Lawyer Moots Australia Doctor Not Posting Bail

Text of report by Radio Australia on 16 July

The lawyer for Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef says his client could avoid being sent to an immigration detention centre in Australia if he does not post bail. Dr Haneef, who has been charged with recklessly providing resources to a terrorist organization, was granted bail in a Brisbane court. But the immigration minister, Kevin Andrews, says he has cancelled Dr Haneef’s visa and he will be sent to the [Villawood] immigration detention centre in Sydney.

Dr Haneef’s lawyer, Peter Russo, says one of the options open to his client is to not post bail, which means he would stay in the Queensland legal system.

[Russo] Yeah, that’s an avenue that’s open to him if he wanted to do it that way. We have to make sure that what we’re doing is in the client’s interests first and foremost and secondly what’s going to be the best way to proceed from here.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Newsfile. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.