Thursday, July 26, 2007



Falling apart

The case against detained Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef seems to be falling apart, with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions announcing that he will review the charges in light of news that evidence presented to the court by Australian Federal Police in support of the charge was incorrect. It's expected that the charges will be dropped, but this isn't necessarily good news for Haneef: dropping the charges will free him from police custody, allowing the government to deport him and so sweep their embarassment under the carpet.

OTOH, given Australia's treatment of him, Haneef is probably better off leaving. But if he doesn't contest his deportation, it - and these bogus charges - will follow him round for the rest of his life, and probably prevent him from ever travelling in future. I wonder if he can sue?