Australia has "great concerns" about freed terror suspect
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-13 15:49

Australia's spy agency has independently assessed former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib as a person "of great concern" because of his alleged affiliation with Al-Qaeda, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

Downer said he had cancelled Habib's passport since his return last month to Australia from the US naval base in Cuba because of the adverse assessment by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), made independently of US intelligence.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, pictured, said Australia's spy agency has independently assessed former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib as a person 'of great concern' because of his alleged affiliation with Al-Qaeda.[AFP/File]

"On the basis of the adverse security report that I have received from ASIO, I have cancelled his passport and I think that is in the best interest of both Australia and the broader international community," he told the Nine Network.

Downer was speaking ahead of a paid interview due to be screened later Sunday by the Nine Network in which the Egyptian-born Australian national will talk about his experiences during three years at Guantanamo Bay.

Habib, a 50-year-old father of four living in Sydney, was arrested in Pakistan in 2001 and then transferred to Egypt, where he claims to have been tortured, before being sent in May 2002 to Guantanamo Bay.

US authorities accused him of having trained with Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and of having prior knowledge of the September 11 2001 attacks in the United States but he was released without being charged on his return to Australia.

A second Australian, David Hicks, remains in Guantanamo Bay where he is due to face a military tribunal on terrorism-related charges.

But Downer said ASIO still had "great concerns" about Habib's alleged involvement with Al-Qaeda.

"This is why, of course, he has been in so much trouble because of these enormous concerns at least allegedly that he has been involved with Al-Qaeda," he said.

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