In Newcastle yesterday to launch his book, My Story: the tale of a terrorist who wasn't, Mr Habib said if he had not published the book and had agreed with everything that was said about him, his life would be a lot easier.

"But I cannot do that. I grieve for all of those who have suffered and are still suffering.

"It's easy to talk, a lot harder to do. I have survived to tell the truth about what happened," he said.

Co-author Julia Collingwood met the Habibs through her husband, a barrister, and began writing the book with Mr Habib in January this year.

She said it was gruelling but essential to write about what happened to Mr Habib after he was kidnapped in Pakistan and taken to Egypt by the process known as "extraordinary rendition".

Mr Habib said Australia's terrorism laws allowed government agencies to refuse to answer questions about his treatment on the basis of national security.

Lisa Barritt-Eyles