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Howard refuses to apologise to Haneef

Melbourne: Australian Prime Minister John Howard has ruled out apologising to Mohammed Haneef, jailed for almost four weeks as part of a bungled terror probe, and rejected the view that the Indian doctor was victimised. Mr. Howard said mistakes happened from time to time and when dealing with terrorism, it was better to be safe than sorry. “Australia will not be apologising to Dr. Haneef,” Mr. Howard told reporters in Sydney.

“Dr Haneef was not victimised and Australia’s international reputation has not been harmed by this ‘mis-start’ to its new anti-terrorism laws,” he was quoted as saying by the media here.

The Indian doctor, whose work visa was cancelled on character grounds, said he had been victimised by Australian authorities and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). His lawyer Peter Russo said the Government owed Dr. Haneef an apology. “He is not expecting one (an apology) but I guess if the people who are in line for being sued want to mitigate their losses they might want to think about apologies,” Mr. Russo told ABC Radio.

Mr. Howard said he supported the AFP and Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, who revoked Dr. Haneef’s visa earlier this month, just hours after a Brisbane court had granted him bail. Despite the collapse of the case, Mr. Andrews refused to reinstate the visa.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer also defended Mr. Andrews and the AFP. “What do you expect them to do, fall on the ground and grovel? Eat dirt? I mean, get real.” Mr. Downer said the case showed that Australia’s legal system worked well. “The fact that the charges against Dr. Haneef were dropped by the Director of Public Prosecutions and Dr. Haneef was allowed to return to India, I would have thought would be, pretty much, the beginning and the end of it,” he told reporters at the Sydney Airport before leaving for a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in the Philippines. Mr. Howard said he would be speaking to his Indian counterpart at the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Prominent lawyer Peter Faris said Dr. Haneef should be compensated for the bungled investigation and charges. “I think he’s probably owed a lot of money — I would have thought we would have a very substantial claim arising out of a bungled investigation and the bungled charges against him,” Mr. Faris said. — PTI

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