File picture of Haneef at a news conference in Bangalore.

Brisbane, March 17 (AP): Mohammed Haneef, who was jailed without charge in Australia last year in a bungled counter-terrorism case, will seek compensation from the government, he and his lawyer said today.

The Indian doctor, who was deported when the case alleging his involvement in failed terrorist attacks in London and Scotland collapsed, had a strong claim to a substantial payout, lawyer Rod Hodgson said. He did not cite an amount.

“There are several grounds, including the effect on reputation, the wrongful imprisonment... also the period of time that Dr Haneef was kept in custody,” Hodgson said.

Haneef was a well-regarded doctor at a hospital in Queensland when he was arrested as he boarded a flight to India last July.

Days earlier, one of Haneef’s cousins allegedly drove an explosive-laden SUV into Glasgow airport in Scotland, in a suspected terrorist attack.

Police said they were suspicious that Haneef had only a one-way ticket to India. Haneef told the police he wanted to see his newborn sick daughter in Bangalore, and planned to buy a return ticket there.

The 27-year-old was held for 12 days before the police eventually charged him with providing support for a terrorist group. The charge was based on Haneef giving his cellphone SIM card to his cousin Sabeel Ahmed, one of the men accused in the Glasgow attack.

The charge was dropped when prosecutors decided there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction, and after it was revealed that a prosecutor’s claim that Haneef’s SIM card was found in the Glasgow attack vehicle was wrong. Despite the decision, then immigration minister Kevin Andrews revoked Haneef’s visa on character grounds.

The visa was reinstated after a judge ruled his relationship with two of the British suspects did not reflect on his character.

Haneef, speaking by phone from India to Australian reporters, said he would cooperate with a government inquiry, which he hoped would “give me a clean slate”.

But he also wanted compensation. “I’ve lost my earnings from past, and even some of my future earnings,” Haneef said. “There’s been a great loss to my family and my reputation... and this has definitely affected my earnings.”