'Oz police terrorism charge against Haneef was politically motivated'

Melbourne, July 10 : The lawyer of Indian born doctor Mohamed Haneef has said that terrorism charges against Haneef were politically motivated because the Australian Federal Police went ahead in the case against the advice of its Queensland counterparts.

Dr Haneef's Australian lawyer Rod Hodgson said that the Queensland Police Service's submission to the Clarke inquiry proves that his client was charged for reasons other than national security interests.

"Those factors may well have been political, we now know that the Prime Minister's department was involved in the matter from less than 48 hours after Dr Haneef was detained and, you know, join the dots,"' The Age quoted him, as saying.

"If you've got one law enforcement agency who is intimately involved in the matter saying at the time he ought not to be charged because there is no evidence or no sufficient evidence, then that suggests those improper factors have motivated the decision to charge him," Hodgson added.

The Queensland Police Service's submission to the Clarke inquiry revealed that officers assigned to assist the AFP in its investigation repeatedly advised there was insufficient evidence to charge the Indian national.

Former judge John Clarke is investigating the arrest, detention and charging of Dr Haneef last year on terror-related charges, and his subsequent release.

ANI