An American newspaper has reported that US authorities sent an Australian suspect to Egypt in late 2001 where he was tortured for six months before being transferred to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Citing newly released court documents, The Washington Post, reported that Mamdouh Habib alleges that while under Egyptian detention he was hung by his arms from hooks, repeatedly shocked, nearly drowned and brutally beaten, the newspaper said.
Egyptian-born Mr Habib is attempting to prevent the US from sending him back to Egypt, contends that US and international law prohibit sending him back. Mr Habib filed a petition in the US in November which was made public yesterday after a judge ruled that it did not contain classified information.
According to the newspaper, Habib's case is only the second to describe the secret Central Intelligence Agency practice of "rendition" and the first to challenge the legality of the practice.
Under the practice, the CIA has turned over suspected terrorists to be interrogated in some countries that are known to torture prisoners, the newspaper said.
It was not clear which US agency transferred Habib to Egypt, The Washington Postreported, adding that the US Justice Department had not addressed the allegation that he was sent there.
A Justice Department spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Habib, a father of four, was arrested crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan three weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, airliner attacks on the United States. He was detained as a suspected al Qaeda trainer, the Post said.