The Wire

Mamdouh Habib, former Guantanamo detainee, has won his defamation case against Sydney’s Daily Telegraph over an article published in 2005. The court today found that there was not sufficient evidence to suggest that Mr Habib had made false claims regarding his movements and treatment by authorities in 2001. Mr Habib was detained for four years, and has never been charged for terrorist offences. The decision—which overturns a 2008 ruling, and entitles him to damages—centres on the fact that evidence used by the newspaper was inadmissible because it was obtained while Mr Habib was under duress and torture. The court’s decision may set an important precedent for the use of such evidence.