13th May 2011
The Hon Julia Gillard MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Prime Minister,
We welcome your announcement that Mamdouh Habib has been compensated for his
three years of illegal imprisonment in Egypt and Guantanamo Bay and that there will be
an investigation into his torture. However, there is another Australian that the
Government seems to have forgotten. He too was abducted and detained on several US
military bases, and tortured in Guantanamo Bay. David Hicks was held for six years, the
last seven months with the cooperation of the former Howard Government in an
Australian prison. David Hicks recounted many stories in his book which was sent to
you, but there are some in particular that stand out in our minds; him being sodomised
with a plastic implement, the brutal beatings, some that lasted 10 hours and broke his
bones, the feeling of being spat on by US marines until it webbed on his fingers, and the
humiliation of being photographed hooded and naked. The majority of David’s time in
Guantanamo was spent in isolation; there was one point where he did not see the sun
for around 12 months. He had censored contact with family, he was not allowed to
receive letters that conveyed any love or concern.
In 2003, Robert McClelland called for an investigation into the allegations of David’s
torture. Eight years later, and David’s treatment is still being ignored and justice is still
not served. Instead your government is investigating him under the proceeds of crime
legislation; giving the false impression that a crime was committed. David Hicks has not
broken any Australian law- this was even admitted by John Howard himself.
Your government is denying justice to one of its citizens, just as the Howard
government denied him help when he most needed it. David still lives with an illegal
conviction, obtained under coercion in a military commission deemed ‘fatally flawed’ by
President Obama himself.
You now have the opportunity to make this right. We ask you earnestly: please take all
necessary steps to ensure an independent and open investigation into David’s torture
and illegal conviction.
With hope,
Undersigned
Signatories:
The Hon John Dowd AO QC; President of the ICJ Australia
The Hon Elizabeth A Evatt AC; Former Commissioner for Human Rights and Federal
Court Judge
Dr Manfred Nowak; Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and
professor International Law and Human Rights Vienna University
Dr John Pace; Visiting fellow, Centre for Human Rights and Former Secretary of the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
Julian Burnside AO QC; Barrister, Human Rights and Asylum Seeker Advocate
Dr Spencer Zifcak; on behalf of Liberty Victoria
Stephen J. Keim; President of the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
James Cavallaro; Executive Director of the Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School
Dr Danielle Celermajer; Director Asia Pacific Master of Human Rights and
Democratisation Sydney University
Greg Barns, Barrister and writer, Director of the Australian Lawyers Alliance
Michael Ratner; President of the Centre for Constitutional Rights
Dr Ben Saul; Co-director Sydney Centre for International Law
Philip Lynch; Executive Director of Human Rights Law Resource Centre
Kate Eastman; Barrister and co-founder of the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
Dr Kristine Klugman; President, Civil Liberties Australia
Michael Cope; President and on behalf of the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties
Brandon Neely; former US soldier and Guantanamo Bay guard
Albert Melise; US Army Reservist and former Guantanamo Bay guard
Amnesty International Australia
Andrew Wilkie MP; Independent Federal Member for Denison
Senator Adam Bandt MP; Australian Greens Senator for Victoria
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young MP; Australian Greens Senator for South Australia
Senator Scott Ludlam MP; Australian Greens Senator for Western Australia
Cameron Murphy; on behalf of the NSW Council of Civil Liberties
Malcom Tulloch; Secretary of Construction Division of the CFMEU
Rev. Elenie Poulos; Director of Uniting Justice Australia
Most Rev Christopher Saunders; Chairperson of the Australian Catholic Social Justice
Council
Ikebal Adam Patel, President Muslims Australia, Australian Federation of Islamic
Councils Inc.
Rev. Bill Crews AM; Creator and Director of the Exodus Foundation
Rev. Graham Long; Pastor and Chief Executive of the Wayside Chapel
Phil Glendenning; Director of the Edmund Rice Centre
Pat McGorry; 2010 Australian of the Year
Witness Against Torture
John Pilger; Sydney Peace Prize recipient, journalist and filmmaker
Dr. Jake Lynch; Director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
Mary Kostakidis; Board Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation
Stuart Rees; Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation
Kellie Tranter; Lawyer and human rights activist