US frees Aussie from the hell of Abu Ghraib (held w/o charge for 2 years)

[Barrett808]

US frees Aussie from the hell of Abu Ghraib
Natalie O'Brien
December 30, 2005

AN Australian who travelled to Iraq to marry his cousin and ended up imprisoned in the notorious Abu Ghraib jail for "security reasons" has finally been released by the US military, after being held without charge for almost two years.

The Adelaide-based family of Ahmed Aziz Rafiq confirmed he had been freed and had fled Iraq with his new wife for an undisclosed Middle Eastern country.

But they accused the federal Government of doing little to help the 26-year-old former supermarket worker.

His cousin, Sameer Saaid, said the Government had not sent a representative to meet him when he was released from US custody.

"I asked them to assist him and they said it was family business ... 'We don't interfere'," he said, adding that they could have helped if only by expediting a visa application by Mr Rafiq's wife so the couple could return to Australia.

(more)

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17688812%255E2702,00.html