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Howard promises proper trial

P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE:Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday held out an assurance that the authorities “are just seeking to have a proper adjudication of this matter” relating to the “terror charges” against Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef.

Charged in connection with the recent failed “terror plots” in the United Kingdom, Dr. Haneef was sent to a solitary cell on Wednesday. His trial is yet to begin, and the bail granted to him was nullified by an executive order cancelling his work visa.

Lawyers and human rights activists in Australia continued to protest against the “unfair” treatment being meted out to Dr. Haneef. It was in this context that Mr. Howard, on a visit to Adelaide, said efforts were on to resolve the issues “in accordance with the law.” However, “I don’t think it helps that proper adjudication for anybody at any stage to be leaking documents,” he said, referring to the publication of the “leaked” transcript of the police interrogation of Dr. Haneef.

Mr. Howard, at the same time, distanced his Government from the Australian Federal Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions. “They don’t take any direction from us.”

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said: “You won’t get a fair trial for any individual if you have leakages of material.”

With some “protected information” concerning Dr. Haneef being the basis for action against him, lawyers continued to criticise the authorities for maintaining that such evidence would be shown only to the judge and not to the defence team.

Addressing supporters, Dr. Haneef’s lawyer Peter Russo said: “Any system that allows matters to be heard in secrecy is open to abuse.”

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