Mohamed Haneef: 12 years since Gold Coast doctor was falsely accused of links to terror attack

A Gold Coast doctor was falsely accused of being involved in a terror attack in the UK. Mohamed Haneef was innocent but was fingered for a role in the attack, which shocked the world.

The famous lone photo of Doctor Haneef which was the only image of the accused man available in the early days of the saga.

Gold Coast Bulletin, Wednesday July 4, 2007

A MOBILE phone SIM card was believed to have led to the arrest of a Gold Coast Hospital doctor over the London and Glasgow bomb plots.

Mohamed Haneef, 27, of Southport, was being questioned by Australian Federal Police.

AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said no charges had been laid and Dr Haneef was co-operating.

“We are alleging that Dr Haneef was connected to a terrorist group,” said Mr Keelty.

Gold Coast Bulletin, Wednesday July 4, 2007.

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A Brisbane magistrate allowed the AFP to detain Haneef for a further 12 hours.

The Indian-born Muslim was arrested at Brisbane airport after buying a one-way ticket to the Indian capital Delhi, via Malaysia.

Police raided Dr Haneef’s unit in Pohlman Street, Southport and confiscated computers and documents, which were being translated from Arabic to English for investigators.

Dr Mohamed Haneef

There were also reports that a search of Dr Haneef’s car yielded two computers and maps of London.

Another Gold Coast Hospital doctor, was questioned after his unit in Spendelove Street, Southport, was raided by AFP officers.

The second doctor was not been charged and Mr Keelty said he was only assisting with inquiries.

Mohamed Haneef. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)

“He has never been the subject of this investigation,” he said.

Both doctors live within 200m of the hospital.

While being held without charge for days, Dr Haneef was treated as a terror suspect and kept isolated for 23 hours a day.

The case against Dr Haneef collapsed within days when it became clear he was not involved in any way, despite an intervention by the Howard Government to cancel his visa on character grounds.

Weeks later the Coalition Government deported Dr Haneef.