Opinion - Editorials   

Closure to an unfortunate episode

The Australian government's apology and payout to Mohamed Haneef for wrongly detaining and charging him for involvement in the June 2007 Glasgow bombing provides satisfactory closure to an unfortunate episode. The Indian doctor was held on July 2 that year for a period of 25 days, the initial 12 days without charges. The court found that the prosecution's case was built on faulty evidence, based, among other things, on a SIM card he had left behind in the United Kingdom with a distant relative who was one of the five accused in the failed Glasgow attack. The Australian Federal Police was also found to have presented evidence selectively to the court, and the cabinet minister in charge of immigration revoked Dr. Haneef's visa to enable his continued detention even after he was granted bail. In Australia, the case came as an eye-opener on the many fault lines in its counter-terrorism efforts, especially the racial profiling of Muslims, and the lengths that law-enforcers can travel to tailor the evidence. It led to a public outcry and the setting up of a full-fledged inquiry commission that made several recommendations for reform. Australia's apology and the monetary settlement was in return for Dr. Haneef agreeing to drop a civil claim for compensation against the federal government and the Immigration Minister. The text of the apology is an unambiguous admission of wrongdoing, and the payout to Dr. Haneef — under the terms of the agreement neither side can disclose the amount but media speculation places it at $1 million — is apparently reflective of contrition.

The Australian decision is unprecedented and its impact could be felt across the world. Since 9/11, hundreds of people have been held as terror suspects across the globe. Many of these have turned out to be wrongful detentions. The British government recently announced, without admitting culpability, that it would pay compensation to 16 Britons detained by the U.S. forces at Guantanamo in order to ward off damaging law suits accusing it of being complicit in their transfer to the notorious off-shore U.S. prison and in their torture while in detention. In India too, there have been cases of people detained as terror suspects and later acquitted by the courts, as in the Mecca Masjid blast case. In another instance, the government quietly withdrew the charges. But never has it been pressed to offer an apology, let alone financial compensation. While the Australian government's settlement with Dr. Haneef goes a long way in repairing Australia's negative image in India following recent incidents of racial violence, it also underlines the fact that India's own handling of such cases is far below the ideal.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Closure to an unfortunate episode
China’s calibrated balancing act
Let a thousand heretics bloom
A tough innings at the helm
Riding out the wrongs of state power
British law spurs scrutiny of excess packaging
In rabies vaccines, Nepal set to become self-dependent
Verdict against Sen
Overreaction?
The spice of food
Imperilled?
Australia's apology
State holiday
Universal health care: media push needed

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu