News of UK detainee payout buoys Habib
By David Mark
Posted 1 hour 41 minutes ago
The lawyer for former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib says his client will be buoyed by reports the UK government is preparing to make a payout to former prisoners.
Several British media organisations including the BBC say the UK will soon announce millions of dollars in out-of-court settlements to the British nationals, who took civil action against their government.
Around a dozen former Guantanamo detainees accused the UK government of being complicit in their unlawful imprisonment and torture while in captivity.
The UK government says the payouts are aimed at preventing the release of sensitive security information.
Sydney resident Mr Habib is suing the Australian Government in the Federal Court in a case that has some similarities to those in Britain.
"He was arrested by the Pakistani police in Pakistan in about September '01 ... and on the same bus were two German nationals. All of them were of Arabic or Egyptian origin," Mr Habib's lawyer, Clive Evatt, said.
"The German government, when the two German nationals were arrested and taken into custody, just put a bit of pressure on the Pakistani government and they were released.
"But Mr Habib was kept by the Pakistani police, tortured. The Australian Government did nothing for him"
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/16/3068199.htm