Push to free doctor held over foiled terror attacks

Lawyers for the Indian-born Muslim doctor detained over his possible links to the foiled British terrorist plot were trying to speed up his freedom yesterday as another suspect was released.

Mohamed Haneef has been in the Brisbane watchhouse since July 2, when he was picked up trying to leave on a one-way ticket to India.

British police said yesterday they had released without charge the only woman among the eight suspects held in the case of last month's failed bomb attacks in London and Glasgow.

The woman - the wife of suspect Mohammed Asha, 26 - was arrested with him on June 30 a few hours after attackers drove a jeep into an airport terminal building in Scotland and set it ablaze.

Haneef's lawyers are expected to challenge a bid by police to detain Haneef for a further three days. The Law Council and civil libertarians say his extended detention is an abuse of anti-terror powers.

But Prime Minister John Howard said he was not uncomfortable over Haneef's 11 days in the watchhouse. He said Australians were entitled to have effective anti-terror laws and that there were safeguards guaranteeing that people could not be held without the authority of a judicial officer.

Haneef is understood to have told police about his family ties and telephone contact with accused British suicide bomber Kafeel Ahmed.

Federal agents have found no evidence with which to bring charges but say that releasing Haneef back to his apartment and Gold Coast Hospital job would make it more difficult to monitor his movements.

- AAP, Reuters