If you're an Australian traveling abroad, and you get into trouble with local authorities, it's generally accepted you'll receive some assistance from the local diplomatic representatives. They will try to ensure that you obtain the benefit of protections afforded to the citizens of the country you are in.
Admittedly, those protections may be minimal, and in the end, you're on your own. But at least you'll get some advice and possibly some support to ensure the legal process is followed.
In the case of Terry Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, Australian citizens incarcerated by the US for three years without charge, there was little support offered by the Australian government's representatives in the US. In a country where locals have comprehensive rights before the law, the Australian government did nothing to ensure that these Australian citizens received similar rights from their captors.
By fair treatment, I mean being charged and tried, or released, within a reasonable period of time.
Now the US is releasing Habib.
Three years captive, no charges laid, and amid allegations of torture and mistreatment, and all the Attorney General, Philip Ruddock can say .....
..... the Government had consistently told the US to either bring charges against Mr Habib or release him. [Ruddock] said he was disappointed with the way the US had handled the case.
I doubt Ruddock (or his predecessors) ever expressed publically any support for the detainees.
At almost every opportunity, the Howard Government has been the accommodating US ally, happy to sacrifice the rights of Mr Habib and Mr Hicks.
And it looks like the harassment is not going to let up.
He [Ruddock] said Mr Habib would "remain a security interest - I don't intend to elaborate on that".
The Australian government's inaction in supporting the two Australians was disgraceful. They shouldn't compound this by harrassing Habib now that he's released.
