Mamdouh Habib still has a bruise on his lower back. He says it is a sign of the beatings he endured in a prison in Egypt. Interrogators there put out cigarettes on his chest, he says, and he lifts his shirt to show the marks. He says he got the dark spot on his forehead when Americans hit his head against the floor at the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

His lawyer also is filing suit against Australia which he says knew that Habib was tortured at Guantanamo.

He said detainees held at the base with Mr Habib reported that a prostitute was told to stand over him and menstruate on him. Interrogators also told Mr Habib they had murdered his family, and defaced photos of his wife, Maha, and their four children, Mr Hopper told a rally.

The [Australian] federal government said it was aware of similar allegations of torture made by former British detainees at Guantanamo Bay but it was the first time the government had heard the claims involving Mr Habib.