Muhamed Haneef
Muhamed Haneef is an Indian-born medical doctor whose life took a dramatic turn in 2007 when he was arrested in Australia under suspicion of aiding terrorists involved in a failed attack at Glasgow Airport, Scotland. Born on September 29, 1979, in Mudigere, India, Haneef pursued medical education at Dr. BR Ambedkar Medical College in Bangalore and later worked at a hospital in Liverpool, England, before moving to Australia for a job opportunity. Following the Glasgow attack, Haneef was detained for twelve days without charges, and despite being released on bail, his work visa was revoked, leading to further detention. It was later determined that there was no evidence linking him to the attack, and he was eventually exonerated. The Australian government apologized and compensated him about $1 million for the wrongful accusations and his ordeal. Haneef's case prompted significant scrutiny of Australia's anti-terrorism policies and law enforcement practices. He has since been practicing medicine in Dubai and expressed interest in returning to work in Australia if possible.
Muhamed Haneef
Doctor
- Born: September 29, 1979
- Place of Birth: Mudigere, India
- Education: SDM College, Dr. BR Ambedkar Medical College
- Significance: Mohamed (also spelled Muhamed) Haneef is an Indian-born medical doctor who in 2007 was arrested in Australia and suspected of having aided terrorists in the 2007 attack on the Glasgow Airport in Scotland. After an investigation, Australian law enforcement found Haneef to have no connection to the attack. The Australian government later apologized to Haneef and paid him about $1 million in compensation for his ordeal.
Background
Mohamed Haneef was born in Mudigere, India, on September 29, 1979. His father was a teacher who died in a car accident in the late 1990s. Haneef attended primary school and high school in Mudigere. He earned his pre-university certification at SDM College in the nearby town of Ujire, India.
Haneef and his family moved to Bangalore in southwestern India following his father's death. There, Haneef attended medical school at Dr. BR Ambedkar Medical College. He graduated from the school in 2002. Haneef later worked at a Halton hospital in Liverpool, England, until 2005.
Haneef then learned about a job opening at a hospital in Gold Coast, a city on Australia's eastern coast. He used Australia's work visa program to enter Australia and take the job. The visa program allows foreigners to work temporarily in the country when employers cannot find domestic workers to fill certain posts. Haneef started working at the Gold Coast hospital in September 2006.
Arrest in Australia
On June 20, 2007, two men in Glasgow, Scotland, carried out a terrorist attack that would soon seriously affect Haneef's life. Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla and Indian-born engineer Kafeel Ahmed drove a vehicle filled with explosives into a set of doors at Glasgow Airport. They hoped to crash through the doors and kill people inside with the explosives in their vehicle. The men intended to avenge what they claimed were the United Kingdom's violent actions against the Iraqi people in the Iraq War, which was ongoing at the time.
June 30 was a busy day at the airport, as it was the first weekend after the start of Scottish schools' summer vacation. However, a concrete pillar near the doors stopped the vehicle from entering the airport. The vehicle exploded outside the doors. Abdulla and Ahmed exited the vehicle and tried to throw explosives into the airport, but numerous witnesses stopped them. Ahmed was seriously burned in the attack and died a month later. A London court later found Abdulla guilty of conspiring to murder and sentenced him to a minimum of 32 years in prison.
British authorities who investigated the terrorist attack soon believed they had found a link between Ahmed and Haneef. Police thought at the time that Haneef had given his subscriber identity module (SIM) card from his cell phone to his second cousin Sabeel Ahmed before leaving the United Kingdom. Sabeel's brother was Kafeel Ahmed, who had executed the attack with Abdulla.
Australian law enforcement arrested Haneef at Brisbane Airport in Australia on July 2, 2007, two days after the terror attack in Glasgow. Haneef had been attempting to return to India. The Australian government had recently created anti-terrorism laws that allowed authorities to hold terror suspects without formally charging them with crimes. Australian law enforcement held Haneef in custody over the next twelve days without charging him. On July 14, authorities charged Haneef with providing support to a terrorist organization, believing he had given his SIM card to the Glasgow terrorists.
