Australian police have cleared an Indian doctor of involvement in failed bomb attacks in Britain last year after a bungled 14-month probe that is now the subject of a judicial inquiry.
Muslim doctor Mohamed Haneef was arrested on July 2 last year and charged 12 days later with providing support to a terrorist organisation after his telephone SIM card was linked to car bombings in London and Glasgow.
But the charge was dropped three weeks later and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said late Friday they had abandoned their investigation into Haneef as there was not enough evidence.
"The AFP has concluded its active inquiries, although some long-standing overseas inquiries are yet to be fully resolved," the AFP said in a brief statement.
"At the present time, there is insufficient evidence to institute proceedings against Dr Haneef for any criminal offence."
The AFP kept the investigation open for more than a year after charges against Haneef were dropped, spending more than eight million dollars (6.9 million US) in the process.
Haneef's lawyers said he would seek compensation from the Australian government and an apology for his high-profile arrest and imprisonment.
Haneef, 28, said the harrowing incident that propelled the mild-mannered hospital registrar onto front pages around the world had affected his whole family and that police had taken too long to clear him.
"It has left the whole family in darkness, this episode. Just because of some -- I don't know -- some foolish mistakes from some person," Haneef told The Weekend Australian from the United Arab Emirates, where he now lives.
Haneef had been working in a hospital on Australia's Gold Coast when he was arrested at Brisbane airport.
The investigation had "shattered" his family, he said, adding however that he still planned to return to Australia, although he conceded he would have a hard time convincing his wife and daughter to do so.
Although a magistrate had granted Haneef bail, the then immigration minister cancelled his visa, obliging authorities to keep him in detention and then to expel him from the country once he was finally freed.
Haneef's Australian lawyer, Peter Russo, told Sky News he was very happy that "finally the AFP have decided to tell the world what we've been saying since we got involved in the matter".
He said that while Haneef was considering pursuing compensation, he would probably not do so until a judicial inquiry ordered by the new Australian government into his case had been completed in late September.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland said in March that the inquiry was needed to ensure the handling of the bungled case did not dent public confidence in Australia's anti-terrorist measures.
