JURIST - Paper Chase: Australia court deals setback to ex-Guantanamo detainee compensation claim

[JURIST] The Federal Court of Australia Wednesday ruled [judgment text] against former Guantanamo detainee Mamdouh Habib [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] in an ongoing claim for compensation against the Australian government, which he accused of being complicit in torture he allegedly suffered while held in US custody. Habib had alleged that he was interrogated and tortured at the Australian High Commission in Pakistan [official website], but the court ruled that Habib was mistaken and was not interrogated anywhere under the control of the Australian government. A different court Wednesday threw out Habib's defamation claim against broadcasters for alleging in 2005 that he was improperly seeking a disability pension.

Habib was detained in 2001 in Pakistan and was held in Egypt and Afghanistan before being sent to Guantanamo Bay for three years, where the US accused him of aiding terrorist militants. The US released him without charge [JURIST report] in 2005. Habib and his lawyers have repeatedly said that he was tortured while in US custody [JURIST reports]. The Australian has more.

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...