Haneef was released from custody on bail on July 16. However, that same day, Australian immigration minister Kevin Andrews canceled Haneef's work visa, throwing into jeopardy Haneef's legal status as an Indian citizen in Australia. Law enforcement took Haneef back into custody.
An Australian federal judge criticized Andrews's canceling of Haneef's visa. Legal reviews later found the revocation to have been illegal. On July 20, Australian police announced that Haneef's SIM card had not actually been located at the scene of the terror attack in Glasgow. On July 27, after conducting a criminal investigation that cost more than $3 million, the Australian government dropped the criminal charge against Haneef. The government then returned Haneef's passport but did not restore the work visa. Haneef returned to India on July 29.
The Australian government and federal courts reviewed the Haneef incident over the following year. Australian police stated that no evidence had ever existed to connect Haneef to the Glasgow attack. By August of 2008, Australian federal police announced that they officially no longer viewed Haneef as a person of interest in the terror investigation.
Haneef later sought compensation from the Australian government for imprisoning him and falsely accusing him of having aided terrorism. He met with Australian officials in December 2010 to negotiate his settlement. The government paid Haneef about $1 million that month and formally apologized for its actions in 2007.
The Australian media widely covered Haneef's successful effort to secure his compensation from Australia. Haneef, who had been practicing medicine in the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates since about 2008, said at the time of his settlement that he would enjoy returning to work in Australia if he could secure another visa.
Impact
Haneef's arrest and extended detention spurred the Australian government to examine its policing and anti-terror laws, both as they related specifically to Haneef's case and in general. An analysis of Haneef's arrest concluded that police involved in the incident had not been corrupt. However, the analysis claimed Australian federal police had made serious mistakes in their investigation of possible links between Haneef and the Glasgow terror attack.
Robert McClelland, attorney general of Australia in 2010, said Australia could change some of its national security laws to reduce the amount of time police could hold and question criminal suspects without charge. Ultimately, however, the financial settlement with Haneef ended all possibility of further legal action against the Australian government. Haneef had previously attempted to sue Andrews for defaming his character by revoking his work visa. Haneef later withdrew this action. Andrews never formally apologized to Haneef, as he believed revoking Haneef's work visa had served Australia's national security interests.
Personal Life
Haneef's wife was named Firdous. They had a daughter, Haniyah, in 2007. At that time, the family lived permanently in Bangalore.
Bibliography
Barrett, Rosanne, and Jared Owens. "Mohamed Haneef Eager to Return after 'Substantial' Payout." Australian, 22 Dec. 2010, www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/mohamed-haneef-eager-to-return-after-substantial-payout/news-story/a5c9dba4a37a9689ac24d570ce27319e. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Maley, Paul. "Terror Accused Mohamed Haneef Returns and He Would Love to Stay." Australian, 22 Nov. 2010, www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/terror-accused-mohamed-haneef-returns-and-he-would-love-to-stay/news-story/3832f1517776a1b5fec98696c11551fe. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
McMahon, Barbara, et al. "Suspect Arrested at Brisbane Airport Used to Be Doctor at NHS Hospital in Liverpool." Guardian, 3 July 2007, www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jul/04/australia.terrorism. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Milovanovic, Selma. "Haneef Case: Timeline of Events." Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Dec. 2008, www.smh.com.au/national/haneef-case-timeline-of-events-20081223-742l.html. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
"Mohamed Haneef Case." Law Council of Australia, www.lawcouncil.asn.au/policy-agenda/criminal-law-and-national-security/anti-terror-laws/mohamed-haneef-case. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Sparrow, Jeff. "Internment Is So Hot Right Now, but It's Nothing New in Australia." Guardian,9 June 2017, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/10/internment-is-so-hot-right-now-but-its-nothing-new-in-Australia. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Topping, Alexandra. "Australia Says Sorry to Doctor Wrongly Detained on Terrorism Charges." Guardian,23 Dec. 2010, www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/23/australia-sorry-doctor-terrorism-charges. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.