You can bet Howard has put pressure on the seppos to try Habib...

You can bet Howard has put pressure on the seppos to try Habib to take the pressure off the torture allegations.


Habib to face US military trial
The United States Government has given the go-ahead for the Australian Guantanamo Bay inmate, Mamdouh Habib, to go to trial.

Mr Habib could now be granted access to a military and civilian legal team.

"The President determined that there is reason to believe that each of these enemy combatants was a member of Al Qaeda or was otherwise involved in terrorism directed against the United States," the Pentagon said in a statement.

Mr Habib is one of nine detainees that the Pentagon said would be subjected to trial by military commission but no charges have been approved.

A total of fifteen detainees have now been named as eligible for trial by US military commission under a November 13, 2001 presidential order, including fellow detainee Australian David Hicks.

It means Mr Habib can be assigned an American military lawyer and that his Australian lawyer could also have access, subject to passing a security clearance.

However, a Pentagon spokesman says there is no guarantee this will happen in the short term, as at least two detainees granted the same status last July still do not have lawyers.

Lawyer sceptical

Mr Habib's lawyer, Steven Hopper, has told Channel Seven's Sunrise program, he would like to see his client's case in the United States District Court come to its conclusion before the tribunal starts.

That case questions the legitimacy of Mr Habib's imprisonment after the US Supreme Court last week affirmed the right of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to challenge their detentions in US courts.

Mr Hopper says the military tribunals are unfair and he has questioned the motives of the US Government.

"It just seems a little bit funny that the torture allegations start mounting up, not only against what happened to him in Egypt, but also against what's happened to him in Guantanamo Bay," he said.

"Now they go and bring out these military commissions and say 'ok, well we're going to put you before one of them'."

The Howard Government had requested the Bush administration to speed up the legal process surrounding Mr Habib.

No date has been set for either his trial or that of David Hicks.

'Torture hearsay'

Meanwhile, federal Attorney General has described as "hearsay" new allegations that Mr Habib was tortured while being held in Egypt.

The SBS Dateline program last night aired allegations that the United States ordered Mr Habib be sent from Pakistan to Egypt after his capture in 2001 and it was there he was tortured.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has told Dateline the Government has no information that Mr Habib was ever held in Egypt.

Mr Ruddock say the torture allegations will only be raised with the US if the Government receives more detailed information.

Mr Habib's Australian lawyer, Stephen Hopper, has accused the Government of knowing about the alleged abuse but that is denied by Mr Ruddock.

While Mr Ruddock has not raised the allegations with the US, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has confirmed his Government's commitment to investigate allegations of torture.

Mr Rumsfeld says the Pentagon would follow up the complaints and report back to the Australian Government.