The Mohamed Haneef debate: http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1184426736
The David Hicks debate:  http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1173414162

It turns out that Hicks and the others were victims not only of police incompetence, but also of a Government intent on using them as guinea pigs to test the 'justice' system.

'Charge suspects to test terror laws'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22748933-601,00.html

A SENIOR counter-terrorism officer with the Australian Federal Police has testified that police were directed to charge "as many suspects as possible" with terrorism offences in order to test the new anti-terrorism laws introduced in 2003.

The admission was made by federal agent Kemuel Lam Paktsun, the senior case officer on the Operation Newport investigation that led to the arrest of Sydney medical student Izhar Ul-Haque, whose trial was sensationally dismissed in the NSW Supreme Court yesterday.

Mr Lam Paktsun's startling testimony came during a pre-trial hearing on October 24 that has not previously been reported, when he was questioned about the circumstances of Mr Ul-Haque's arrest in April 2004.

"At the time, we were directed, we were informed, to lay as many charges under the new terrorist legislation against as many suspects as possible because we wanted to use the new legislation," he testified.

"So regardless of the assistance that Mr Ul-Haque could give, he was going to be prosecuted, charged, because we wanted to test the legislation and lay new charges, in our eagerness to use the legislation."

The frank admission was made under cross-examination during a hearing to test the admissibility of two AFP interviews conducted with Mr Ul-Haque, who was charged with receiving training from the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba in January and February 2003.

The case against Mr Ul-Haque was dismissed yesterday in the NSW Supreme Court when judge Michael Adams found the conduct of two ASIO officers who interviewed Mr Ul-Haque prior to his formal AFP interviews had been "grossly improper and constituted an unjustified and unlawful interference with the personal liberty of the accused".

The case of the promising young medical student arrested, charged and almost tried as a would-be terrorist is the latest in a litany of failed terrorism prosecutions in which the Australian authorities' determination to obtain convictions appears to have outweighed their commitment to do so in strict accordance with the law.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced: "This is exactly what the federal police should be doing, making absolutely sure that people are properly protected in this country."

Yesterday's verdict and the admission by Mr Lam Paktsun that the police were under pressure to mount terrorism prosecutions raises disturbing questions about the lengths Australian authorities have been prepared to go to obtain convictions in a highly politicised "war on terror".

Mr Ul-Haque's case echoes a string of earlier failed prosecutions.

In March 2005, Sydney man Zak Mallah was acquitted on terrorism charges after a trial in which police were found to have acted illegally and improperly in obtaining evidence against him. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of threatening to kill commonwealth officers and served two years in jail.

Last year, Melbourne man Jack Thomas had his conviction on terrorism charges overturned in the Victorian Court of Appeal, after it found that his AFP interview had not been voluntary and was unfair and contrary to public policy. Thomas is to face a retrial next year.

And in July, Gold Coast doctor Mohamed Haneef was charged with terrorism-related offences in a highly politically charged case, which was later withdrawn for lack of evidence.

The disturbing inference, which is seemingly confirmed by Mr Lam Paktsun's testimony, is that terrorism prosecutions are being driven not by a reliance on evidence but by a political imperative to obtain convictions. The effect of this was summed up by Mr Ul-Haque's former principal at North Sydney Boys High in his testimony to the court.

"Terrorism wins an awful victory when we are prepared to destroy a young person's reputation and future on the flimsy grounds which have landed Ul-Haque in this present situation," Mr Newsom said.

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McClelland may expand Haneef case probe

http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/mcclelland-may-expand-haneef-case-probe/2007/11/30/1196394616727.html

The investigation into the deportation of Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef may be expanded, incoming attorney-general Robert McClelland says.

The Labor party has previously promised a judicial inquiry into the affair, but Mr McClelland on Friday hinted at a broader inquiry.

Mr McClelland said he would wait for reports from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the ASIO security service and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before deciding if further scrutiny was necessary.

The AFP and DPP have blamed each other for the collapse of the case but Mr McClelland said there were broader issues to be examined.

"The Haneef case in some ways is an example of a breakdown in effective functioning," he told The Weekend Australian.

"From afar, on any measure it looked untidy."