SYDNEY: Mohammed Haneef, the Indian doctor once accused of involvement with terrorist bombers in Europe, on Friday had his Australian visa returned, the latest chapter in a case that embarrassed the Australian police, prosecutors and the government of former Prime Minister John Howard.
The high court in Melbourne on Friday rejected an appeal by Kevin Andrews, the former minister of immigration, against the reinstatement of Haneef's Australian visa.
Peter Russo, Haneef's lawyer, said his client, who is in Saudi Arabia for the hajj, was happy with the outcome and would like to return to his old job as a hospital registrar as soon as the formalities have been sorted out.
"He's pretty happy," Russo said Friday. "If he can, he'll come back."
Andrews had originally canceled Haneef's visa after ruling that the doctor had associated with undesirable elements, namely his cousins who are alleged to have been involved in a terrorist plot in Britain, but the high court ruled Friday that the minister had applied the Migration Act too broadly.
Calling its judgment unanimous, the court concluded that the "association" to which the Migration Act refers "is one involving some sympathy with, or support for, or involvement in, the criminal conduct of the person, group or organization with whom the visa holder is said to have associated."
"The association must be such as to have some bearing upon the person's character," it said.
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