SYDNEY: An Indian doctor jailed in Australia last year in a bungled terrorism case has officially been cleared, Australian police said yesterday. Police said there was insufficient evidence to institute proceedings against Mohamed Haneef, who was deported after the collapse of the case alleging his involvement in failed terrorist attacks in London and Scotland.
Australian Federal Police “recently informed the attorney general and the minister for home affairs that Dr. Haneef is no longer a person of interest,” a police statement said. “The AFP has concluded its active inquiries, although some long-standing overseas inquiries are yet to be fully resolved.”
Haneef’s attorney, Rod Hodgson, said his 28-year-old client, who now works in the United Arab Emirates, was “delighted” by the news, but wanted an apology from the government and monetary compensation. He declined to specify how much Haneef was seeking.
Haneef had been working as a well-regarded doctor at a hospital in Australia’s Queensland state when he was arrested in Brisbane as he boarded a flight to India in July 2007.
Days earlier, Kafeel Ahmed, Haneef’s distant cousin, drove a jeep loaded with gas canisters into the passenger terminal at Glasgow airport. A day before that, authorities foiled two would-be car bomb attacks in London.
Kafeel Ahmed was severely burned in the Glasgow attack and died weeks later. Ahmed’s brother Sabeel is awaiting trial on a charge of withholding information that could have prevented an act of terrorism.
