| Mamdouh Habib Arabic: ممدوح حبيب |
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|---|---|
Habib at an anti-war convention |
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| Born | 1956 Egypt |
| Detained at | Guantanamo Bay detainment camps |
| ISN | 661 |
| Status | Released |
Mamdouh Habib is an Egyptian born Australian Muslim best known for his extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.[1]
The United States accused Habib of having had knowledge of the 11 September 2001 attacks, training the hijackers, staying at an al-Qaeda safe house in Afghanistan, conducting surveillance, helping to transfer chemical weapons, and planning to hijack the aircraft used in the 11 September attacks. However there was no evidence to support these claims and he was eventually released. Australian officials acknowledged that he "knew nothing about terrorism".[2]
In November 2008, Habib released a book co-written with Julia Collingwood titled My Story: The Tale of a Terrorist Who Wasn't detailing his experiences.[3]
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He was born in 1956 in Egypt, moved to Australia in 1980, became a citizen there, married a woman named Maha, had four children, and taught Islam, while running a coffee shop in Sydney.[2] He is a dual citizen of Australia and of Egypt.[4][5]
After being released without charge he ran as an independent political candidate in New South Wales state election, 2007, but failed to gain a seat after polling less than 5% in his electorate.[6]
According to the ABC Current Affairs program Four Corners[7] the (Australian) Defence Housing Authority took out an apprehended violence order against him, claiming he made a threatening phone call following the unjustified cancellation of a contract Habib had with the organisation. Habib says the alleged phone call was nothing more than an argument over a contract. In court his psychiatrist testified that Habib was suffering from major depression and was being treated with Prozac, but that he was not prone to violence. A witness stated at the trial; "He is irritable. He has been preoccupied with a sense of hopelessness about his future. He has become withdrawn and he has been very agitated at home and he has been crying excessively as well. There is no evidence to suggest that he is aggressive or about to become aggressive or violent. He is not dangerous at this point."
According to the same programme, in early 2001 at a meeting with police, Habib was described as showing "signs of hostility towards government organisations and the community generally". The Protective Services Group was asked to do "a detailed threat assessment" of Mr Habib. The final conclusion was that there was no information to support concerns that Habib might carry out an act of violence. The police decided Habib was "a repetitious and vexatious complainant" and that "little credibility could be attributed to any threats or allegations he may make".
On 1 May 2009, Habib lost an appeal in the Full Federal Court against a 2007 Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decision that affirmed the former Foreign Affairs minister's decision in 2006 to refuse Mr Habib an Australian passport. Mr Habib had appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) against that decision. The AAT concluded that Mr Habib and his wife had given false evidence in the proceedings. The tribunal used this conclusion to find Mr Habib still held the same extremist sentiments that it was accepted he had held before 2001.
Habib traveled to Pakistan in 2001, hoping to find employment and religious schools for his children.[2] He was arrested in Pakistan, deported to Egypt where he was held for 5 months, transferred to US military custody, imprisoned in Afghanistan, then sent to Camp X-ray, the United States military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.[7] His documents from Guantanamo Bay were released by Wikileaks: http://resources.news.com.au/files/2011/04/25/1226044/528311-mamdouh-habib-file.pdf
A Pentagon spokesman said that Habib was a terrorist who spent his trip across the border in Afghanistan, "either supporting hostile forces, or on the battlefield fighting illegally against the U.S.".[2]
Habib was arrested on 5 October 2001 while traveling by bus to Karachi, Pakistan. The bus was stopped by local police who arrested Habib and two Germans. The two German citizens arrested with Habib were released shortly thereafter.[7]
The Four Corners airing stated that, under intense and lengthy interrogation, the two Germans were asked whether they had seen Habib, and whether he had told them that he had been in Afghanistan. They said nothing that incriminated Habib; one replied; "No. I didn't see him in the camps I was in. Nor did he tell us that he had been in a training camp."
Australian government authorities allege that Habib was in Afghanistan, and that while there he took an advanced al-Qaeda training course in a camp near Kabul. It is claimed that the course included surveillance and photographing facilities, the establishment and use of safe houses, covert travel and writing secret reports. Australian authorities say that several other men who took part in the course identified Habib as having been there. Evidence to support these claims has not been made public.[7]
In an interview with the Australian ABC Habib refused to confirm whether he had been in Afghanistan, not because he did not want to answer, but because he had court hearings coming up.[8]
Habib alleges that he was beaten and humiliated in Pakistan after his arrest. He also alleges that an Australian official was present at some of these interrogations, but the Australian Government has denied this.[9] Habib also claims to have been suspended to a ceiling by his arms, standing atop a barrel drum, and that when he gave an answer his Pakistani interrogators didn't believe, they would jolt him with electricity until he fainted.[2]
Habib was then sent to Egypt for five months.[10] His Egyptian captors allegedly shocked him with high-voltage wires, hung him from metal hooks on walls, and beat him. An Egyptian official stated that he could not comment on these specific allegations, but added that accusations that the Egyptian government was torturing people "tend to be mythology". However the claims have been substantiated by Moazzam Begg and other witnesses.
