It's now been revealed that the person whom Alexander Downer cited as having recently verified David Hick's mental state was a US Embassy official from Canberra:
An embassy spokeswoman says the official isn't a doctor, and the observations were based on a five-minute meeting with Mr Hicks during an official tour of the detention facility last Friday.Downer says he was just passing on the information (coz that's what a swell guy he is):
The spokeswoman says the official's quick impression was that Mr Hicks was physically healthy and mentally alert, but that it wasn't meant to be a medical assessment.
"I'm not asking you to rely on it or not rely on it, I'm just letting you know what observation was made and you can take it or leave it. Listeners can take it or leave it. It's just, I thought, an interesting observation."
