SOURCE: 295878551 Case dropped against 'terrorism trainee' Posted Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:29am AEDT Updated 11 hours 56 minutes ago
A Sydney judge has described as "grossly improper and unlawful" the conduct of two ASIO officers who interviewed a former medical student accused of training with a terrorist organisation. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions dropped all charges against Izhar ul-Haque today. Mr ul-Haque had pleaded not guilty to a charge of receiving combat and weapons training from Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan four years ago. Earlier this month, New South Wales Supreme Court judge Michael Adams ruled that interviews with the 21-year-old were inadmissible because of the conduct of ASIO and Australian Federal Police officers involved. The court heard ASIO officers took Mr ul-Haque to a park in western Sydney and later questioned him in his bedroom. Justice Adams said Mr ul-Haque was told he had to cooperate when the officers knew they did not have the legal right to detain him. He accused one officer of false imprisonment and kidnapping and the other of detaining for advantage. A jury had not yet been empanelled in the trial. 'Political show trial' Outside the court, Mr ul-Haque's lawyer, Adam Houda, described the case as purely political. "This has been a moronic prosecution right from the start," he said. "The terror laws were introduced supposedly to capture terrorists, not brilliant young men like Izhar ul-Haque. "From the beginning this was no more than a political show trial designed to justify the billions of dollars spent on counter-terrorism." Mr Houda also likened his client's case to that of Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef. who had his terrorism-related charge dropped earlier in the year. "It's been one bungled prosecution after another. We've all seen the disgraceful conduct afforded against Doctor Haneef and today you've heard the disgraceful conduct against my client," he said. A spokesman for ASIO says the agency will leave it up to federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock to comment on the case being dropped. Review urged But the Australian Council for Civil Liberties says the dropping of charges indicates a problem with ASIO's administration. The council's president, Terry O'Gorman, says both major political parties need to immediately promise a review of the organisation because it is becoming increasingly unaccountable. "While clearly ASIO has to be given the power to conduct inquiries into terrorism activity, particularly within Australia, it should do so within the law," he said. "The fact that this criticism has been made is a worry. "This particular case problem has got to be confronted and it's got to be the subject of a serious review. " Mr O'Gorman says the next federal government must set up independent monitoring of the counter-terrorism activities of ASIO and the AFP. "There should be an independent terrorism reviewer," he said. "Terrorism laws are draconian. If judges are finding that ASIO operatives are breaking even these draconian laws, which favour ASIO as against the individual, then something serious needs to be done about it. " "Strive as in a race to achieve the goal of excellence in all that you do." Regards, Nashid
