Haneef's lawyer says compensation claims will be pursued

Melbourne, Aug.30 : A lawyer representing Mohamad Haneef, the Indian doctor charged with terror-related offences in Brisbane last year, has said that compensation claims against the Australian Federal Police (AFP) will be pursued and has also urged that the latter's actions need to be thoroughly investigated.

He also called for the Clarke Inquiry to be upgraded to a royal commission.

"The AFP's announcement (that Hannef was innocent) highlights yet again the inadequacy of the current Haneef Inquiry which is not a full blown properly constituted royal commission," The Age quoted Australian Council for Civil Liberties President Terry O'Gorman as telling AAP.

"There's been a lingering suspicion which has firmed up... that the AFP, in maintaining the investigation against Dr Haneef for the last 12 months has really been engaged in a smoke-screen back protection exercise and there's been no reason for Dr Haneef to be kept under investigation," he said.

A royal commission, if granted, should look at all aspects of the AFP's behaviour in the Haneef matter, not just leading to his arrest, he said.

"What the inquiry should look at is how much money, what resources has the AFP used in the last 12 months and has there been a legitimate line of inquiry it has been following or has it simply been parroting that line as a back protection exercise?"

The council had been critical of the structure of the Clarke Inquiry since it was first set up, O'Gorman said.

"It's been a joke from the start," he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Haneef's Brisbane-based lawyer Peter Russo has confirmed the doctor will pursue compensation once the report into the inquiry is handed to the federal government by September 30.

ANI