JURIST - Paper Chase: US says two Australian detainees not abused at Guantanamo

US officials have said that an official and separate investigation into the treatment of two Australians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has concluded that neither was mistreated as they had claimsed, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters Thursday. David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib asserted they had been beaten and tortured by US personnel. A letter from the US Defense Department to the Australian ambassador in Washington said this was not the case, and that Habib's forcible removal from his cell at one point was a "consequence of his threatening and disruptive behavior and his refusal to comply voluntarily with directions by the guard force." A second investigation into the Australians' claims by the US Naval Criminal Investigative Services is still pending. Foreign Minister Downer's office has issued a press release here. A copy of the the US DoD letter summarizing the investigation findings is here [PDF]. Reuters has more.