By IANS
Sydney : Australian Prime Minister John Howard has ruled out apologising to Indian doctor Muhammad Haneef, jailed for almost four weeks in Brisbane as part of a bungled terror investigation, and said "he was not victimised".
"Australia will not be apologising to Dr Haneef," Howard told reporters here Sunday as the 27-year-old doctor flew home to Bangalore after being in Australian police custody since July 2 on charges of supporting the terror plot in Britain.
Howard said mistakes happened from time to time and when dealing with terrorism, it was better to be safe than sorry, The Age newspaper reported.
"Dr Haneef was not victimised and Australia's international reputation has not been harmed, he added.
Haneef was reunited with his wife and newborn baby in Bangalore Sunday, three days after the terror charges were dropped.
Meanwhile, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said if any inquiry into the case went ahead and found nothing to hold against the Indian doctor, he should be given a formal apology.
Howard said he supported the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, who revoked Haneef's visa earlier this month, just hours after a Brisbane court had granted him bail.
Despite the collapse of the case, Andrews has refused to reinstate the visa unless Haneef's lawyers successfully appeal the decision in the Australian Federal Court.
The 27-year-old doctor's lawyer Peter Russo, who accompanied him to India, has said that Haneef has six years to sue the Australian government for damages.
Russo said his first priority was to continue the legal battle for restoration of Haneef's work visa.
Prominent Australian lawyer Peter Faris said 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," Faris said.
Haneef, working as registrar at Gold Coast Hospital in Queensland, was on way to the Brisbane airport on a one-way ticket to India when he was detained on suspicion of having links with the failed June-end terror bid in Britain.
He was charged with being "reckless" in giving his mobile SIM card to his cousin Sabeel Ahmed, who was detained the same day in Liverpool by the British police following the failed June 30 attack on Glasgow airport.