence to charge him, the investigation team could have continued detention or let him free while continuing the investigation."

In the interview, Keelty also expressed dismay at Queensland Premier Peter Beattie's criticism of the AFP as 'Keystone Cops' given the fact that about 200 Queensland police were involved in the investigation.

He also blamed the Queensland health department for releasing Haneef's name and igniting media frenzy and said Haneef's barrister Stephen Keim should be reprimanded for leaking his client's police interview to the media.

He blamed sections of the media for 'poorly' handling the case but not Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews who he says 'acted on our information'.

But contrary to the comment in the Sun Herald, The Weekend Australian says that AFP and Keelty are furious with Andrews and believe that his decision to revoke Haneef's visa both complicated and inflamed the now-collapsed case.