Uh-huh. Sure.
Posted on 08/11/2004 1:40:36 PM PDT by No Surrender Monkey
In his cell in Guantanamo Bay, Mamdouh Habib broke down in tears when he heard his four-year-old daughter, Hajer, talk for the first time.
For 30 minutes yesterday, the Sydney man spoke by phone to his wife and four children - the first call he has been allowed to make to them since he was taken into US custody as a suspected terrorist in October 2001.
The call confirmed reports from other detainees that "he has been subject to sleep deprivation, beatings and other abuses", according to Mr Habib's Australian lawyer, Stephen Hopper.
Mr Habib's wife, Maha, said her husband told her he "couldn't take it any more" and that he did not believe he would see his family again. "I'll probably see you in heaven," he said. One of his sons had replied: "Don't talk like that."
The call was closely monitored by American military officers and Mrs Habib was warned not to speak Arabic nor talk about the conditions of her husband's detention. She said their conversation was cut off at one point when he began comparing his detention to a Sylvester Stallone movie the couple had seen together, Lock Up, which showed the actor being tortured in prison, deprived of sleep and beaten.
Advertisement Advertisement "It's very distressing, very upsetting," Mrs Habib said.
Hajer, their youngest child, had told her father she loved him and asked: "When are you going to come home?"
"His voice changed, and we could tell he was crying," Mrs Habib said. But she said it had taken "five minutes to actually get him to believe it was us". Mr Habib would not accept it was her until she told him where they had spent their wedding night. "How will I know it's you?" he had asked when he first heard his wife's voice. He also wanted reassurance that his family was still in Australia.
The family went to the Department of Foreign Affairs office in Sydney to make the call.
When Mr Habib raised the Stallone film, a US officer interrupted and told Mrs Habib to call an Australian official to the phone. The Habibs were then counselled about what should not be discussed, then allowed to continue their conversation.
When Mr Habib later told his wife, "You know I was taken to Egypt?", she told him not to say anything "because I did not want the phone call to be cut off"'. Guantanamo Bay detainees and Middle Eastern officials have claimed he was abused when taken to Egypt after his capture in Pakistan, and before he was moved to Afghanistan then Cuba.
Another Australian, David Hicks, is also at Guantanamo Bay. Mr Hopper is due to visit Mr Habib for the first time shortly.
Mr Habib told his sons yesterday to look after their mother and sisters. They replied they would, but said "you have to promise to be strong".
Hmmmm...
No mention of how the delightful Mr. Habib came to find himself in Gitmo in the first place. Nothing but good old-fashioned unbiased journalism here...
Uh-huh. Sure.
He was picked up on a battlefield in Afghanistan. He claimshe did not want to fight against US troops...sure....
That certainly makes his story believable.
This should help to break him down quite nicely. Cold, heartless and effective. We are playing for keeps here. Keep up the pressure boys.
And how well are the people on Flight 93 sleeping these days? Sounds like a good plan to me...
Gimme a break. The approximately three thousand people killed on 9-11 will never be going home.
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