The prosecution's case against Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef has been undermined by the leaking of a transcript of a police interview with him to a newspaper, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has said.
In the interview that was published on Wednesday in The Australian, Haneef, 27, has said he was a Muslim with moderate views and revealed he feared being "framed" over a mobile phone SIM card he gave to his second cousin.
Keelty on Wednesday said the leak had "undermined the prosecution" case against Haneef and said he and the DPP were exploring whether the leak constituted an offence, such as contempt of court.
"We now have a published document that has provided information that should never have been provided until the court had an opportunity to hear it for the first time and test the veracity of that evidence," he said.
Keelty said he did not believe police were behind the leak.
"I have spoken to editor of The Australian today and he assures me the documents didn't come from any police sources," Keelty added.
Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo also denied leaking the interview.
Keelty said the only people who had access to the transcript were police, prosecution lawyers and Haneef's lawyers and only one of two interview transcripts had been provided to the defence counsel, and that was the same one that was leaked.
"So in other words there is another one that has not been released by the police or the prosecution, and that has not been leaked. Now I'm not saying that the lawyers for Haneef are the persons who have caused the leak, but certainly the one that has now been provided by police is the one that's been published," Keelty added.
