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Libero Publishing, Dragan Bombek

Peter Russo Dr Mohammed Haneef Dragan Bombek Photo

FACE TO FACE

 

PETER RUSSO with Parmesh Chand

 

“HE IS AN ORDINARY PERSON WHO JUST DID EXTRAORDINARY THINGS” - a rare quality to find these days.

 

His courage and his dedication to HANEEF'S case has made him a hero

There was nothing unusual about the afternoon of Tuesday

3rd July 2007. In the city there was the usual '5 pm' rush

on the streets and footpath as people made their way to

catch their transport. The only big news at local, national

and perhaps at international level was the arrest of

Dr. Haneef and the photos of men and women in black suits

and dark sunglasses “hovering” around Dr Haneef's rented

apartment in Gold Coast.

And for someone who has a reputation as a reliable duty solicitor and street lawyer it was just another day in the life of a lawyer, until a call at about 5.15pm from a police sergeant at the Brisbane Watch house. According to Mr. Russo the sergeant said, 'there's a bloke down here who needs a lawyer.'
It was perhaps the beginning of a new chapter that has already raised questions about transparency and accountability as it relates to the manner various government agencies compile, keep and in many situation may be using unsubstantiated information against us. To be precise I am talking about the human right issues, our right to have answers regardless of any circumstances be it a check at customs, immigration or at the hands of other law enforcement agencies.

Those of us who have been following Dr. Mohammed Haneef's case, Peter Russo and other senior barristers who have been on the case have, through our courts, restored faith among those in Australia whose hopes were fading on human right issues and self dignity. Full marks to our judicial system.

Should Mr. Peter Russo be given the honorary title of 'Indian of the Year?'. After all some have been made honorary Indians. Or do we reserve such titles for politicians who to some extent (as they are legislators after all) should share the blame surrounding the Haneef saga. We will leave that for other time because that is not topic of this column. This write-up is about the person, a solicitor who came to the rescue of an individual locked away in a cell where his faith for days remained unclear.

My first contact with Mr. Peter Russo was organized by Brisbane Barrister Mr. Andrew See. When I rang Russo he agreed to be interviewed and invited me to his residence. His humble nature is beyond description. I was proud to be sitting and taking with him. My photographer who was there for brief period later remarked to me “What a dignified, humble and a brilliant personality, he (Peter) is.”

INTRODUCTION: “Mr. Russo thank you for giving me this opportunity to interview you. I read with interest the article published on 8 September 07 in Gold Coast Bulletin. The article has been written by Mr. Doug Parrington.”
Peter Russo responded, “It is a pleasure.”

PETER RUSSO Parmesh Chand Dragan Bombek Photo

Q. Doug in his article quotes you as saying that at about 5.15pm on 3rd July 07 you received a call from a sergeant at Brisbane watch house saying to you “there's a bloke down here who needs a lawyer.” When you received that call did you know at that time that 'that bloke' was Dr. Mohammed Haneef, and if you had known it was Haneef, would you have changed your mind?

A. At that stage, I did not know it was Haneef. Even if I had known it would not have changed my mind. People are held at watch house for a variety of reasons.

Q. Can you describe the situation when you first met him (Dr. Haneef).

A. When I arrived at the watch house, I was immediately taken to a room where the officer pointed to a TV mounted on the wall, looked like a fish bowl, and there was a footage of a Jeep burning at Glasgow Airport. By that time I still had not connected with the matter. The officer explained there was an application for what is known as dead time which needed to be heard before 6.30pm. I was handed couple of pages of Crime Act. I then met Dr Mohammed Haneef. I must have been with Haneef for only 10minutes. I looked at my watch and I knew I was working against the clock. I did not want to upset the Magistrate by turning late. And there I was handling Haneef's case.

Q. Legal aid is not everyone's cup of tea. The rates are perhaps not that attractive. But you persevered with the case, putting in long hours, in what appeared [as Doug put it] to be a David-Goliath battle where an individual was fighting the might of a government. Little by little things started coming out in media and then the 'leak' of the transcript.
Your persevered, was it because you believed in Haneef's innocence and you felt that there were interferences from the top to 'have Haneef in at any cost?’


