The Australian Federal Police have declined to comment on the review of the Dr Mohamed Haneef case by the Director of Public Prosecutions.The review found there were significant "errors of fact" made during the Australian Federal Police investigation which saw the Indian doctor wrongly charged on 14 July 2007, with charges dropped a fortnight later.
To simply describe the investigative stuff-up by the AFP as "errors of fact" is putting it mildly indeed.
The Commonwealth DPP Damien Bugg has displayed remarkable professional independence in this whole saga, significantly enhancing his reputation as Australia's most-senior prosecutor.Despite the fact that this was a monumental stuff-up by the Australian Federal Police, despite the fact that an innocent man was wrongly incarcerated and despite the fact that charges against Dr Haneef had to be withdrawn, the AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty sits in his cubby hole in Canberra refusing to comment.
"The DPP review is a matter for the DPP and therefore it is inappropriate for the AFP to make any comment," an anonymous spokesman said.
Whoever is advising Mick Keelty must be a complete dill.
How stupid can you be. There has been a thorough DPP investigation into the role of the DPP in this matter which shows that the AFP had been responsible for a complete stuff-up and the AFP blithely tells the Australian media that it's got nothing to do with them.
Mick Keelty's stance is a continuing insult to Dr Haneef (pictured at right) and is a blight on the AFP whose Keystone Cops approach to this whole investigation 3 months ago reeked of total amateurism.The AFP seems beholden to the Federal Government on this issue, despite the findings of the DPP and despite the Federal Court overturning the decision of the Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews to summarily cancel Dr Haneef's visa.
Why can't Commissioner Keelty just come out and acknowledge that the AFP got it wrong and apologise to Dr Haneef?The DPP says you got it wrong, the Federal Court says you got it wrong, the people of Australia say you got it wrong.
It's not too late to come down out of your ivory tower and do something which John Howard cannot do and just say: "Sorry".
