Judge delays Haneef visa ruling

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6938205.stm

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An Australian judge has delayed making a ruling on the appeal by Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef over a decision to cancel his working visa.

Judge Jeffrey Spender told the federal court in Brisbane that he would give his ruling on 21 August.

Dr Haneef was detained for several weeks in Australia, before a terror charge against him was dropped.

However Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews refused to reverse his decision to cancel Dr Haneef's visa.

Mr Andrews maintained that the Indian doctor had failed what is called the character test, because of his association with alleged criminals.

He also said he still had suspicions about the doctor, even though the charges had been dropped.

Dr Haneef is back in India and did not attend the two-day hearing in Brisbane. He is seeking the option of returning to work in Australia one day.

Tough appeal

The 27-year-old had been working at a hospital on Australia's Gold Coast when he was arrested on 2 July.

He was held for several days before being charged with supporting the failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow.

Although a magistrate granted him bail, within hours Mr Andrews had revoked the doctor's visa which allowed the authorities to keep him in detention.

When key evidence linking Dr Haneef to the suspects in the UK attacks was found to be flawed, the charges were dropped, but not the visa ruling.

Dr Haneef's defence team has argued that the immigration laws were applied simply to keep him behind bars while the criminal case against him was falling apart, and they insist that this action was improper.