When is the Harassment of Mamdouh Habib going to Stop?

This a press release regarding to the police harassment of Mamdouh Habib:

PRESS RELEASE

When is it going to stop, the harassment of Mamdouh Habib?

On Monday, 28th of July 2008, at Ryde Court on Victoria Rd, Ryde, a magistrate will hand down her findings with respect to a case recently concluded during which it was heard that Mamdouh Habib allegedly called NSW Police officers a “piece of shit”. The alleged offence, reported in some detail by the press, supposedly took place at Bankstown McDonalds on May 25th 2007.

 

 

The police have been going to great lengths to have him prosecuted under a section of the Summary Offences Act 1988, namely:

 

 

• Section 4(1): Behave in offensive manner in/near/within hearing from a public place/school; and

 

 

Section4A(1): Use offensive language in/near/within hearing from public place/school

 

 

A finding of guilty by the magistrate will see a criminal conviction recorded against Mamdouh Habib, something which will have a significant impact on him, as Habib continues to overcome the abuses suffered as a result of Commonwealth Government neglect and their complicity in the actions of the US government.

 

 

The alleged abuse of NSW Police did not take place on 25th May 2007. When an officer first asserted that Mamdouh was talking to him, he was in fact wrong. Mamdouh Habib was talking to a youth seated nearby and the officer mistakenly assumed that he was talking to him.

 

 

CCTV footage of the incident shows no visible action of Mamdouh “yelling" anything, contrary to the claims made by the Police on the Court Attendance Notice. The footage, of which a significant portion is mysteriously unaccounted for, shows that the Police went into “overkill” regarding the alleged incident, with many more police officers in attendance than such an incident would warrant – even if the alleged abuse had occurred.

 

 

Of greater significance in this matter is the fact that, elsewhere, a Police officer outside Bankstown Courthouse, on 25 July 2007, accused him of being “a terrorist”. Mamdouh Habib is now in possession of a letter from Superintendent Ray King of Fairfield Local Area Command, dated 23 January 2008, which confirms that the officer concerned acted unprofessionally and since has been counselled. The letter also provides an apology for the incident.

 

 

Raul Bassi, from the Canterbury Bankstown Peace Group, is asking: “How come verbal abuse by a member of the Police force warrants nothing further than the provision of a written apology while the “alleged” verbal abuse of a Police officer warrants the laying of charges, a court hearing and a possible criminal conviction”?

 

 

As a victim of torture and abuse suffered under those in authority, Mamdouh Habib, more than anything, is baffled by the blatant hypocrisy of this action against him.

 

 

We invite all media representatives to be present at the court on Monday and be witness to the conclusion of this charade aimed at further undermining Mamdouh's integrity, his standing within the community and, at the same time observe the closing of another chapter in the contining harassment of Mamdouh Habib.

Raul Bassi

0403 037 376

Canterbury Bankstown Peace Group

Auburn Human Rights Group