Scarce rays of hope for the man in the cage
June 1, 2005
The erosion of the case against David Hicks is slow but consistent, writes Marian Wilkinson.
Like most Australians, David Hicks's father, Terry, has followed the Schapelle Corby trial with interest.
But as Mr Hicks watches Corby's family and friends flock to her jail in Bali he is painfully aware that he has not seen his son since his only visit to Guantanamo Bay last August.
"It's disgusting," Mr Hicks says. "He's still in a cage."
David Hicks has been held without trial since he was handed to US forces in Afghanistan in December 2001. He has spent nearly half that time in solitary confinement. For at least eight months he was held without any exposure to daylight.
"He was only let out at night until his lawyers and the Australian consul objected," says Major Michael Mori, Hicks's US defence lawyer. "Only then was he allowed out for one hour in the daylight."
Hicks is one of the few Westerners left at Guantanamo Bay. His case evokes no sympathy from the Australian Government. The Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, after talks recently with his US counterpart, insists the Government will continue to back the US decision to put Hicks before a US military commission.
"We have very clear assurances from the US that they have substantial evidence they can rely on and theyintend to proceed with the prosecution as soon as possible," Mr Ruddock says.
But in the opinion of some international lawyers, Hicks's lawyers and even some government officials, there are strong doubts about the strength of the case against Hicks. This, combined with questions over the validity of the US military commissions, is turning his case into a big test of Washington's and Canberra's commitment to human rights law.
No one disputes that a thorough investigation of Hicks by Australian Federal Police in 2002 failed to turn up any breach of Australian law. The police found evidence that Hicks left Australia in 1999, at the age of 24, to join a Kosovo Liberation Army training camp in Albania. But the KLA was not, at the time, a proscribed terrorist organisation.>>>continued
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/05/31/1117305619377.html
June 1, 2005
The erosion of the case against David Hicks is slow but consistent, writes Marian Wilkinson.
Like most Australians, David Hicks's father, Terry, has followed the Schapelle Corby trial with interest.
But as Mr Hicks watches Corby's family and friends flock to her jail in Bali he is painfully aware that he has not seen his son since his only visit to Guantanamo Bay last August.
"It's disgusting," Mr Hicks says. "He's still in a cage."
David Hicks has been held without trial since he was handed to US forces in Afghanistan in December 2001. He has spent nearly half that time in solitary confinement. For at least eight months he was held without any exposure to daylight.
"He was only let out at night until his lawyers and the Australian consul objected," says Major Michael Mori, Hicks's US defence lawyer. "Only then was he allowed out for one hour in the daylight."
Hicks is one of the few Westerners left at Guantanamo Bay. His case evokes no sympathy from the Australian Government. The Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, after talks recently with his US counterpart, insists the Government will continue to back the US decision to put Hicks before a US military commission.
"We have very clear assurances from the US that they have substantial evidence they can rely on and theyintend to proceed with the prosecution as soon as possible," Mr Ruddock says.
But in the opinion of some international lawyers, Hicks's lawyers and even some government officials, there are strong doubts about the strength of the case against Hicks. This, combined with questions over the validity of the US military commissions, is turning his case into a big test of Washington's and Canberra's commitment to human rights law.
No one disputes that a thorough investigation of Hicks by Australian Federal Police in 2002 failed to turn up any breach of Australian law. The police found evidence that Hicks left Australia in 1999, at the age of 24, to join a Kosovo Liberation Army training camp in Albania. But the KLA was not, at the time, a proscribed terrorist organisation.>>>continued
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/05/31/1117305619377.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:37 PM
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