Australian Frame up Police interrogated Sheikh Haron!

The following is a brief of the interrogation after editing to make it shorter:

On Thursday 19 June 2008 around 6 PM two detectives who first introduced themselves as NSW Police and later as the Federal Police, knocked on the door at Sheikh Haron’s residence. When Sheikh Haron opened the door, Detective Adam Scanlon introduced himself, Sheikh Haron asked the detectives to wait outside until he put on his clothes but Mr. Scanlon put his leg inside the door and prevented Sheikh Haron from closing the door. In fact Detective Adam Scanlon entered and stayed inside the private premises without any permission from Sheikh Haron and without a warrant for entry. This act was against the law and we condemn it.

Sheikh Haron put on his clothes while the detective’s foot was inside the premises by force preventing the door from closing. Then Sheikh Haron kindly asked them to come inside.

Two detectives Mr. Adam Scanlon and Mr. Mark Christie came in and before sitting asked Sheikh Haron who he was?

- Detective Scanlon: What is your name?

- Sheikh Haron answered him by asking a question: Who are you looking for? Maybe you have come to the wrong place.

- When detective Scanlon heard that he might have come to the wrong house, he had to say who he was looking for, so he said: Are you Sheikh Haron?

- Sheikh Haron: Yes, I am. Please take a seat.

- Both detectives sat down then detective Scanlon started his questions. His first question was: What’s your name?

- Sheikh Haron: I am Sheikh Haron.

- Detective Scanlon: No, I want to call you by your name.

- Sheikh Haron: Yes, that’s my name. You can call me Sheikh Haron or Haron.

- Detective: But I want to call you by your name.

- Sheikh Haron: My name is Haron. You can call me Haron.

- Detective Scanlon: No, I want to call you by a different name. Tell me a name.

- Sheikh Haron was forced to choose a name and to be called by that name. He was thinking to find a name. He chose “Mohammad”. Sheikh Haron said: You can call me Mohammad if you don’t want to call me by my name.

- Detective Scanlon: Ok Mohammad, I ….. (Detective Scanlon was happy to call Sheikh Haron by a name which doesn’t belong to Sheikh Haron, the detective called him Mohammad and before starting his questions Sheikh Haron asked the following question:

- Sheikh Haron: Excuse me, isn’t it against the law if you call me by a name that doesn’t belong to me? My name is not Mohammad, is it ok if I call myself Mohammad?

- Detective Scanlon: No it’s not against the law. It’s ok.

[ Our opinion: It seems that detective Scanlon has gone to Sheikh Haron’s residence NOT for cooperation but for humiliation. Below are our reasons:

1. He was aware of Sheikh Haron’s name. When he arrived he asked Sheikh Haron’s name but after Sheikh Haron replied he might have come to the wrong place and asked him who he was looking for, detective Scanlon said: “Are you Sheikh Haron?”

2. Detective Scanlon mentioned “Sheikh Haron” and was aware of Sheikh’s name but when he sat and started to interrogate, he kept asking what Sheikh’s name was.

3. Sheikh Haron answered detective Scanlon and told him his name but still the detective was insisted calling the Sheikh by a different name.

4. Detective Scanlon didn’t want to respect Sheikh Haron by acknowledging him about his name and his religious status. It seems the detective deliberately tried to insult Sheikh Haron by calling him a name which doesn’t belong to Sheikh Haron.

5. Usually the interrogators are aware that in the first meeting they should behave respectfully to be able to gain more information and to make the suspect to cooperate more but in Sheikh Haron’s case the story was quite opposite. If the detective really wanted Sheikh Haron to cooperate and to give more information, he wouldn’t start the interrogation with insults and humiliation. The police’s presence in Sheikh’s residence was not for cooperation, it was for humiliation.

Although more than one year we have heard that some people call AFP as Australian Frame up Police but for respect we haven’t called them “Frame up” because it doesn’t belong to AFP(although it suits AFP and matches its behaviour). However, when we heard that Detective Scanlon insisted to call Sheikh Haron by a name which doesn’t belong to him and he noted that it was not against the law, we decided to call AFP a name that doesn’t belong to AFP but it really matches its behaviour. The name that many people use and say that AFP stands for: Australian Frame up Police]

- Sheikh Haron: Are you Federal Police?

- Detective Adam Scanlon: No, we are NSW Police. (Sheikh Haron asked them to show their badge. They did so). We want to know the identity of Sister Amirah.

- Sheikh Haron: I won’t give you her identity. She has not done anything against the law. I don’t have to give it to the police, if you want I can consult with my solicitor, or I also might give the identity of Sister Amirah to ASIO or maybe to the Federal police.

