It is as if Africa’s proud history of liberation has been consigned to oblivion by a new master’s black colonial elite.

An exquisite display of irony.

The political trial and 22-year sentence of Dr Rafil Dhafir, an Iraqi-born doctor and humanitarian, makes a mockery of the notion that all are equal in the eyes of US law.

The story of an Australian hero whose skin was the wrong colour encapsulates the tragedy of centuries of abuse of Aboriginal people’s rights.