australian in jail in iraq

Just what the hell were these two doing in Iraq?....

on holiday?
popped out for some cigarettes?



Melbourne man's secret jailing
By Mark Dunn
May 25, 2004

A MELBOURNE man has been imprisoned by coalition and Kurdish authorities in Iraq for the past four months.

But the Australian Government, despite being a coalition partner and repeatedly seeking answers, is unaware of the nature of the allegations against the 26-year-old.

The man is the subject of an International Committee of the Red Cross report and his welfare has been monitored by Australian consular officials since he was jailed in February. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman Lyndall Sachs said despite ICRC and Australian diplomatic visits, the reasons for his detention remained a mystery.

The Victorian is now in prison in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, a large, predominantly Kurdish centre with a population of 486,000.

There were no allegations he had been subjected to abuses similar to those at Abu Ghraib and alleged at some other military prisons in Iraq.

He was detained by authorities representing the Kurdish Regional Government, Ms Sachs said.

"We are not aware of the reasons for detention but we are pressing the regional authority and the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority)," she said.

The Australian consul-general in Baghdad had visited the man to check on his welfare and his Melbourne family had been told of the arrest.

"I am not aware of there being any concerns raised about his treatment (while in jail)," Ms Sachs said.

Al-Qaeda-linked suicide bombings in Erbil on February 1 killed more than 100 people in one of the biggest massacres of the post-invasion period.

In October last year, another three people were killed and about 50 wounded, including several Americans.

It is believed the man was not arrested on terrorist grounds, though this was unconfirmed.

A spokesman for the Kurdish Association of Victoria said the group was unaware of the man's imprisonment.

An ICRC spokeswoman in Geneva said confidentiality meant she could not comment.

AN Australian man who was listed as missing in Iraq has returned to Australia.

Concerned family and friends had contacted DFAT with fears Damian Walsh was missing in the war-torn nation.

DFAT said yesterday Mr Walsh had returned home unharmed and of his own accord.

Herald Sun