Aussie to face arraignment at Guantanamo
The father of an Australian man facing prosecution at Guantanamo Bay for allegedly training with al-Qaeda and fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan said he does not believe his son will receive a fair trial.
Terry Hicks, whose son David Hicks is scheduled to be arraigned on a war-crimes charge Monday, said the military tribunal system at the U.S. naval base in southeastern Cuba is flawed because it allows coerced and hearsay evidence.
"He's having a day but it's not in court. It's a misconception people have that this is a court proceeding," Terry Hicks told reporters Sunday in Washington en route to Guantanamo. "He's just got so much going against him."
David Hicks, a 31-year-old former cowboy, is accused of attending al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and briefly fighting alongside the Taliban following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. He was among the first prisoners taken to the isolated military prison in January 2002 and has been awaiting trial since.
"His support for the al-Qaeda organization is what we intend to prove," said Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the chief prosecutor for the tribunals.
If convicted, Hicks would be eligible for life in prison. But Davis said comparable cases — such as that of American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh — have resulted in 20-year sentences that he will use as a benchmark for Hicks. U.S. and Australian officials said he may be able to serve any sentence in Australia.
Davis said prosecutors and defence attorneys have been discussing a possible plea deal since January, but have not reached an agreement. Hicks's lawyers have said he plans to plead innocent.
A case against Hicks began in 2004 but was stopped by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found the Pentagon's system for trying Guantanamo detainees unconstitutional. U.S. President George W. Bush and Congress established the new tribunals last year.
Hicks, a Muslim convert, is the only detainee charged so far under the Military Commissions Act. Officials have said they plan to prosecute as many as 80 of the roughly 385 prisoners at Guantanamo, and some could face the death penalty.
Human rights groups argue that the commissions are illegal because they do not offer the same protections as U.S. courts. But the military says the new rules address some concerns of defence lawyers by allowing detainees to see all the evidence against them and making other changes.
"I recognize that around the world, 'Guantanamo,' when you say the word, has a negative connotation," Davis said. "One thing I hope is that in the way we conduct these proceedings, maybe we can change some of those attitudes."
Hicks has become something of a cause celebre in his native Australia, where Prime Minister John Howard has pushed U.S. officials to deal with his case more quickly.
One of Hicks's lawyers, Marine Corps Maj. Michael Mori, said the outcry stems from a perception of injustice.
"It is abundantly clear, I think, at least to the legal community in Australia, that commissions do not meet international legal standards," he said.
Terry Hicks, who last saw his son in August 2004, was scheduled to arrive to Guantanamo on Monday with his daughter, Stephanie. He said he was apprehensive about the reunion after lawyers told him his son's mental health has deteriorated.
"He's not going to be the same person I saw three years ago," he said. "We've got to brace ourselves for that bit."
The family will be allowed to meet with him briefly in a secure area of the courthouse before and after the arraignment, said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand, a Guantanamo spokesman.
"They will be allowed physical contact and to hug each other," Durand said.