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Doctor charged in UK bomb plot
14/07/2007 07:43 - (SA)
Melbourne - An Indian doctor was charged
by Australian police on Saturday for "reckless" links to a cell
of Islamic radicals allegedly behind last month's failed car
bomb attempts in Britain.
Mohamed Haneef, 27, appeared in a court Brisbane charged
with providing support to a terrorist organisation. A decision
on possible bail was postponed until later on Saturday.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said the
police charge cited recklessness, rather than intention.
"The allegation being that he was reckless about some of
the support he provided to that group, in particular, the
provision of his (mobile phone) SIM card for the use of the
group." Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo told Australian radio
that Haneef was "very upset" by news of the charges, which
could lead to 15 years in prison if he is convicted.
The Queensland-based doctor had been held for 12 days and
police withdrew a request on Friday afternoon to extend his
detention without charge.
He is one of six Indian doctors questioned in Australia
over the suspected al-Qaeda-linked plot in Britain. The others
have been released.
Lawyers for Haneef told the Brisbane Magistrates Court the
doctor was not a flight risk as his passport has been
confiscated.
Keelty said the charges came after 12 days of
investigation, with almost 300 police and lawyers working on
the case, and sifting through the electronic equivalent of
36 000 four-drawer filing cabinets of material.
"That is the quantity of material that has been seized in
electronic form, from various locations," Keelty told reporters
in Canberra.
Two car bombs primed to explode in London's theatre and
nightclub district were discovered early on June 29. The
following day a vehicle was driven into the terminal building
at Glasgow airport and burst into flames.
Opposing bail
Police opposed the bail application, and Keelty said it
remained to be seen whether British police had any evidence to
support an extradition request.
Australian anti-terrorism laws allow police a total of 24
hours of questioning of detained persons. They had only used 12
hours until Friday, and restarted questioning early on Saturday
morning.
Haneef was detained at Brisbane airport on July 2 as he was
about to board a flight to India.
All six suspects in Britain are medics from the Middle East
or India. One, Iraqi-trained doctor Bilal Abdulla, 27, was
charged last week with conspiring to cause explosions.
Haneef is a second cousin to Kafeel Ahmed, one of the
suspects now in a critical condition with burns from the
Glasgow attack, and last contacted his cousin via an internet
chat in March/April 2007, said police documents cited by The
Australian newspaper.
- Reuters
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