Australian government blocks bail for terror suspect

The Australian government said today that a doctor allegedly linked to the failed British car bomb terror plot would be detained for immigration breaches, overriding a magistrate who had earlier granted him bail.

Immigration minister Kevin Andrews said Mohammed Haneef's work visa was cancelled because the Indian doctor "failed the character test" and that he would be taken into immigration custody should he be released on bail.

"I reasonably suspect that he has, or has had, an association with persons engaged in criminal activity, namely terrorism, in the UK," Andrews told reporters in Canberra, the national capital.

"That's the basis on which I have made this decision."

The Australian government can withdraw a person's visa for a variety of reasons, including if the immigration minister judges a person is not of good character.

Hours earlier, Queensland state magistrate Jacqui Payne granted Haneef AUS$10,000 (€6,333) bail on a charge of providing support for a terrorist organisation, saying there was no clear evidence he was involved in the June 29 and 30 car bomb plots in London and Glasgow.

If Haneef meets the bail conditions, immigration officials will step in before he can be freed and take him to a detention centre in Sydney, Andrews says.

Haneef would remain in Australia as long as he faces charges there, but may be deported to India later, he said.

Police, acting on information from British investigators, arrested Haneef, 27, on July 2 as he tried to board a flight from the eastern city of Brisbane to India.

Prosecutors told the court a mobile phone SIM card that had belonged to Haneef was found in the burned-out vehicle used to attack Glasgow Airport on June 30.

They said Haneef gave the card - used to store numbers and other data - to Sabeel and Kafeel Ahmed, two brothers who are the chief suspects in the Glasgow attack, in July 2006 before Haneef came to Australia. Haneef is a distant cousin of the brothers, and lived with them for a while in Liverpool.

Haneef's lawyers say he claims he had no idea his cousins were plotting an attack.

Police described Haneef's support for the plot as "reckless" rather than deliberate, and his lawyer has said the case against him is weak.

Payne granted Haneef bail on the condition he provided a bond of 10,000 Australian dollars, reported to police three times a week, and stayed away from any international ports.

She said prosecutors had not disclosed a clear link between Haneef and a terrorist organisation, and noted there was no specific allegation that the phone SIM card had been used in the attack plot.

Haneef was ordered to remain in custody as work began to gather the bail money, a process his lawyer, Peter Russo, said might take a couple of days.

Government prosecutor Clive Porritt had argued against bail for Haneef, saying terror suspects should only be granted bail in "exceptional circumstances" and because he was a flight risk.

Haneef had surrendered his passport to authorities and Payne said he had a good employment record, no criminal history, and would be easily recognised if he tried to leave Australia because of widespread media coverage of his case.

Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo said he would appeal against the government's decision.

"We will start the next battle. If that's the way they want to do it - bring it on," he told reporters outside the Brisbane jail where Haneef has been held for two weeks.

Civil rights groups also attacked the move.

"The reason we have an independent court system is so these incredibly important decisions are made for the right reasons, and aren't subject to political interference," said Cameron Murphy, secretary of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties.

"It is not appropriate for the government to just keep him incarcerated because they don't like the decision of the magistrates court."