Former Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks has accused ex-Howard government MPs of having full knowledge of his alleged torture at the notorious US facility.
Appearing at an awards ceremony hosted by the Australian Human Rights Commission, Attorney-General George Brandis was heckled by a lone man as he walked offstage at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
The heckler was identified by the ceremony’s host as David Hicks, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.
"Hey, my name is David Hicks!" he shouted.
"I was tortured for five-and-a-half years in Guantanamo Bay in the full knowledge of your party! What do you have to say?"
Mr Hicks and his father Terry were at the Human Rights Awards supporting their longtime barrister Stephen Kenny who was nominated for an award.
As Senator Brandis walked off the stage at the Museum of Contemporary Arts, Mr Hicks told reporters he was a coward for not answering his question.
The incident came a day after a US Senate Intelligence Committee released a scathing report into the CIA's torture of al-Qaeda suspects.
It said the controversial program was far more brutal than acknowledged and did not produce useful intelligence.
Adelaide-born Mr Hicks was 26 when captured by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in Afghanistan in late 2001. It's believed he was fighting for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Mr Hicks was held in the US-run jail in Cuba until 2007, when he pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism and was sent to Adelaide's Yatala Prison to serve the rest of his seven-year sentence. He was released under a control order later that year.
He claims he was beaten, sexually abused and drugged while in Guantanamo Bay, and that he was convicted on a statement of facts for which he never received any evidence.
Earlier in his address, Senator Brandis acknowledged the varied views on human rights in the audience, stating that some of the finalists “have been critics of the government of which I am a member”.
He told attendees that human rights were on the national agenda, congratulating his government for stopping asylum seeker vessels and releasing children from detention.
“When the government was elected, we found that there were 1992 children in detention,” he said.
“In 2014, most of those children have been released… Between now and Christmas, in the next two to three weeks, all of the children in detention on Christmas Island will be released.”
Senator Brandis also announced that the government would commission an inquiry into employment discrimination for older people and people with disability.
The government will also recommend the reappointment of Mick Gooda to his role as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.
The winners of the Human Rights Awards include:
- Jane Newling, Literature
- Carol Dowling, Radio
- The Global Mail, Print and Online Media
- KPMG and Grace Papers, Business
- Four Corners, Television
High school principal Dorothy Hoddinott won the Human Rights Medal, chosen for her commitment to advancing the education rights of young people and refugees.
The 71-year-old educator from Western Sydney - who was also nominated for the award a decade ago - said she hoped the medal will encourage others to look out for the human rights of children.
With agencies.
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