Press Releases and Announcements - 30 July 2008
ASIO’s early clearance of Dr Haneef – Pressure mounts on AFP
Lawyers for Dr Mohamed Haneef have reacted quickly to
yesterday evenings release of ASIO's censored submission to the
Clarke Inquiry.
The ASIO submission states that Dr Haneef was not a
security threat, and that this was concluded by 3 July, and
communicated to all of government through the National Counter
Terrorism Committee, which met on 3 July.
'If ASIO felt and told everybody, including the AFP, that
Dr Haneef was not a security threat, why was Dr Haneef ever
charged?" Rod Hodgson of Maurice Blackburn stated.
'By 11 July, which was before Dr Haneef was charged, and
before his visa was cancelled, ASIO had repeated in writing that Dr
Haneef was in no way a threat or legitimately a suspect. We now
know that the Queensland Police Service gave exactly the same
message to the AFP: Dr Haneef is not a threat."
'There are serious questions as to why the AFP acted
against Queensland Police Service and ASIO advice. One thing the
Australian public needs to know is who within the AFP directed the
charging of Dr Haneef in the face of advice from Australia's peak
intelligence agency, ASIO, and why', Mr Hodgson added.
He also continued to criticise Mr Clarke's lack of
powers.
"Why won't the government create the conditions under
which the Terms of Reference can best be addressed, and the AFP
made accountable?
As we have seen in the last couple of days, Mr Clarke,
without Royal Commission powers, has been placed in a very
difficult position. There is much material already in the public
domain. The AFP should be forced to make public submissions on the
material presently in the public domain. The interviews with the
key players in these events should also be published, so the public
have confidence in the process and the outcomes of the Clarke
Inquiry. The Attorney General and Mr Rudd should show some courage
and give Mr Clarke the Royal Commission powers to do the job they
said would be done before the election - a full and open judicial
inquiry."
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