Australia will not reinstate Haneef's visa

Sydney, July 29: The Australian government said today it would not reinstate the work visa of an Indian doctor who has been freed from jail after authorities dropped terrorism charges against him.

The doctor, Mohamed Haneef, was released from prison on Friday after a charge against him of supporting terrorism was dropped due to a lack of evidence to prove his connection with a failed car bomb plot in Britain. He voluntarily flew home to India on Saturday after 25 days in custody.

But despite the collapse of the case, Australia Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews has ruled out reinstating Haneef's work visa, barring a possible court ruling to overturn his decision.

''His visa has been cancelled and unless there is some overturning of that by the Federal Court, it's my indication that that visa will remain cancelled,'' Andrews told local television Seven Network.

Haneef, 27, had been charged with recklessly supporting terrorism by providing a relative in Britain, his second cousin Sabeel Ahmed with his mobile phone SIM card.

Prosecutors had told an Australian court that Haneef's SIM card was found in the burning jeep in Glasgow, allegedly used by his second cousin, Kafeel Ahmed, in a failed car bombing on June 30.

But prosecution lawyers agreed on Friday the SIM card was in fact found in the home of Sabeel, Kafeel's brother, in Liverpool, more than 200 kilometres from the attack scene.

Haneef has all along said that he had left his SIM card with Sabeel in Liverpool in mid-2006, when Haneef left Britain to work in Australia.

Haneef's lawyers have submitted a court application to appeal against the immigration office's decision to revoke Haneef's work visa.

Haneef's case has drawn sharp criticisms against the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for prosecuting the doctor despite the lack of strong evidence.

But AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty has defended his department's handling of the case and said errors such as where Haneef's mobile SIM card was found, were initially made by British authorities.

''Haneef attempted to leave the country. If we had let him go, we would have been accused of letting a terrorist escape our shores,'' Keelty was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Police in Britain have charged three people over the attempted attacks, including Sabeel, who is accused of failing to disclose information that could have prevented an attack.

Kafeel remains in hospital after being badly burned when a jeep was driven into an airport terminal in Glasgow and set ablaze.

Reuters>