JURIST - Paper Chase: Former Guantanamo detainee suing Egypt regime officials over torture allegations

[JURIST] A former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee announced Friday that he is suing members of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's regime over allegations that he was tortured by the government while in Egyptian custody. Mamdouh Habib, an Australian citizen, was arrested in Pakistan in 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US. He was released from Guantanamo [JURIST report] in 2005 without charges being filed against him, after being held at the detention facility for three years. Habib claims that he was tortured and beaten [AFP report] after being taken to Egypt [JURIST report] as part of the CIA's extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive] program. He claims Egypt's former vice-president Omar Suleiman and Mubarak's son Gamal supervised the torture, and indicated that he is seeking compensation [ABC report] and that he hopes those responsible will be imprisoned. Habib also indicated on Friday that he is hoping to reopen a civil case [The Australian report] against the Australian government alleging their complicity in his torture in Egypt. He settled a civil case against the Australian government last year, but new evidence provided by witnesses in Egypt and Pakistan may further implicate Australian officials in his torture. Habib previously claimed that he was tortured while at the Guantanamo facility, although a US military probe found no evidence to support the allegations [JURIST reports].

Several other Guantanamo detainees have also filed lawsuits alleging torture. In October, former Guantanamo detainee Abdul Rahim Abdul Razak Al Ginco filed a lawsuit against the US military [JURIST report] alleging that he was subjected to torture. The suit names 26 current or former members of the military who are allegedly responsible for the tortuous acts, such as urinating on Ginco, slapping him, threatening him with loss of fingernails, sleep deprivation, extreme cold and stress positions. In July, the UK High court allowed [JURIST report] a lawsuit filed by former Guantanamo Bay detainees alleging that the UK government was complicit in their torture to proceed. In April, former Guantanamo Bay detainee Adel Hassan Hamad [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington [official website] against the US government and more than a dozen government officials, claiming he was tortured.