Haneef to seek compensation from Australia

MELBOURNE: Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef, who was wrongly accused in Australia of involvement in the failed UK car bombings, will seek compensation for the "immense damage" to his career, reputation and family.     

As the Australian police dropped its 13-month probe into the bungled case yesterday, Haneef said the investigation had left his entire family "in darkness" and his reputation destroyed.
    
"It has left the whole family in darkness, this episode. Just because of some, I don't know, some foolish mistakes from some person," 28-year-old Haneef told 'The Weekend Australian' from a town outside Dubai, where he now lives with his wife and daughter.
    
Haneef, who was arrested on July 2 last year and spent nearly a month in custody, said the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had taken too long to clear his name. The investigation had "shattered" his family, he said.
    
The doctor said he was sceptical that Australian police had been seriously investigating him since dropping the charge against him in July last year as he had not been contacted by the AFP since leaving Australia upon his release.
    
The Indian doctor's Australian lawyer Rod Hodgson said Haneef will be seeking compensation.
    
"I have spoken to Dr Haneef and he is obviously concerned that his reputation has been impugned over the last 13 months by the AFP continuing to refer to him as a suspect," Hodgson was quoted as saying by ABC News.
    
"And we have made no secret of the fact that he will be seeking compensation for the immense damage to his career, his family and his reputation."