"They outsource torture," said Stephen Hopper, Habib's Australian lawyer.[11] "You get your friends and allies to do your dirty work for you." Habib however, has said that some of his interrogators in Pakistan clearly had American accents, and that one had a tattoo of an American flag attached to a flagpole depicted as a middle finger.[2]
The former coffee shop owner soon confessed to a litany of terrorism-related crimes, including teaching martial arts to several of the 11 September hijackers and planning a hijacking himself. Habib later insisted that his confessions were false and given under "duress and torture."[10]
Habib was then sent to Guantanamo Bay for two years where he alleges further abuse. He says that he was told by interrogators that his family had been killed, and that he was tied to the ground while a prostitute menstruated on him.[12] Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has publicly challenged Habib's claims, saying "no evidence has been found to prove that torture has been used at the camp.".
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation interviewed Christopher Tennant, the director of Sydney University's Psychological medicine unit.[13] In the interview Tennant said:
A writ of habeas corpus, Mamdouh Ibrahim Ahmed Habib v. George Bush, was submitted on Mamdouh Ibrahim Ahmed Habib's behalf.[14] In response, on 1 October 2004, the Department of Defense released 63 pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
On 20 September 2004 his "enemy combatant" status was confirmed by Tribunal panel 6.
On 11 January, the day before his charges were scheduled to be laid, Dana Priest at the Washington Post published a front-page story giving Habib's side of the story, and detailing his rendition and torture. Later that day, the American government announced they would not be charging Habib after all, and would agree to release him to Australia.[2] Australian Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock announced that Habib would be repatriated within days.
A special plane was chartered by the Australian government (for approximately $500,000) to fly Habib home because the US would not allow him to travel on an ordinary commercial flight.[15] Habib was released by the US Military and returned to Australia on 28 January 2005. With Habib back home, Australian officials have revoked his passport, say he remains under suspicion, and warn his activities will be constantly monitored to ensure he does not become a security threat. He has not been charged and remains relatively free. His records from Guantanamo Bay indicate that he was considered a relatively high risk: http://resources.news.com.au/files/2011/04/25/1226044/528311-mamdouh-habib-file.pdf
The Australian government also wants to prevent Habib being paid by the media for interviews or "making profits from committing a crime" even though he has not been convicted of any crime by any country (it is important to note whilst anti-terrorism laws in Australia currently make it illegal to be involved in terrorist organisations, Habib was already in custody when these laws were introduced and so he cannot be convicted under them). The then Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, ruled out any apology to Habib.
Habib told his family everything that had happened since he left Sydney in July 2001. Just in case something bad happens to him, he said, "I want them to know fully everything".
On 22 August 2005 Habib was allegedly attacked by three men with a knife while walking with his wife near his home in Guildford.[16]
He told police that he was followed by a car that cut its headlights as he and his wife, Maha, went for a walk just after midnight, and that as the men ran away the person holding the knife had yelled "something like 'this should keep you quiet"'.
On 29 March 2006, Habib and his son Moustafa said that they witnessed the aftermath of a double murder in the Sydney suburb of Granville. When they reported the murder to police, Habib alleges they were abused, assaulted and interrogated by police officers. On 3 April, he announced he intended to sue New South Wales Police for false imprisonment and assault.[17]
On 11 June 2007 the Australian Broadcasting Commission's (ABC) investigative journalism program Four Corners aired a documentary on extraordinary renditions, much of which focussed on Habib's case.[18]
On 7 March 2008 Habib lost his defamation case against Nationwide News, publisher of The Daily Telegraph. Justice Peter McClellan found Habib was "prone to exaggerate", "evasive" and had made claims about mistreatment in Pakistan and Egypt which could not be sustained. He found that "Habib's claims that he was seriously mistreated in the place of detention in Islamabad cannot be accepted" and "that this evidence was given in order to enhance his forensic position in the present litigation." His records from Guantanamo Bay also indicate that he was frequently deceptive. http://resources.news.com.au/files/2011/04/25/1226044/528311-mamdouh-habib-file.pdf Habib will appear in a ten minute play Waiting For Mamdouh, in which he will deliver monologues about his time in detention, at the Short+Sweet theatrical festival in Sydney in February 2010.[19][20]
In December 2010, Habib reached an out-of-court settlement with the Australian government. He received a secret sum in exchange for absolving the government of liability in his torture case. Habib now plans to use the money to begin an international lawsuit against the Egypt and United States governments. Habib says he has fresh evidence including film footage.[21] His documents from Guantanamo Bay were released by Wikileaks in April 2011. <ref[1]</ref>
In May 2011, Habib has been granted an Australian passport and ASIO confirmed it no longer considers him a security risk.[22]
In the March 2007 New South Wales state election, Habib stood as an independent candidate in the safe Labor seat of Auburn in Sydney. He received less than 5% of the vote[6] and the seat was comfortably retained by the Australian Labor Party.
He campaigned for the removal of the Federal Government's anti-terror laws, stating "The terror laws are if you have terrorists, but we don't have terrorists".[23] He is linked to the Socialist Alternative (Australia), and has made speeches at Socialist Alternative events to promote his book and raise awareness of the anti-terror laws in Australia.
Habib has four children, including twin sons Ahmed Mandouh Habib and Islam Hassam.
Bob Brown invited Ahmed Habib to parliament to attend George Bush's 24 October 2003 speech to parliament. Ahmed was escorted from parliament after calling out "What about my father's rights?"[24]
Wikileaks release of Guantanamo Documents http://resources.news.com.au/files/2011/04/25/1226044/528311-mamdouh-habib-file.pdf
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