Govt, police ‘let off the hook’ Haneef inquiry (Photo credit: publik16)
The Australian government has categorically stated that they will not apologize for the detainment and questioning of Dr. Haneef.
I agree that there were sufficient grounds for the Australian police to detain and question Dr. Haneef. But they Australians shot themselves in the foot in their over eagerness to be seen as being tough on terrorism.
The basic tenet of every law is that a man is considered innocent until he is proven guilty. This basic decency was not offered to Dr .Haneef and therein lies the problem.
In a world where terrorism has become a major menace, it is perfectly understandable that countries want to be seen as being tough on terrorists. But that does not mean condemning a man without a trial.
When the Australian government revoked his visa, that was when they made the blunder. The message going out to the people was that, it is not necessary to be proven guilty to lose everything one may have worked so hard towards. The one thing that keeps a man going through tough trials is the knowledge that a free and fair life awaits him on the outside after his innocence is proven. But if that is not there, then what does a man fight for if he is already resigned to losing everything he has?
The Australian government made a mistake, fair enough. All of us do. But when we do we have the balls to stand up and apologize for it.
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