In an embarrassment to the Australian government, the Federal Court today restored the work visa of Indian doctor Mohammad Haneef, nearly five months after he was exonerated of terror charges in connection with the failed UK car bombings.Haneef, 27, is free to work in Australia and is pleased to have cleared his name but is yet to decide whether to return from India, his lawyer Peter Russo said. Haneef is now in Mecca performing the Haj pilgrimage.“I don’t think Haneef wants to put himself in a position where his wife would have to go through the trauma that she went through when he was first detained,” Russo said.Immigration Minister Chris Evans, whose predecessor Kevin Andrews had cancelled the Indian doctor’s work visa on character grounds, said, “I formed the judgement that there was no basis for me to seek to move to cancel Haneef’s visa . . . Haneef is entitled to return to this country and take up employment in accordance with his visa.”The full bench of the Federal Court, in a “unanimous” decision, dismissed a government petition challenging Justice Jeffery Spender’s ruling in August in favour of the medico from Bangalore and directed that litigation costs be paid to him.Haneef, who spent nearly four weeks in custody after his arrest from Brisbane airport on July 2 when he attempted to board a flight to India, had challenged the cancellation of his work visa. He had returned to India on July 29.Russo said he will now fly to India, if necessary, to convince Haneef’s family that he should resume his medical career in Australia. He said Haneef’s wife Firdous had some concerns about allowing her husband to return, following his treatment at the hands of Australian authorities.The lawyer vowed to fly to Bangalore to try to ease her concerns. “If it meant that he would come back, if I went over and spoke to the family. I’d do that,” he said.
