By NNN-Bernama
Melbourne : An Indian doctor wrongly suspected by the Australian authorities of being a terrorist, Mohamed Haneef, says he was targeted because of his race and religion.
“It might be just because I am an Asian Muslim,” he said on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio Monday.
He said he had never experienced any racism from colleagues or patients while working at the Gold Coast Hospital in Queensland state and his idea of Australia as a fair country had not been changed.
But asked whether he had experienced a “little bit” of racism from the police, he said “yes”.
Dr Haneef said he looked forward to a judicial inquiry into his detention. “The Government needs to look into the matter of why I was arrested in the first place and whether there was any real, legitimate threat,” he said.
He said the case against him had been circumstantial.
Dr Haneef said he would very happily return to work at the Gold Coast Hospital but had not yet made up his mind. He said his wife, his mother and his wife’s mother were deciding whether they wanted him to return to work in Australia.
Dr Haneef was arrested on July 2 last year and charged 12 days later with supporting a terrorism organization after his mobile phone SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card was linked to failed Glasgow airport bombings shortly before.
The charges were dropped a fortnight later but former Iimmigration Minister Kevin Andrews had already cancelled Dr Haneef’s work visa, forcing him to return to Bangalore, India.
The full bench of the Australian Federal Court last month upheld a judge’s earlier decision to reinstate his work visa, clearing the way for Dr Haneef to return to Australia.
Australia’s new Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, said last week he would not appeal against the decision, clearing the way for Dr Haneef to return to Australia — if he so decides.