NSW: Ramadan use of cocaine by woman suing police
By Margaret Scheikowski10 Dec 2008 6:03 PM
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SYDNEY, Dec 10 AAP - A government Muslim affairs adviser lied to her drug dealer to hide her use of cocaine during the religious period of Ramadan, a Sydney court has been told.
As well as being a member of former prime minister John Howard's Muslim Community Reference Group, Iktimal Hage-Ali was named NSW Young Australian of the Year in 2006.
The now 24-year-old was arrested eight days before she awarded the title and her recorded interview with police, on November 22, was played in the NSW District Court on Wednesday.
She is suing the State of NSW, claiming she was wrongly arrested and detained on suspicion of being a drug supplier.
Ms Hage-Ali, who worked for the NSW Attorney-General's Department at the time but now lives in Dubai, was released without charge after telling police she had bought cocaine for her own use only.
In the police interview, she breaks down a number of times, concluding the session by saying: "I have nothing to hide, other than the fact I am a f****** cocaine addict".
But in her evidence to the court, Ms Hage-Ali repeatedly denied being an addict, but agreed she used, on average, about 1.5 grams a week.
She told police of buying cocaine from her dealer, childhood friend Mohammed "Bruce" Fahda, who was arrested the same day and has since been jailed.
Secretly recorded tapes of their phone calls were played to the court, during which they used a code, calling a gram of cocaine a "dress" and its price, or payment, as "notes".
Some of the calls were made from her work at the Attorney-General's Department and in some calls she commented on the quality of particular deals.
Ms Hage-Ali said she lied in some calls and texts to her dealer when she asked for a sample of cocaine for a friend.
"I didn't supply cocaine to anyone, the cocaine was for my own personal use," she said.
But she sometimes told her dealer a "dress" was for a friend, as she wanted to get the drug on credit.
"There were times during Ramadan when I still wanted to have cocaine but I didn't want him to know I was using during Ramadan," she said in the interview.
Muslim adults are meant to refrain from eating and drinking between dawn and sunset during the month of Ramadan.
Ms Hage-Ali said during that period, she told her dealer she had a friend who wanted a sample.
"All the times I have referred to a friend, it was really just for me," she said.
Assistant Director General for the NSW Attorney General's department, Michael Talbot, told the court Ms Hage-Ali had been "an outstanding officer, probably one of the best I had working for me at the time".
She was obviously a candidate for future promotion and he would be prepared to employ her now if a position were available.
The hearing is continuing before Judge Michael Elkaim.
