Lawyer fears Haneef could be 'set up' to lose visa

Natasha Chaku

MELBOURNE: Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef could be "set up" to lose his visa a second time if he won an appeal in the Australian Federal Court against the cancellation of his visa by the country's immigration minister, his lawyer feared.

Peter Russo said the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews needed to accept that the terror charges against Haneef had been dropped, and it was abandoned in the full knowledge of all of the claims and "disclosures" being leaked to the news media.

"If the appeal against the visa cancellation succeeds, I'm wondering if Haneef is being set up to have his visa cancelled again, based on allegedly new information, which we know is not new at all -- just recycled old claims," Russo said, according to a report by 'The Australian'.

"The courts and the DPP knew what was in the interview transcripts, and the decision to abandon the charge against Dr Haneef was based on information the AFP put before the court. Now we have the Federal Police suggesting there are more investigations," Russo lamented, pointing out that even the police in the UK, where the botched terror attack took place, were no longer interested in going after Haneef.

"Meanwhile the UK authorities have shown no further interest in Haneef. An English police officer flew out to talk to Australian investigators but did not, in the end, interview Haneef. The English authorities have shown no interest in extraditing or even further investigating Haneef," Russo said.