Mamdouh Habib - 2005 On: Release and Post-release

2005 On: Release and Post-release

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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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. His documents from Guantanamo Bay were released by Wikileaks in April 2011.

In May 2011, Habib has been granted an Australian passport and ASIO confirmed it no longer considers him a security risk.