Mamdouh Habib is an Australian citizen. In 2001 he was detained in Pakistan and sent to Egypt as part of the CIA program of extraordinary rendition. There he was tortured for six months by the Egyptian secret police. No charges were ever laid.
In Habib’s 2008 book, My Story, he alleges that acting president of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, was present during his allegations.
"I have since found out that the boss was Omar Suleiman, head of all Egyptian security. He was known for personally supervising the interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects and sending reports to the CIA. In the beginning, he was often present during my interrogations. He must have thought that he had a big fish when I was sent to him by the Americans and Australians."
Earlier this year, Habib reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the federal government after a long running civil suit relating to his alleged torture in Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
Habib is still involved in proceedings to try and retrieve his Australian passport. This film, A Short Portrait of Mamdouh Habib, was shot by director Sara Kidd and edited by Serge Stanley while these proceedings were underway in September 2010. Kidd contacted Habib to talk about his fight for justice and his experiences since returning to Australia.
Video contains graphic content.
Thanks to the ABC for permission to use original footage from the 2004 Four Corners episode "Ghost Prisoner".
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