Saturday, 29 January 2005Former Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib, reunited with his family yesterday in Sydney after three years in detention as a suspected terrorist, still faces an uncertain future in Australia with ongoing surveillance and his travel limited.
Mr Habib stepped off a government- chartered Gulfstream jet at Sydney Airport yesterday afternoon before being flown by light plane to Sydney's suburban Bankstown Airport.
He was then driven away to be greeted by his wife and children at a secret destination.
"He has been reunited with his family," Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said.
Egyptian-born Mr Habib, 48, was celebrating last night with his wife Maha, his four children and his brothers and sisters. His parents in Egypt may also soon fly to visit him.
Sister Sally Habib, who spoke to her brother briefly by phone before heading for the family reunion, said the family was all together, happy and excited.
"I just cry ... I just want to see him and touch him and hug him and ... I'm so excited, but I know he needs a rest and he's happy now, and I'm happy too. All my family is happy," she told ABC radio.
Arrested in Pakistan in October 2001 and transferred via Egypt to the US base at Guantanamo Bay in May 2002, Mr Habib has been accused of training with al-Qaeda and having prior knowledge of the September 11 attacks.
But early this month the US said it would free him without charge, although it did not say when.
The white jet bearing a US flag touched down in Sydney about 3.30pm, carrying Mr Habib and his US lawyer Joe Margulies.
Smiling, bearded, wearing a white T-shirt, long dark pants and carrying a light jacket, he shook hands with men on the tarmac and was patted on the back. His beard tinged with grey, he looked thinner and older than in the photos most Australians have seen of him.
Mr Ruddock told Sky News, "I believe he is in good health. He slept [on the plane] and was quite conversational - and I understand it was an uneventful journey."
Mr Habib was not shackled on the flight home, Mr Ruddock said.
He was taken to a smaller, twin-engined aircraft, which flew to Bankstown Airport, pursued by media helicopters.
At Bankstown, he was transferred to a convoy of dark vehicles.
But Ms Habib said her brother was very tired and would need time to readjust after years in detention, during which, according to his lawyer, he was tortured and told his family were dead.
"He needs months and months of [rest] because my brother, like everybody knows, is suffering a lot," she said.
Ms Habib said the details of his ordeal were for another time.
But while released by the US without charge and currently unlikely to face charges in Australia, Mr Habib cannot feel totally free. He will remain under surveillance by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and will not be allowed to leave the country.
Source: The Canberra Times, 29 January 2005 |
Saturday, 29 January 2005
By Peter Jean and Paul Osborne
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