Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he found it "very difficult to believe" Australian officials had been complicit in any torture of an ex-Guantanamo inmate but that he would investigate the claims.
Egyptian-born Mamdouh Habib on Thursday won the right to sue the government over interrogations in which he alleges he was tortured, beaten and shackled to the floor in the presence of Australian spies, diplomats and police officers.
Rudd said he would look into the claims, which centre on 12 interrogation sessions following Habib's arrest in Pakistan in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
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"I will get into the detail of it," Rudd told local television. "I don't think it's right. But I'll test the argument that's been put."
Compensation sought
Australian citizen Habib is seeking compensation over the electrocution, burning, sleep deprivation and drug injections he says he suffered in Pakistan, Egypt, Afghanistan and at the US military base Guantanamo Bay.
Habib, who was released without charge from the US military base in January 2005, does not accuse the Australian officials of mistreating him directly.
But he says they harmed him indirectly by "aiding, abetting and counselling his torture and other inhumane treatment by foreign officials".
Rudd said he found it hard to believe that Habib, a married father of four, was ever tortured while Australian officials were present.
"Let's test the facts. But I find it very difficult to believe at face value," Rudd said.
The government has denied any role in Habib's alleged rendition and torture but has fought against his right to sue since 2006, saying an Australian court could not not rule illegal the acts of another government.
But the Federal Court found Thursday that torture was a special case, ruling that the law should be interpreted in accordance with "universal norms" as outlined in international conventions against torture.
Rudd said he was comfortable with the Australian judicial system deciding on Habib's compensation claim, saying he was "perfectly entitled to pursue his legal rights in the courts."
Habib has worked as a taxi driver, cleaner and cafe owner since coming to Australia in 1980 and insists he was visiting Pakistan at the time of his arrest for valid business reasons.
