Canberra: Guantanamo Bay prison inmates were shown photographs of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain hanging from a rope following his execution, lawyers for Australia's only Guantanamo inmate said yesterday.
In an attempt to intimidate inmates, the lead American lawyer for Australian detainee David Hicks said pictures of Saddam's trial were also shown to detainees, along with articles about executions carried out by extremists.
"Displaying photos of condemned men to those who may be facing capital charges can only be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate and compel submission under a threat of death, and mentally torture an already abused detainee population," said Joshua Dratel.
A spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was unaware of whether the accusations were accurate, as they were not raised with an Australian official visiting the prison this week.
"This is the first we've heard of it. Mr Hicks did not take the issue up with the consul-general when he had the opportunity, nor has the legal team made an approach to us to follow it up with the Americans," the spokesman said.
"It's very hard to attempt to verify some of these claims if Mr Hicks himself doesn't feel the need to raise it with us directly."
Dratel said photos of Saddam's 2006 trial were on an exercise yard poster, which also read: "Because Saddam chose not to co-operate and not tell the truth, because he thought by lying he would get released, for that reason he was executed."
