Rights Groups Upset over Terror Charges in Australia
The Australian government today revoked the immigration visa of a man charged with giving support to those who planned the attempted bombings in London and Glasgow in a move to keep him behind bars.
Only hours earlier, a magistrate had granted bail to Mohamed Haneef, a 27-year-old hospital registrar. Australian Associated Press reports that legal experts are accusing the government of undermining the independence of the court system with the decision.
Haneef was charged with "recklessly" supporting a terrorism organization because police say he gave his cell phone SIM card to relatives accused of being involved in the attacks, The Age reports.
From the beginning, his case has caused an outcry from human rights groups, who warn that even sympathizing with a designated terrorist group has become "a thought crime" in Australia. They say it could mean similar charges against thousands of people if they show even "a minute level of support to a terrorist organization."
According to human rights lawyer Greg Barns, such laws would have led to the jailing of thousands of ordinary people -- and politicians and sports stars -- who donated to Nelson Mandela's ANC or supported the IRA in the 1970s and 1980s.
Even the Australian police acknowledge that Haneef may not have intended harm, the International Herald Tribune reports. "The specific allegation regards recklessness rather than intention," said Mick Keelty, the head of the Australian Federal Police.
9:49 AM ET | 07-16-2007 | permalink
