Son shown door after asking about Habib
Sydney Morning Herald October 24 2003
By Cynthia Banham
Ahmed Habib wanted to send a message to George Bush about his father, Mamdouh, yesterday.
So when the US President was delivering his address to Parliament, the 18-year-old, whose father has been held without charge by the Americans in Cuba since late 2001, stood up in the public gallery.
"What about my father's rights?" he called out before security guards escorted him from Parliament, making him the only person removed during the address.
Mr Habib, of Sydney, is one of two Australians being held at Guantanamo Bay.
Stephen Kenny, the lawyer of the other, David Hicks, was in the gallery with Ahmed Habib and his mother, Maha. All were there as guests of the Greens' Bob Brown.
Mr Kenny said the two men were "being kept in cages, their regular exercise is two 15- or two 10-minute exercise periods per week whilst shackled . . . They've had no contact with the outside world except occasional censored Red Cross letters".
Before his speech Mr Bush said he and John Howard had discussed Camp X-Ray that morning.
"There's a process, [an] ongoing process to deal with these two people that were picked up off of a battlefield of war. The Prime Minister and I have talked about the procedures, and I assured him these people will be taken care of in a way that conforms with our rules and regulations."
Allegations of torture of prisoners were "ridiculous".
Mrs Habib said Mr Bush "was saying wonderful things about freedom, about democracy and justice and dignity, but unfortunately, where is my husband standing now?"