Haneef Released

Sometimes this world makes no sense at all. Take the recent case of Dr Mohamed Haneef. The dear ole Doc was working at a hospital on the Gold Coast in Queensland. He had a pretty good life; a good job, a nice place to live and his wife was pregnant with their first child. As they are both from India, they decided that it would be best for his wife to return to her family for the birth of their child. Dr Haneef was to join her once he could get the time off work. You can imagine his joy as he lined up at the airport to join his wife in their homeland. You can imagine his shock when he was taken into custody by the Australian Federal Police as a suspect in a terrorist plot.

While Dr Haneef was held, without any charges laid (!), his unit was ransacked by the police. The Australian Federal Police caused so much damage that Dr Haneef would not be able to move back in, even if that option were available. They completely ruined the place. The outcome of their search and interrogation? Nothing. The AFP made a mistake, the two pieces of evidence that linked Dr Haneef to the terrorist bombings were false leads. He has been released without charge.

Another thing happened while Dr Haneef was being held by the police, his wife gave birth to their child. This detail is made bitter by the fact that Dr Haneef cannot join his wife in India. His passport has not been returned to him and his visa status, as yet, is unclear. When Dr Haneef was first taken into custody, Australia's minister for immigration, Kevin Andrews, announced that Dr Haneef's visa would be cancelled, no matter what the outcome! Even though he has been cleared of any wrong doing, he may lose his right to work and live in Australia. As an Australian I find this almost impossible to believe. If no charges have been laid, why take his visa away from him? Mr Andrews had already made a decision about Dr Haneef's visa prior to any police findings. How can this be? This is Australia. This land is supposed to be based on equality, fairness and justice. These principles are being ignored in the name of the war on terror. In the end, the shame will be on us but in the meantime many will needlessly have their lives destroyed.