"He's no fanatic" says terror suspect's wife

[TonyGosling]

He's no fanatic, says terror suspect's loyal wife
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_artic le_id=466283&in_page_id=1770
by FIONA BARTON and AMRIT DILLON

The birth of a first child is a magical moment in any man's life. But Dr Mohammed Haneef has not even seen his ten-day-old daughter.

Instead of celebrating her safe arrival, the 27-year-old Indian medic is being questioned about his links to last weekend's failed attacks.

Haneef, who moved from Liverpool to work in Australia last year, was held in Brisbane as he tried to leave the country on a one-way ticket.

His uncle Sabeel Ahmed who was working as a locum in Liverpool during the run-up to the terrorist attacks, was arrested in Britain.

The families of both men, who come from Bangalore in southern India, are deeply shocked by the arrests and desperate to proclaim the men's innocence.

At her father's home in a leafy suburb of the city, Haneef's 24-year-old wife, Firdous Arshiya, looked exhausted as she clutched her baby and talked about the devastating chain of events.

"He was meant to be coming for a happy occasion - the birth of his child," she said. "Now we're all in hell."

The young mother says her husband is no radical. She does not wear the veil and describes Haneef as "a modern Muslim" who only attended the mosque when he had time, preferring to stay at home and watch Indian films with her.

Firdous, whose wealthy family chose Haneef as her groom despite his lower social status because of his "good character", claims he has been targeted by the police "just because he is a Muslim".

It is alleged that Haneef had been in telephone contact with members of the alleged cell in recent months but his wife says it is all down to a mix-up over a mobile SIM card.

"Mohammed's mobile contract was for two years but since he was leaving England for Australia, he did not want to continue making the payments for another year," his wife said.

"He gave his card to Sabeel so that he could use it and make the payments. We don't know what Sabeel did with it or who he called. I don't think he would do anything wrong."

But she added: "Sabeel knows many people. He talks to everyone. I am convinced that it's the card that has got my husband into trouble.

"For the sake of saving a few pounds a month, look at the nightmare he's got himself into."

Ahmed's mother Zakia said her son, who was detained on Saturday in Liverpool, and Haneef were innocent.

"Both these boys are just caught in between," Mrs Ahmed, a doctor, said in front of her Bangalore home, which is in an upmarket neighbourhood seven miles from Haneef's home.

She said she spoke to Ahmed briefly on Tuesday and he was "keeping well." She said Haneef and her son had studied at the same medical college in Bangalore.

Firdous's cousin, Sabha, 29, added: "We are like any other modern Indian family. We like going out, we go to disco's."

Haneef's sister, Sumayya, 25, described him as a hero because of his achievements, both academic and professional. She said:

"He is a humble, innocent man, a good, family man. All he ever wanted to do in life is study and then go abroad. His heart is as clear as a mirror.

"He told us he loved England. He said it was beautiful and green. 'The English are very honest' is the remark I remember," she said.

But cracks are starting to appear in the family's defence.

Firdous said her husband had nothing to do with any Islamic radical groups or individuals.

'He's a doctor, he was working in emergency, he didn't have much spare time for any sort of misguided activity,' she said.

But last night there were reports that Haneef, his uncle and Bilal Abdullah were all members of a Muslim rights group in Liverpool.

Firdous and Haneef became engaged on the day of the July 7 bombings in London in 2005.

She said he was angry at the bombers because, he said, ordinary Muslims 'will be doublechecked everywhere they go and they won't get any respect'.

The couple moved to Britain in November 2005, soon after they married.

Haneef had a job at the Royal Liverpool Hospital but she complained: "The weather was always wet and cold. When his contract ended in July 2006, Mohammed decided he would try Australia, it was easier to get work there."

They arrived in Australia last September and set up home in Southport, on the Gold Coast. Firdous claims he rarely spoke to his uncle "because of the time difference".

Firdous left to be with her family in Bangalore soon after her pregnancy was confirmed but Haneef disappeared from the oncology department of Gold Coast Hospital and left washing hanging on the line and dirty dishes in the sink.

His wife said they were planning to travel back to Brisbane together with the baby.

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