Australia sheik charged with Afghan hate mail

CANBERRA: A self-styled sheik has been arrested in Australia over letters sent to widows of soldiers killed in Afghanistan, accusing their partners of murder, as Canberra mulls an early withdrawal from the troubled country.

The Iranian-born Muslim spiritual leader, who goes by the name Mufti Sheik Haron, was charged with sending hate mail to families of seven Australian soldiers killed fighting Taliban and Al-Qaida militants in Afghanistan over a two-year period.

"I feel bad that you have lost your son but I don't feel bad that a murderer of innocent civilians has lost his life," Haron allegedly wrote to the family of one Australian commando killed in January, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said yesterday.