Detaining Haneef was not required: wife

The Indian doctor's wife says her husband could have been interviewed while being allowed to work instead.

The wife of Mohamed Haneef, the Indian doctor detained in Australia in connection to a failed terror plot in the UK, has said her husband could have been interviewed by police while being allowed to work instead of being detained.

HT Image

Haneef on Thursday entered his tenth day in detention without charge as the Australian Federal Police (AFP) continue to investigate his suspected links to failed bombings in London and Glasgow.

His wife Firdous Arshiya spoke to him by phone on Wednesday from Bangalore, the first time the couple have spoken since Haneef was arrested at Brisbane Airport with a one-way ticket to India on July 2.

"I just inquired about his health obviously, and he inquired about the health of the family," she said adding "He's alright, he's fine and doing well."

Arshiya said her husband did not talk about the investigation into his involvement in the terror plot.

"He didn't say anything about all those things, he just talked about his health and said he'd come out soon," she said, according to The Australian.

Arshiya said she would have felt better if he had been doing his job at the hospital, adding "They could have done their inquiry there.

"They could have asked him not to leave Australia and he could've stayed there doing his job and then they could have done the inquiry," she said.