Mamdouh Habib - Who I am in the War on Terror (Part 1)
Transcript – Mamdouh Habib @ ANU
9.8.06
Sam Piestch (SAWAR): Mamdouh Habib is a target in the ‘War on Terror’, not because of anything he’s actually done, but because of who he is. The government thinks that this man is a terrorist, they think he’s a criminal but he is our friend and we’d like to welcome him here today to the ANU.
Mamdouh Habib: Thank you for bringing me here to talk to you. What I wanna start, I’m gonna explain myself, who I am and the War on Terror.
It starts in ‘93, I was in United States. I have half of my family, they live in United States, and I visit them, sometimes, when I have some money. There was at this time a case about one Egyptian guy accused of killing Americans, that’s what they accuse me of, they tell me I have terrorist communication with people in United States.
During the time I was in the United States I see a case for murder against Americans. And this guy has been accused for killing. I was told that the guy who’s been accused for killing was beaten inside the court house in the United states in Manhatten.
I was interested, like you’re interested to listen to me, in what’s going on in the courts, me and my wife. We went to the court case to check out what’s going on. During this time we see the guy who’s beaten in front of the Judge, and we see justice in the United States, no such justice.
In the end story the guy who’s guy, the jury find out that the guy is not the killer and they find he’s being tried released from the court.
And they have to pay payout, because they say a gun that’s not existed. And they have a new case.
And we been told inside the court anyone.. and um, after the court case I came back to Australia. And people in America try to tell me what’s going on, and they communicate with me, and this guy he was in jail, and he’s being accused for trade centre in the United States.
And I was interested what’s happening in his case for the murder case, now I find out this guy is being accused for trade centre case during the time he’s in jail.
And some time ten years ago I have idea what’s going on and I meet these people during the time the case is going on.
And as you’re interested in me, I’ve been accused, deeply accused, so many times.
And I was a victim. I was overseas last time. Because during the time we believe we have justice in Australia, no one can harm because you got court, you got police, you can complain. But they have advantage, they take me overseas, they kidnap me, I have no idea why.
My court case was by George Bush himself. He is the one who tell he want Habib. He want me myself, it’s not that the court, he is the one who ordered to get Habib to Cuba or wherever they want to get me. I was taken to Egypt, for no reason.
The Australian government, they ignore me completely. When I complain about torture in Pakistan, to people from Australia, they treat me in a trivial manner, they talk to me.
Two Germans people, they was kidnapped same time as me in Pakistan, when they were travelling to the airport. The German Ambassador, solicitor general, who was very angry for his citizens, because this germ, his citizens, they had no crime, they had been taken away for no crime, the Ambassador was very angry for his citizens, he told the Pakistani government, and he ordered, he say “you have to release my citizens in forty eight hours maximum”. This two boys has been released, the first twenty days, because after twenty days, because during the twenty days they being kidnapped underground, no one know where we are, that’s why the government says they have no idea where Habib is for. They know where I am, they know, they know I been kidnapped, but they try to ignore me.
They saw these German people, being released, and people will know about the German, they take him back home.
My luck is, when I talk to the German boys, I told I have many family, if any one flees from this place alive, they contact his the other’s family. I know the German’s phone numbers by heart, the German boys they know my phone by heart. We been released from underground, they be moving us from place to place, like a drug dealer with a blindfold and handcuffs, shackles, plastic bag, like rubbish, and the German boys, they taken home. They consul take them back, like what he promised, in forty eight hours, the German boys, They sent em home. And one of those boys, they contact my wife. That’s why I’m alive.
It’s not because Australian government been looking for me, they ignore me completely. They want me to be killed.
What happened, one of the guys German contact my wife, and I told him, I met with consul of Australia, and he ignore me, and he told me your not citizen anymore of our country and they gonna send away to Egypt.
I believe, because I’m out of Australia, no one seen me, no one know where I am, they take my passport, take every identification I have.
During this time when the German they contacted my wife, I told them if I’m not gone home after seven days, tell my wife something happened to me.
