The Habib torture affidavit

January 6, 2005 - 2:27PM

Quotes from the affidavit outlining abuse against Sydney father and terrorist suspect Mamdouh Habib, submitted to the US District Court by his American lawyer Joe Margulies:

"Mr Habib was interrogated by three American agents - two women and a man ... Also present at this interrogation were two Pakistani guards and an Australian. This Australian whom Mr Habib had met before, previously represented himself to Mr Habib as a consular officer. Neither he nor the Pakistani guards participated in this interrogation."

"Mr Habib's attackers all wore black, short-sleeve T-shirts with grey or khaki pants. A number of them had extremely distinctive tattoos. One had a tattoo of an American flag on or near his wrist."

"After these men subdued Mr Habib, and while he was laying on the ground in handcuffs, one of his attackers placed his foot on Mr Habib's neck and posed while another took pictures. The person with his foot on Mr Habib's neck explained, in unaccented American English, that he planned to send one picture to his girlfriend and another to his sister."

"After this gratuitous photo shoot, they brought Mr Habib to his feet. When they did, Mr Habib saw both the American and Australian men who had been present at the interrogation conducted by the two American women."

"Throughout his imprisonment (in Egypt), Mr Habib lived in a barren cell, roughly six feet by eight feet. The windowless cell was illuminated by a bare, yellow bulb that hung from the ceiling. He slept on a concrete floor with nothing but a single blanket. Apart from his 'interrogations', he remained in his cell 24 hours per day, though occasionally guards would allow him to use the bathroom down the corridor. For weeks on end, he did not see natural light. Three times a day he received a single glass of milk and a scrap of bread. Cockroaches and other insects crawled constantly along the floors and walls. He received no consular visits."

"The only time he left his cell was for interrogations ... the sessions would last for hours and were the occasion for unmitigated violence. Beatings were routine. Mr Habib, always handcuffed and sometimes suspended from hooks on the wall, was kicked, punched, beaten with a stick, and rammed with what can only be described as an electric cattle prod. If he lapsed into unconsciousness, they would revive him and continue the beatings. If they discontinued the 'interrogations' and Mr Habib fell asleep on the floor, they would douse him with cold water or kick him in his ribs and start again. Inflamed by his protests and indifferent to his screams, the sessions typically ended only when he admitted whatever they were questioning him about at the time - whatever it was. In the midst of horrendous torture, Mr Habib 'confessed' to it all."

"Mr Habib recalls three water-filled rooms. In one, where a handcuffed and exhausted Mr Habib was locked on a number of occasions, the guards would gradually fill the room with water, rising steadily up Mr Habib's body. The water continued to rise until it was just below Mr Habib's chin as he stood on the tips of his toes. Mr Habib was left in the room for hours."

"In a third room, the water only came up to his ankles. But in this room, Mr Habib could see through a window to another room containing a large lever or switch. His interrogators told Mr Habib that the switch was wired to an electric current, and that unless Mr Habib confessed, they would throw the switch and electrocute him."

"Mr Habib was suspended from hooks on the wall, with his feet resting on the side of a large cylindrical drum. Down the middle of this drum ran a metal rod, with wires attached at both ends. The wires ran to what appeared to be an electric battery. When Mr Habib did not give the answers his interrogators wanted, they threw a switch and a jolt of electricity ran through the rod, electrifying the drum on which Mr Habib stood. The action of Mr Habib 'dancing' on the drum forced it to rotate, and his feet constantly slipped, leaving him suspended by only the hooks on the wall. The instinctive struggle to regain his balance forced him to place his feet back on the drum, which of course only sent another excruciating jolt of electricity into his feet. Eventually, Mr Habib was forced to raise his legs, leaving him to hang by his outstretched arms until he could stand it no longer and, exhausted, he dropped his legs back onto the electrified drum. This ingenious cruelty lasted until Mr Habib finally fainted."

"Mr Habib was threatened with assault by German shepherd dogs ... In Egypt, they told Mr Habib they could induce the dogs to sexually assault him."

"(Mr Habib) signed a number of papers - he does not recall how many, or what they said - and credits these 'confessions' with saving his life by bringing particularly horrific sessions to a merciful close."