A man who sensationally fled to Pakistan in the middle of his 2017 rape trial failed in his bid to be released on bail on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Haider Ali, 38, was extradited from the United Kingdom in October after he spent two years on the run from his ACT Supreme Court trial for sexual offences.
Mr Ali applied for bail on Wednesday with his lawyers arguing that he did not pose a risk of fleeing again if he was on bail.
Mr Ali faced four charges, one of rape and three of acts of indecency, in 2017 and on the day he was due to take the stand and give evidence, boarded a flight to Dubai in Sydney before travelling on to Pakistan.
The jury deliberated in his absence and found him not guilty of one count of indecency but could not agree on a verdict on the other three charges, for which he is due to stand trial again next year.
Mr Ali has been charged with failing to appear before the court in relation to fleeing to Pakistan and has pleaded guilty.
Mr Ali's defence barrister, Richard Thomas, told the court his client had returned to Pakistan during the trial because his father had been critically ill and later died.
He said he had certain cultural expectations upon him to be with his father at the time of his death and in the days after it.
Mr Thomas said due to the trial and due to his father's ill health Mr Ali had not been thinking clearly at the time.
But despite the situation, he said there was no question Mr Ali made the wrong choice to leave in the middle of the trial.
Strict conditions, he said, could adequately mitigate any risk of Mr Ali absconding again. These included a curfew, reporting twice a day to police, forfeiting all passports, among others.
He also argued the crown case was not overwhelmingly strong as the jury had not been able to reach a unanimous verdict.
Prosecutor Dean Sahu Khan said Mr Ali had manipulated the system and there were more than sufficient reasons to not grant him bail or risk him fleeing once more.
Mr Sahu Khan said Mr Ali had demonstrated he had absolutely no intention to return to Australia and face trial as he had been looking for employment in both Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
In his desperation to avoid his trial, Mr Ali abandoned his BMW in Sydney prior to boarding his flight to Dubai, Mr Sahu Khan said.
He said he waited until all the crown evidence had been led and his defence had become untenable until he left.
Justice John Burns said he had reached a firm conclusion not to grant bail and rejected the application.