- Detective Adam Scanlon: We are the Federal Police (he then showed the badge of the Australian Federal Police).

- Sheikh Haron: I still won’t give you her identity, I believe there is corruption in the police and I can’t trust some of the police. Maybe later I’ll give it to ASIO although some parts of ASIO also are corrupt and even this has been proved in court.(In the case of Mr Izhar-ul-Haque).

- Detective Scanlon used an unfair tactic to threaten Sheikh Haron and said: I could bash the door very hard and make so much noise that your neighbours would know that we were here but I was nice and friendly and I didn’t make noise so (in return) you should be nice and friendly and co-operate with us.

- Sheikh Haron: Can you do such a thing? Can you make noise deliberately and bash the door very hard? Isn’t this (harassment) against the law?

- Detective Scanlon: No, it’s not against the law but it’s rude. (It seems Detective Scanlon was not aware that such an act is a form of harassment, and harassment is obviously against the law).

(We condemn this tactic of the police which is against human rights. This is a type of psychological torture and in fact it’s threatening a person to get information).

- Detective Scanlon: I’d like to know more about the videos of Sister Amirah on YouTube specially the video about suicide bombing.

- Sheikh Haron: I take full responsibility for anything which has been written on the website, and also for videos. Suicide bombing is Haram and prohibited but not always, there are some legitimate suicide bombings that are exceptions and are legitimate. An example for that has been mentioned in the video.

- Detective Scanlon: But that exception (example) is very rare, it doesn’t happen very often.

- Sheikh Haron: Yes it’s rare but still it’s an exception. If the plane is carrying a nuclear bomb and is going to drop the Atomic bomb on Sydney, if I am able to destroy the plane before it drops the nuclear bomb on Sydney I must destroy it even if I am sure I will die by destroying that plane. You cannot call such a person terrorist, you must call such a person “hero” who saved the lives of millions of people in Australia.

- Detective Scanlon: But still I don’t accept it.

- Sheikh Haron: You are wrong. If someone destroys such an Atomic plane and prevents an Atomic attack in Australia and dies, every year the Australian people will respect and commemorate such a hero and they will have one minute silence for respect. Anyway you said you wanted the identity of Sister Amirah to talk to her, what do you want to ask her?

- Detective Scanlon: Nothing, I just want to ask her similar questions that I have asked you. So you said you had agreement with us that if ASIO contacts you, you will give them the identity of Sister Amirah, right?

- Sheikh Haron: No, I didn’t mention anything about an “agreement”, I just said that if they contact me I might give them her identity on a friendly basis, not based on any agreement.

- Detective Scanlon: On Monday Sister Amirah had a protest in front of Channel 7 in Martin Place, does she have any plans for more protests in the future? Do you have any plans? When this will end? For how long do you want to continue the protest?

- Sheikh Haron: Well it depends, if the Australian government condemns the terrorist comment which was broadcasted by Sunrise I don’t have to continue, but if the Attorney-General doesn’t condemn Channel 7 for its terrorist act I believe it is my religious duty to continue.

- Detective Scanlon: On the “Home” page there is a comment which is from Sister Amirah’s video that says: “If our fair defence against your unfair attack is called terrorism, we are proud to be called terrorists” So what do you mean by that? Are you talking about something that has already happened?

- Sheikh Haron: No, that is a “general” sentence. Some people misunderstand terrorism and they take it wrong and they think that defence is terrorism. If a person breaks into my house and wants to attack and hurt me, I am allowed to defend with reasonable power, if this defence is called “terrorism”, I am proud to be called terrorist. Meaning that defence is NOT terrorism. So does ASIO know that you are here?

- Detective Scanlon: Yes.

- Sheikh Haron: So why are you asking my identity? You can find my identity easily, why have you been asking and insisting on me telling you about my identity, how come you don’t know it? (If he honestly didn’t know Sheikh Haron’s details then how did he find his address? If the detective has been honest and he really didn’t know Sheikh Haron’s identity, so this means he has not found the address through the computer system, so the only option remaining is that he has seen Sheikh Haron somewhere in public and then he has followed him).

- Detective Scanlon: Well …

- Sheikh Haron: In future when you go to someone’s house, you must not put your foot inside by force and you must not hold the door and prevent the owner from closing it. This is against the law.

- Detective Scanlon at this moment started laughing and said: I will come again and again to see you. Then in a friendly manner said: Next time I want to have a cup of tea with you. By the way detective Scanlon asked Sheikh Haron if his change of identity had been done officially by deed? Sheikh Haron answered positive.

Detective Mark Christie asked less questions than Detective Scanlon, and he was gentle and calm, he was quite polite.

Sheikh Haron’s Website