By Neena Bhandari, IANS
Sydney : The Australian government Friday dropped charges against Indian doctor Muhammad Haneef, with police admitting that there were irregularities in the evidence and that there was no prospect of conviction.
Haneef was not in court when the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who was reviewing all the material in the case, dropped the charges.
Haneed is still in solitary confinement in Brisbane's high security Wolston Correctional Centre, where he has been held since July 18 on charges of supporting a terrorist organisation by "recklessly" giving his mobile phone SIM card to people planning the British bomb attacks.
A huge gathering of protesters outside the Brisbane Magistrate's Court has been shouting slogans, seeking justice for the 27-year-old Gold Coast registrar and calling for compensation.
There has been mounting demand that those in authority be held accountable for his misery.
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Kevin Andrews had also asked the police to review the information used to cancel the Indian doctor's 457 work visa.
Haneef was arrested July 2 from the Brisbane airport when he was flying out to India on a one-way ticket.