BALANCED AUSTRALIAN REACTION TO MAMDOUH HABIB MEDIA

UNCLAS CANBERRA 000284

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/ANP JCROWLEY, EAP/PA KBAILES, S/WCI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER MARR PHUM OPRC AS
SUBJECT: BALANCED AUSTRALIAN REACTION TO MAMDOUH HABIB MEDIA
APPEARANCE

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.


1. (SBU) Summary: Australian former detainee Mamdouh Habib's
first media appearance since his release from Guantanamo
received predictably wide coverage here, but overall the
reporting has balanced his accusations of torture with
questions about why he refuses to account for his pre-9/11
activities in Afghanistan. End summary.


2. (U) In his first interview since his recent release,
former Australian Guantanamo detainee Mamdouh Habib appeared
on Australia's "60-Minutes" program on February 13. During
the interview, for which Habib was paid (reportedly
A$200,000),he provided his version of the circumstances of
his capture in Pakistan, alleged rendition to Egypt, and
some three years of detention at Guantanamo. Habib,
however, refused to answer questions about the purpose for
his travel to or his activities while in Afghanistan. Most
media coverage has been limited to a recounting of Habib's
tale. Editorial criticism, where expressed, has been
primarily directed at the Australian Government.


3. (U) Habib's "60 Minutes" interview garnered front-page
coverage in the national dailies "The Age," "The
Australian," and "The Sydney Morning Herald." The liberal
The Age (cir. 198,500) ran a teaser entitled "Habib silent
of what he did before 9/11," along with an inside article
titled "Habib ready to sue, answers reserved for court."
The conservative The Australian's (cir. 131,000) headline
read, "Torture claims rebut advice to wife," and contrasted
the Australian Government's reassurances to Habib's wife of
humane treatment for her husband with his tale of
mistreatment and torture. Appearing above a full-color
photo of an emotional Habib among family members, the story
in the left-leaning Sydney Morning Herald (cir. 216,857) was
headlined, "I'm no terrorist, but I won't say why I was
there." "The Sydney Morning Herald" also ran Raymond
Bonner's February 13 "New York Times" article.


3. (U) During a February 14 television interview,
Australian Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock rebutted Habib's
60 Minutes appearance, saying, "It provided...very little
new information that hasn't already been outlined by his
legal advisors and been referred to the United States."
Responding to Habib's charge that an Australian official was
present during his alleged torture, Ruddock reiterated,
"The information that suggests there was an Australian
official from the Department of Foreign Affairs present when
he was tortured in Pakistan -- or claims to be tortured in
Pakistan -- is, on the advice I have received, untrue...We
treat allegations of torture very seriously."

SCHIEFFER