IndiaPost.com - Haneef wants Australia to apologize, vows to return

BANGALORE: Back home after a 27-day ordeal, Mohammed Haneef said he wants Australia to apologize to India for his detention on terror charges and vowed to return there and fight to get his work visa back. T

he Bangalore doctor, who returned here after Australian police dropped terror charges against him, told a crowded press conference about the ordeal he and his family went through and the overwhelming support he received.

"I don't expect an apology from the Australian government or the authorities but I would appreciate if they apologize to my peace-loving country and citizens," said the 27-year-old doctor. Haneef was not forthcoming on whether he would sue the Australian government, but asserted that he would like to return to work as a doctor there and was willing to fight to get his visa back. "I would like to return. I want the visa back. I will fight for that," he said.

"I have not sought any legal advice on this at this time. That will be later on," he said on whether he would sue the Australian authorities. Asked whether he was victimized because he was an Asian Muslim, Haneef said, "There might be an element of truth in it...I suspect."

Haneef profusely thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his cabinet colleagues Pranab Mukherjee, E Ahamed, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and the Indian Ambassador in Australia Prabhat Shukla for supporting him.

I am not a victim of international conspiracy, but Australian conspiracy," Haneef said, adding he does not wish to see anybody victimized in the name of terrorism. "My family suffered a great deal as a result of what happened to me," he said.

The medico said he was saddened by the fact that Australia had not reinstated his work visa which would have enabled him to return as a doctor in the Gold Coast hospital in Brisbane. "I enjoyed working as a doctor at Gold Coast hospital," he said. He said he had no idea why his work visa was revoked by Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews.

"I would like him to come forward and let out the facts," he added. Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo, who waged a successful battle to free him, said the Australian Federal Police had taken every item of the doctor's personal belongings when they arrested him on July two from Brisbane airport.

"If this does not make a person feel like a victim of some sort, then what would," Russo asked. Haneef expressed happiness at rejoining his family but said "I would like to return to Australia. I want my visa back and I will fight for it." "I am overwhelmed with the support here and in Australia," he said.