Ruth Ratcliffe
Despite Pm John Howard's attempts to dismiss it, evidence that Australians have been tortured in Guantanamo Bay by the US military is becoming overwhelming. 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly spoke to Stephen Hopper, lawyer for detained Sydney man Mamdouh Habib, about what he has discovered.
Hopper has presented Howard with a letter containing allegations so serious and credible even Howard was forced to act, passing it on the US officials. It reports Hopper's discussions with Terak Derghoul and Jamal al Harith, two British citizens who were detained in Camp X-Ray.
Habib was arrested without charge in Pakistan in October 2001, then transferred to Egypt, before being imprisoned in Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay. The two former British detainees have recounted to Hopper conversations they had with Habib in which he had described to them the torture he experienced while he was held in Egypt, as well as assaults by Camp X-Ray guards on Habib that they had witnessed.
While the three men were in the Camp X-Ray hospital shortly after arriving at the prison, Habib told Derghoul that while he was in Egypt he had been blindfolded for the entire time, repeatedly assaulted and injected on many occasions with unknown drugs. Habib told Derghoul that an official of the Australian High Commission in Pakistan visited him after he was arrested in Pakistan and informed him that the Australian government had authorised his removal to Egypt.
Habib recounted that interrogators had told him that his wife and children had been killed and that interrogators had used enlarged pictures of his family members during questioning.
Derghoul recounted to Hopper an assault on Habib that he had witnessed later in his time in Camp X-Ray. While Derghoul was in a cell opposite Habib, a five-man "extreme reaction force" sprayed pepper spray into Habib's cell before kicking and punching him. Habib was then dragged out of the cell with chains attached to his feet. He was screaming in agony.
According to Derghoul, the entire assault was video-taped by the US guards. He said Habib seemed unstable and would repeat the same sentence over and over — words to the effect, "the Americans have killed my family".
Harith, who also had a cell opposite Habib, recounted to Hopper an occasion when Habib was prevented from sleeping for four consecutive days. On the fourth day, Habib collapsed and Harith could see blood coming from his ears and nose. Guards were notified but Habib received no medical attention.
Both Harith and Derghoul said that all of their own interrogations were video-taped. Both of them were released on March 9 to British authorities who were unable to charge them with any offence.
After being held for two years without charge, Mamdouh Habib is now on a list of detainees submitted to US President George Bush for approval to face a US military tribunal. The only evidence such tribunals admit is that obtained under interrogation.
Hopper told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, "it's clear such evidence has been obtained under duress and therefore under any normal legal view should not be considered admissible evidence".
Stephen Kenny, lawyer for David Hicks, the other Australian detained at Camp X-Ray, has also claimed his client was abused by his US captors. However, a confidentiality agreement with the US government which Kenny had to sign prevented him from revealing the details of such abuse claims.
The US military has launched an investigation into the treatment of the Australian detainees at Camp X-Ray. Hopper is demanding that such an inquiry be carried out by the US Senate. Terry Hicks, father of David Hicks, expressed his concern about a US government investigation.
"When you get a government investigation, things can be covered up and buried", Terry Hicks told reporters on June 2. "I probably would have preferred an independent way of going about it."
Hopper's letter to Howard requests that he call on Bush to allow an independent medical practitioner to examine Habib immediately, that the US government supply all video records of interrogations and that Habib be released from Guantanamo Bay into the custody of Australian authorities and repatriated to Australia.
Commenting on the Howard government's failure to act on behalf of his client and the introduction of further "anti-terror" legislation, Hopper told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly: "The government's engaging in the politics of fear. I think there might be a terrorist 'auction' going into next election. Habib's case has been taken into the political realm. The life of a normal suburban Sydney family has been taken into the realm of international politics, and their lives have been kicked around like a football.
"The impact on the family has been horrendous. The kids are struggling to deal with the situation and the strain on Maha Habib to hold her family together and keep going has been enormous. Anyone who believes in the stereotype of submissive Islamic women should take a look at Mrs Habib, she's stood her ground against ASIO."
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, June 9, 2004.
Visit the