A. My involvement was lot to do with Mohammed Haneef. As you probably know, you have to listen to your client. Lot of the knowledge and confidence in the case comes from him. We spent time discussing case in a very critical manner. As a solicitor I had be very cautious. I had great confidence in him and what he was telling me. He was very concerned about his future in terms of his case with Australian Authorities. From the very early stages he maintained that the AFP and the Queensland Police got it all wrong.
As a person he is a gentleman, very respectful. He's a typical doctor type. Very intelligent, very thoughtful, very considered and measured in his approach to everything that he does and says. As I said, as a solicitor I was very cautious
He has a beautiful manner about him. He is a typical doctor who will make you feel better before he gives you a script. There were moments where we joked, The situation he was in he described it as a nightmare. One very important aspect of what Mohamed was always saying and doing, is that he was willing to cooperate with authorities. One of his first requests that he made of me, and asked me to put before the magistrate when they were asking for the extension of time, was that he be allowed to go back into the community and go back to work and that he would continue to cooperate with them and make himself available if and when they wanted to speak to him again. And he was of the view that he should cooperate with them and that's what he did.

As for costs we became aware and this was fairly early in the piece that Mohammed Haneef would not be able to meet his legal costs. I consulted the Brisbane barrister MR. Steven Kein SC and convinced him that it was a worthwhile case. Mr. Steven Kein took the case and we won.

Q. The treatment of Haneef by Law Enforcement Agencies What message does it send to people?

A. There are two sides to that question. The fact that he was arrested that in itself sends a wrong message. When he was in the watch house, the people running the watch house did everything within their powers to meet Haneef's needs and that all his reasonable requests were met. I did not feel that there were any issues with his treatment.

The same, however can not be said about the way AFP and the former government handled the case. His arrest and events that followed can be viewed as a very low moment in our history. We are a country of Immigrants. I admit that from time to time the authorities may get it wrong but the way they did things in Haneef's case, it was over the top. The way some of the legislation operates and the powers associated with it needs to b looked at. For example, the whole Immigration Act needs a review.
As a country of immigrants we should show compassion to the way we deal with refugees. Our policy on immigration should be open to all and not to the wealthy. Look at my background. I was born in Townsville nearly 52 years ago. My father Joe Russo an Italian migrant and mother Maureen, of Irish heritage were migrants. My father Joe was born in Giarre in eastern Sicily and emigrated as a boy to join his father Salvatore, a cane cutter and cook in sugar cane camps around Ingham. The family had no money. It was the family's motivation for hard work that got us to where we are today.
In many ways poor people are the backbone of any economy. Wealth creates job for poor.

Q. What made you accompany Haneef to India? Was it your first trip?

A. It was certainly my first rip. Mohammed Haneef wanted me to come with him. The Australian Immigration was comfortable that I was going. In case there were problems at Bangkok [Thailand] and at the Airport in India.

Everything went fine. There were absolutely no problems.

Q. Tell us about your trip to India, Indian immigration clearance and your time with Haneef's family.

A. The reception was unbelievable. There were hundreds, may be thousands of people, wanting to get a glimpse of us. There were people everywhere on roof tops, embankments. You just couldn't see anything. We were told that hundreds of well-wishers and media persons had gathered much before the arrival of the flight to catch a glimpse of a man whose detention without proof had grabbed global headlines. Police helped us to go through the crowd. At one stage there was man who was trying to garland Haneef. He was beaten up by Police. I think the poor fellow fell on the ground, he eventually managed to get up and garland him.

I stayed at a Hotel in Bangalore and I was very well looked after. Most of my meals were with Haneef's family. They simply wanted me to have lunch and dinner with them. I was taken to few temples and to places of cultural significance. They took me to a Jungle in Mysore. We stayed for three days at one of the Bungalows owned by one of Dr. Mohammed Haneef's relatives

The jungle life is exciting. I saw elephants, deer and other animals but missed out on seeing a tiger.

The place has wardens to protect the wildlife from poachers. One morning I was talking with a warden who mentioned that he had shot a poacher the night before. These wardens have, I suppose, authority to shoot poarchers.

Q. Are you in touch with him and how often do you speak to him?

A. It depends. Sometimes once a week . For example I spoke with him this week. I bring him up to date with the Clarke Inquiry. There may be other matters that need attention, yes we do speak.

Q. There is a view out there that if and when Dr Haneef decides to come back be could be subjected to some secret surveillance. Who would want to live such a life?

A. As you are aware I am involved with Clarke inquiry. We have Mr. Rod Hodgson of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Maurice acting for Dr. Haneef. This inquiry will look at various issues.
Eventually, I hope he comes back. It will take some time. He still has to comply with visa requirements. He needs a sponsorship and nomination.

Parmesh Chand Peter Russo Dragan Bombek Photo

Conclusion: Mr. Russo thanks for your time. It was a pleasure talking with you.

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