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Subject: 
Australian terrorist released without charge...
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Thu, 13 Jan 2005 00:01:33 GMT
Viewed: 
581 times
  
Three years without a trial, without even a charge, and now released:

  http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-01-11-gitmo-british_x.htm

I know we're supposed to be relieved that the detention is over, and thankful
that the overlord has relented and freed our citizen, but I can't help wondering
how the US permitted this to happen in the first place.  Doesn't seem very
'freedom loving'.  Just another day in the American Empire I guess.

And don't think for a minute that I am proud of Australia's record in this.
We're all agreed that this guy (Habib) could not have been charged with anything
under Australian law (then, or probably now), and that he was not guilty of
anything in the countries where his conduct is alleged to have taken place.  Yet
we were content to have him taken by the US in Pakistan, sent to Egypt for
'questioning' for 6 months, then held in Cuba under a very peculiar and
contestable version of US law for years, and didn't even ask for his return to
Australia (as the British did for their citizens).

We say we didn't know about his being beaten up in Pakistan:

  http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=102683&region=7

or for that matter, that he was taken to Egypt.  But at the very least we knew
that the US had dragged him off.  I'm not sure which is worse - knowing he was
dragged off to Egypt and not taking steps to look after him, or not even
bothering to wonder what the US had done with him.

One can only assume that Australian fear of US trade and defence reprisals
exceeds our fidelity to our citizens.

Richard
Still baldly going...



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Australian terrorist released without charge...
 
(...) And what is it with governments not wanting (or feeling the need) to apologise for anything? Habib has lost 3 1/2 years on suspicion which has proved not indictable, yet he and his young family will receive compensation from neither his (...) (20 years ago, 13-Jan-05, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

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