Terror defendants claim mistreatment

MELBOURNE, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Defendants in an Australian terrorism trial say they were humiliated and assaulted in prison.

One man, Bassam Raad, claimed that, during one strip search, guards had a German shepherd sniff his private parts and then made him stand naked for 10 minutes and apologize for calling them pigs, The Age reported.

The 12 defendants were held at Barwon Prison, a high-security institution, and taken to court in Melbourne for the trial.

The trial concluded this week with seven of the group convicted; four, including Bassam Raad, acquitted; and the jury unable to reach a verdict on the 12th man.

The defendants alleged they were subjected to other types of ill treatment, including being transported in a hot van with no water during the two-hour trip to and from Melbourne. Men suffering from asthma weren't allowed to carry inhalers with them, they said.