Million-dollar lawsuit
If you came out alive, what would three years in detention without charge or trial be worth? Well, for Mamdouh Habib, a former inmate of Guantanamo Bay, it could be in the millions. Mr Habib’s compensation case against the Commonwealth Government began today in the Federal Court. He’s alleging that he was kidnapped in Pakistan and shuttled across the Middle East until he was taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There he was held for three years without charge, allegedly enduring physical and emotional torture. Mr Habib blames the Austrailan Government’s inaction for the lenghty duration of his ordeal, and he and his wife have told The Wire their lives have been far from normal since his return to Australia in January 2005. The Wire also spoke with his lawyer Peter Erman.