MELBOURNE: Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef, who was cleared of terror charges after being falsely implicated over the failed UK car bombings, was treated in "absolutely appalling" manner and is welcome to work again in Queensland, the Australian state's Health Minister said on Friday.
"Despite all of the hullabaloo that went on around the allegations and investigations under way, there was never any suggestion that he was anything other than a competent doctor," the minister, Stephen Robertson, told ABC Radio.
The Australian Federal Police last week announced that it had officially dropped its year-long investigation against 27-year-old Haneef, who now works in Dubai.
Robertson said the Indian doctor, who worked as a registrar in Queensland's Gold Coast Hospital before his arrest on July 2 last year, was welcome to apply for his former job.
"So if there are no further inquiries by the Australian Federal Police, then from our perspective there are no outstanding issues," the minister said.
"My personal view is I think he's been treated absolutely appallingly," he said. "Certainly the Gold Coast health district has always held him in high regard."
Haneef was cleared of the terror charges after spending nearly a month in custody. But his work visa was cancelled by the then Howard government.
Meanwhile, the Federal Attorney General has agreed to extend the deadline for the Clarke Inquiry into the handling of Haneef's bungled case.
The head of the inquiry, John Clarke QC, was initially going to report back to the Government by the end of September. But he has now been granted an extension until November 14, ABC reported.
