Haneef jailed on a whim: Australian senator

An Australian Senator has alleged that Indian doctor Mohammad Haneef, arrested on the charge of helping a terrorist group, was jailed as a "consequence of Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews' "whim".

"This guy (Haneef) had his freedom taken away from him, he's been jailed as a consequence of ministerial whim," Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett was quoted by ABC News on Thursday as saying.

He said the law that allowed Haneef's visa to be cancelled should be scrapped.

Andrews had cancelled Haneef's visa 11 days ago, on the day an Australian court granted him bail.

"It does reinforce the problems that are inherent in the Migration Act, in giving the Minister extreme powers in the first place without having to test the evidence in any way", Bartlett said.