The Australian Federal Court, Brisbane will take up the hearing of Mohammed Haneef’s appeal against the government’s decision to cancel his work visa on August 8. Till then, he will be detained in a Queensland jail subject to special conditions, including solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.

Speaking to Deccan Herald from Brisbane on Wednesday, Haneef’s lawyer Peter Russo said, “The appeal has been filed. The Federal Court will take up the hearing on August 8. My client will continue to be in police custody, but at Wolston Correctional Centre and not at the Watchhouse... He has already been shifted there.”

The Australian Government has charged the Bangalorean doctor with providing support for a terrorist organisation allegedly involved in a plot to blow up a London nightclub and the Glasgow airport. Though a Brisbane Magistrate Court granted him bail, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) cancelled his visa, in an effort to take him under immigration detention and shift him to Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney from the police custody in Brisbane. The government cancelled Haneef’s visa on the grounds that he failed the character test.

However, Haneef’s lawyer blocked it by delaying the process to post the bail. Meanwhile, he also filed an appeal challenging the decision to cancel the visa.

“My client will remain in police custody till the Federal Court hears the application. Now, my goal is to get the visa back to Mr Haneef,” Russo stated.

‘Better treatment’
So, why was Haneef shifted to Wolston Correctional Centre from the Watchhouse? “It is done only to ensure safety to Mr Haneef. My client will be safe there. The Australian police are facing a first-of-its-kind case. Hence, it has taken special care to ensure safety to the detainee,” the solicitor said.

Russo defended the Australian police’s decision to keep Haneef in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day at the Correctional Centre, saying that it was to ensure safety.

Russo claimed that Haneef would get better treatment at Wolston Correctional Centre than the Watchhouse.
“I don’t call it the best, but it is not the worst,” he said.

According to the lawyer, Haneef will have access to library, newspaper, television, radio and exercise at the jail. But he will not be allowed to use the computer. However, the police have laid down certain conditions of his detention. There will be no contact between him and the other inmates, and two prison officers will accompany him when he moves around the prison. Haneef will be treated as a terror prisoner under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Russo said.

HIGHLIGHTS
*Hearing on Haneef’s appeal against visa cancellation on August 8
*Shifted from watchhouse to Wolston Correctional Centre  
*Will be under solitary confinement for 23 hours a day
*Will have access to library, newspaper, television, radio, exercise facilities at jail
*Allowed visits from imam or Islamic leader
*No use of computer
*No contact with other inmates