Australian govt defended its tough new anti-terror laws after Haneef was detained for nearly 2 weeks before being charged in connection with UK bomb plot.
SYDNEY: The Australian government defended its tough new anti-terror laws on Sunday after an Indian doctor was detained for nearly two weeks before being charged in connection with the failed car-bomb attacks in Britain.
Mohammed Haneef, 27, is alleged to have provided "reckless" support to a terrorist organisation by giving his mobile phone SIM card to people allegedly involved in the attempted bombings in London and Glasgow last month.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' prison. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) the laws were tough but necessary.
"I'm a great believer in individual freedom," he said. "It's a touchstone of my life and so depriving people of freedom is always a worry, but on the other hand you have to have tough laws if you are going to stop terrorism."
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said in a television interview the charge against Haneef was significant. "They are very serious issues, they are not brought lightly," Ruddock said. "I think the laws have been balanced and appropriate, and in large measure, appropriate for the risks that we face."
He indicated it was unlikely Haneef would be extradited to Britain and suggested that police raids on a home in the western city of Perth on Saturday were also linked to the recent British terrorism case.
Haneef's family in India have expressed their shock over the charge against him. His younger brother Mohammed Shoaib told the ABC Haneef had no intention of providing support for a terrorist act when he gave away his mobile phone SIM card.
"He has not handed it to any unknown person, he has handed it to a known person, because there was free talk-time on the card and he didn't want to waste that," he said.
According to Australian media reports, the SIM card was found in a car belonging to Sabeel Ahmed, 26, a cousin of Haneef's who is a doctor in Britain. Haneef had allegedly given it to him before he moved to Australia last year so his cousin could take advantage of remaining minutes of call-time.
Ahmed was charged in Britain Saturday with having information that could have helped police prevent another person committing an act of terrorism or arrest and prosecute them for terrorist offences. Ahmed and Haneef bring the total number of people facing charges to three, following accusations against an Iraqi doctor earlier this month, with three more still detained at a high-security London police station.
Ahmed's older brother Kafeel, 27, remains critically ill with severe burns and under armed guard in hospital after being pulled from the burning wreckage of the Glasgow attack on June 30.
Haneef has been in custody in Australia following his arrest on July 2 in the eastern city of Brisbane as he was attempting to leave the country on a one-way ticket. Haneef's brother Mohammed Shoaib said although his family was related to the Ahmads, the families were not really close.
He described his brother as a modern religious man with no jihadi leanings who loved listening to music and watching movies, adding that the family had full faith in his innocence. Haneef remains in custody in Brisbane pending a decision from a magistrate Monday on an application for bail.
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