Muhamed Haneef

In December 2010, Haneef returned to Australia to seek damages for loss of income, interruption of his professional work, and emotional distress. He was awarded compensation from the Australian government. The amount of compensation awarded was not disclosed, but was described by sources as "substantial".

On Sunday, 30 August 2008 The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Australian Federal Police have finally confirmed they have cleared Dr Haneef as a suspect in the terrorism attack on Glasgow airport.

During the 2008 inquiry into the Haneef affair, documents have revealed that former Prime Minister John Howard became involved in the case within 48 hours of Haneef's arrest. Lawyers in the case have suggested that the early involvement of the Prime Minister mean that John Howard colluded with Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews to politicise the issue. John Howard has maintained that he had no involvement with the handling of the Haneef case.

On 13 March 2008, the Commonwealth Attorney-General Robert McClelland announced former NSW Supreme Court Justice, the Hon. John Clarke SC would chair an inquiry into the 'arrest, detention, charging, prosecution and release' of Dr Haneef (the Clarke Inquiry).

The attorney-general labelled the Clarke inquiry a "judicial inquiry" [see Press Release 13 March 2008]. Dr Haneef's Lawyer, Stephen Keim called it a "virtual inquiry". The president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, called it a "Mickey Mouse inquiry".

The report was presented to the government on 21 November 2008, and to the public about 23 December 2008. (The government said it had delayed the release due to concerns it could impact trials in the United Kingdom.) The government has responded.

Haneef was arrested on 2 July 2007 at Brisbane Airport, Brisbane, Australia on suspicion of terror-related activities. He is the second cousin once removed of Kafeel Ahmed and Sabeel Ahmed, the operatives in the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack. Haneef's ensuing detention became the longest without charge in recent Australian history, which caused great controversy in Australia and India.

Haneef was released when the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew its charge on 27 July 2007, whereby his passport was returned and he departed Australia voluntarily on 29 July 2007. Haneef's visa cancellation was overturned by the Federal Court on 21 August 2007, with the decision being reiterated by the full bench of the court on 21 December 2007, resulting in Haneef having his Australian visa returned.

Haneef was arrested on 2 July 2007 at Brisbane Airport, Brisbane, Australia for suspected terror-related activities, specifically in connection to 2007 Glasgow Airport attack. He is the first person arrested and detained under the 2005 Australian Anti-Terrorism Act and the first to have his detention extended under the Act, being detained for twelve days without being charged with a crime.

The AFP claimed in a court affidavit that Haneef told police in his first interview that he lived in Britain with the two terrorism suspects, his cousins: "On 2 July and 3 July 2007 Dr Haneef participated in a taped record of interview with the AFP and stated the following: Whilst in the UK he resided with suspects 1 and 2 (alleged suicide bomber Kafeel Ahmed and his brother Sabeel Ahmed), at 13 Bentley Road, Liverpool."

Australia has reportedly sought details from India of personal information such as banking transactions related to Haneef. The request came after Indian authorities declined to comply with a request for "friendly sharing of information" made by a representative of the Australian Federal Police during a visit there late September 2007.

Haneef was ordered to be freed on a relatively modest, $10,000 surety on 16 July 2007, after the public prosecutor failed to convince the magistrate that the doctor should be remanded in custody. His barrister, Stephen Keim, SC, argued for the Indian national to be released on bail and said the case against Haneef was "extremely weak". The matter was due to be heard again on 31 August 2007. After the decision by Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews to cancel his work visa, Haneef chose not to post bail, opting instead to remain in police custody until his appeal against the visa cancellation decision could be heard.

On 18 July 2007, Haneef's barrister Stephen Keim confirmed that he had leaked a transcript of Haneef's initial interview with the AFP to the media in order to counter what he described as a campaign of damaging leaks by law enforcement agencies. The transcript, now mirrored on the Internet, was published on the website of The Australian newspaper then removed. Australia's Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, claimed that to ensure a fair trial Haneef might have been forced to spend more time in detention as a result of the leaked transcript, Haneef's lawyers subsequently released the transcript from his second interview to the media.