And they say I was with him in Pakistan and we was kidnapped, and our counsel, German, he take me home, but your council, Australian, I don’t know what he’s done with Habib.
And my wife started contact lawyers, started contacting the government. The government said Mr Habib has been kidnapped.
I was interested to the government about what they said, “I am a terrorist man, I am very important to the government, and suddenly I disappear.”
Citizen, from Australia, can disappear. The government, Pakistani, take him and they said “we don’t know where is he” no idea, for six months.
They take to Egypt… I don’t like to talk too much about torture because this is disturbing, and I don’t want to disturb you and I don’t want to disturb myself again any more.
Six months, in Egypt… you no gonna believe what torture is.
Just to give you brief about what Egypt is. Egypt is the country, they call the President of Egypt, they call him “telephone box”, you know why they call him telephone box? Anyone idea? The telephone box doesn’t talk until you put the money. That’s what they call Mubarrack in Egypt. You put money he talk to you. No put money, no response.
That’s why he’s known as telephone box.
Now Mubarrack take me. I don’t know how much money he take, to keep me for six months. And whatever torture is, it is not only for me, what I tell you here I can prove it, easily.
In Egypt you’ve got American, under torture. But America says “oh our citizens are best, no one touch our citizens, I don’t know why. I’m telling you from here, it’s a lie. Because I have so many American citizen, with me, in next cell, in Egypt, screaming every day from torture. They were diplomatic, normal people, people work for military, people CIA, they being tortured in Egypt, I’m telling you.
People from Britain, people from Sweden, from every country, that’s why America in the beginning they have no place to take them, because they kidnap a lot of people, not only me, lot of people being kidnapped. By calculation of the United Nation they say about 17 000 (or 70, hard to say from recording, - Kieran.) people been kidnapped since the September 11 attacks. They got some in Egypt, some in Germany, some in different places, I have no idea.
During the time I was in Egypt, they have no nothing to ask me about.
They have no reason to keep me there. But for embarrassment. How are they going to bring be back to Australia? What they gonna tell you, when you ask John Howard “what happened to Mr Habib? Why do you take him to Egypt and bring him back” They have no answer.
They keep me there until to fit me out with cases, to fit me up.
“Oh he was in America in this year, oh he’s in trade centre united states ’93, he is an Osama Bin Laden!” If I am an Osama Bin Laden, why am here now?
I am show you, if anyone interested, I have court case, Mr Habib against George Bush.
No the government of United States, George Bush, the court case between me and George Bush.
George Bush didn’t want me to come back home, and he told John Howard “Habib he stay here”.
They keep me there, after Egypt, because my wife she does a lot of things, and thanks for the public of Australia too, they help me so much, because they ask for me, and media sometimes help, sometimes better the then situation.
The media ask for me “where is Habib?”, they interested to know where I am. And they remove me from Cuba, because they think I gonna die, I was very sick.
During this time they take me back to Pakistan, for some time, and from Pakistan to Peru.
I am a terrorist, I am right hand of Osama! I don’t know how many right hands of Osama…
(audience laughs)
I am right hand.
I am trainer for attacking United States.
I don’t know if this Osama an octopus, how many hands…!
I am a right hand, lotta people right hands, he have no left hand!
(audience laughs)
They take me to Pakistan. And accuse me and accuse me. And they trying to make me admit something I haven’t been done.
And after this they take me to Afganistan, take me place called Bagram. After Bagram they take me to another place, I don’t why all this trip, I hope no one you has this trip.
All this free, I have no no charge. But they charge me they say half a million dollars to bring me Habib back home this flight, they no interested to give me this free flight to Australia!
Anyway they take me all this trip, no ticket, I didn’t pay for all this travel, and food they all supply.
They take me from Egypt to Pakistan, from Pakistan to Bagram, from Bagram to Kandahar, and from Kandahar to Cuba.
This segment was roughly the first fifteen minutes of Mandouh Habib’s address. More will be posted as I finish transcribing it. - Kieran.
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