Doctors decry media circus

SYDNEY: The lawyer of Indian doctor Muhammad Haneef, a Gold Coast registrar held in police custody in Brisbane since July 2 for the foiled bomb attacks in London and Glasgow, said on Monday he had finally been given material pertaining to his client's detention even as the head of a doctors' body decried the 'media circus' surrounding the episode that might put all overseas doctors in Australia under a cloud.

Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "There might be some more material being made available today".

Haneef is yet to be charged. His lawyer said, "The person has been detained for questioning only, it's not a person who's been charged with an offence or is about to be charged with an offence."

It appears that Russo is the only outside contact Haneef has had since the night of July 5, apart from the investigators.

Meanwhile, Australian Doctors Trained Overseas president Andrew Schwartz said he was very disappointed by the way this inquest had been played up by the media.

Schwartz said, "This is not normal police procedure to have this media circus. What purpose does it serve to publicise every little move? This unnecessary publicity will make the Australian public wary of going to overseas trained doctors and it will make overseas trained doctors wary of coming to work in Australia.

"Australia's going to be dependent for many more years on overseas trained doctors. My wife comes from Argentina and there it was sufficient to be in the address book of a suspected terrorist for another individual to become a suspected terrorist. In these doctors' cases, it is similar."

Earlier on Monday, Russo had told the ABC, "It's difficult to work out what has actually happened because the only source of information that I have really is the media."

He told the ABC, "It's very unfair. The only way you can get a fair and balanced hearing is if both parties have an opportunity to first of all view each other's material and then make submissions based on the information that's before the magistrate and also the opportunity to get some instructions in relation to the allegations, if any, that are being made."

The Australian Federal Police has up to 11.30 pm Australia East Time on Monday to detain the 27-year-old doctor under counter-terrorism laws.

The lawyer told the ABC, "From when I became involved on Thursday night I understand I've been the only contact that he's had. At this stage he hasn't spoken to anyone else, but my understanding is there was permission given some time today for him to be able to speak with his wife in India."

According to the Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, it was legal for police to withhold information from the lawyer as his client had not yet been charged.

Ruddock told the ABC, "If he were charged he would have certain information made available to him. But when you're questioning people and you don't know where the questioning is going yourself, it seems very novel to involve defence counsel in assisting you with your inquiries with helping with developing the questions you might ask."

Russo said his client has indicated that he was doing his best to cooperate with the police.

The lawyer said, "My understanding is that he has been doing his best to answer any of the queries that the Australian Federal Police have had. He's obviously made a request to me that he'd prefer to be in the community rather than where he is."

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Mohammed Asif Ali, the other doctor arrested in Brisbane and later released, has not returned to work despite Queensland State Health Minister Stephen Robertson saying, "he's shown himself to be a good doctor and very popular. We want him back because we need his work". The Gold Coast Hospital management is hoping that he will get back to work.