The Federal Labor party has resisted offering criticism of the Government's handling of the issue and has on several occasions offered the Government in principle support for Kevin Andrews' decision to cancel Haneef's visa. This contrasts with statements issued by The Greens which have been strongly critical of the Government's actions. Federal Labor's failure to criticise the Government is widely seen as an attempt by its leadership to avoid a political wedge issue in the lead up to the late-2007 federal election.

On 27 July 2007 following the abandonment of the case by the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Minister held a press conference to announce that he had requested that the Commonwealth Solicitor General provide him with advice about whether his decision to cancel Haneef's visa should be reviewed, given the collapse of the prosecution's case. Pending the receipt of that advice, Minister Kevin Andrews made a Residence Determination under s197AB of the Migration Act 1958 to allow Haneef to be detained in the community, although with some restrictions on his movements and a requirement to report to authorities daily.

On 31 July 2007, Kevin Andrews released further details of the review by the solicitor general which, he claims, affirms the minister's decision to revoke Haneef's visa.

While in India, Haneef applied to have his visa reinstated through judicial review. The matter was held before Justice Spender, who on 20 August 2007 quashed Andrews' decision to cancel the visa. Spender ruled that the term "association" should not include mere social, family or professional relationships.

Haneef worked at Halton Hospital in Runcorn Cheshire, before applying for a job in Australia under that country's temporary skilled worker scheme, after reading an advertisement in the March 2006 issue of the British Medical Journal. In Australia, he worked as a registrar at the Gold Coast Hospital from September 2006, and lived in an apartment several blocks from the hospital.

Australian authorities alleged that as Haneef left Britain he recklessly provided assistance to a terrorist organisation by leaving his relative, Sabeel Ahmed, a SIM card and the balance of a two-year mobile phone contract to use and pay off when he left Britain in July 2006. Relatives have said that he left the SIM card behind to save money by not surrendering the remaining value of the contract to the telephone company. The prosecutor claimed the SIM card was found inside the vehicle used in the Glasgow Airport attack. This allegation, central to the case, proved to be false and investigating British police officers concluded that the case was driven by politics rather than policing. Mick Keelty revealed that Scotland Yard had initially told Australian Federal Police investigators that the SIM card was found in the jeep confirming that the conduit for the SIM card error was the Australian Federal Police, contrary to Mick Keelty's previous denials. A review by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Damian Bugg, revealed the allegations connected to the SIM card use as "error of fact".

However, in the record of the interview, Haneef told police that he lived at 13 Bentley Road, Liverpool, with several doctors, whom he named. None of those named are known to be suspects in the Glasgow or London incidents. Haneef told police that he had moved out of 13 Bentley Road by the time that Sabeel Ahmed moved there. He also told police that he visited Cambridge on two occasions in 2004 and stayed for up to six days with Kafeel Ahmed.

Raised a Muslim, Haneef is from Mudigere, in the coffee-rich Chikkamagaluru district of the state of Karnataka in India, where his late father, Shami Khaleel, was a teacher. Haneef's father died in a road accident when he was 18. Shortly after this Haneef moved with his family to Bangalore, and he completed his pre-university certification course at SDM College in Ujire in the neighbouring district of Dakshina Kannada. He subsequently studied medicine at the Tripura Medical College & Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Teaching Hospital from 1997 to 2002, achieving a first-class degree. During his days in India, there is no evidence to show that he was influenced by the idea of Islamic extremism.

Australian authorities charged Haneef under Section 102.7(2) of the Criminal Code Act 1995. An offence under this section of the Act carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The basis of the charge was the allegation that he had intentionally provided support to an organisation, deemed to be a terrorist organisation under the terms of the act, whilst being reckless as to whether it was a terrorist organisation. The allegation centered on the gift of his own SIM card to his cousin, Sabeel Ahmed.

Mohamed Haneef (born 29 September 1979) is an Indian born doctor who was falsely accused of aiding terrorists, and left Australia upon cancellation of his visa amid great political controversy.