Ex-intel official claims Australia covered up involvement in Iraqi interrogations News
Ex-intel official claims Australia covered up involvement in Iraqi interrogations

[JURIST] A former weapons inspector and senior employee of Australia's Defense Intelligence Organisation [official factsheet] said Monday in a television interview [program website] that the Australian government has been covering up its involvement in the interrogation of prisoners in Iraq. Rod Barton said that he had been personally involved in the interrogation of a suspect at the US Camp Cropper, where "high value" detainees were kept. Barton said that he never saw anything that amounted to torture performed by Australians, though he admits seeing several suspicious circumstances in the US prison, and suspected in one instance that a prisoner had been beaten to death. Barton said his goal was to force the Australian government [official website] to admit its involvement. Previously, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill [official profile] testified before Parliament [government website] that Australia was not involved in the interrogation of Iraqi prisoners, despite claims to the contrary made in January [JURIST report] and recently reasserted [AP report] by freed Australian Guantanamo detainee Mamdouh Habib. AFP has more.