Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Wright for her continued interest. One of the difficulties with the question is that it is, as I understand it, framed in the way of an allegation. There are and have been a range of allegations around this particular matter. I am advised that the US authorities conducted in 2004 and 2005 two separate investigations into allegations of mistreatment. The first was conducted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. It advised in August 2004 that an examination of medical records and other documents concerning the detention of Mr Hicks and Mr Habib revealed no evidence of mistreatment or abuse while in the US Department of Defense custody. The second investigation was conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigations Service in July 2005. US authorities advised that they had undertaken a separate and comprehensive investigation. (Time expired)