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'Mohamed Haneef can work in Australia'
Melbourne,
Dec
21:
Indian
born
doctor
Mohamed
Haneef
has
won
his
latest
court
battle
to
return
and
work
in
Australia.
The
full
bench
of
the
Federal
Court,
sitting
in
Melbourne,
today
dismissed
an
appeal
lodged
by
the
Australian
Government
lawyers
against
a
Justice
Jeffrey
Spender's
decision
to
reinstate
Dr
Haneef's
visa.
The
decision
was
shown
on
video
link
in
Brisbane.
Chief Justice Michael Black's decision in Melbourne came a month after a one-day hearing of the case in Brisbane. In August, Justice Jeffrey Spender overturned then Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews' decision to cancel the Indian doctor's 457-work visa on character grounds because of his association with alleged UK terror suspects Sabeel and Kafeel Ahmed. He ruled that Andrews had made a "jurisdictional error" and should have used a different legal test to cancel the Indian national's visa.
Watch Video
The
decision
allows
Dr
Haneef
to
return
to
Australia
for
work,
although
the
Government
can
appeal
against
the
decision
to
the
High
Court.
Even
if
he
regains
the
right
to
work
in
Australia,
it
is
not
clear
whether
Haneef
would
return,
said
Peter
Russo,
his
lawyer.
His
main
aim
was
to
clear
his
name,
Russo
added.
Russo said that he was frustrated that Federal Immigration Minister Chris Evans had indicated that he might want to consider the court's decision for 28 days before responding. "I find that difficult to understand why ... he has not turned his mind to a position in relation to Haneef's visa because ... the ultimate decision rests with the minister," he said.
Dr Haneef, a registrar at the Gold Coast Hospital, was arrested and charged in July in connection with the Glasgow terror attacks and later deported by the Howard Government, despite the charges being dropped for lack of evidence.
Dr Haneef was arrested at Brisbane Airport on July 2, shortly after the failed UK terrorist plot, but a charge of providing support to terrorism was dropped later. The charges were dropped less than two weeks later after Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions announced there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.
Dr Haneef has spent most of the past five months at his home in Bangalore, but Russo has repeatedly said that he wants to return to work on the Gold Coast. Dr Haneef is presently in Mecca in Saudi Arabia on the annual pilgrimage, news.com.au reported.
ANI
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