Hicks 'given sedative' before being told of charges

Penelope Debelle, AdelaideMarch 19, 2007

TERROR suspect David Hicks was left frightened and confused after being forcibly sedated at Guantanamo Bay last month then told of new charges prosecutors wanted to bring against him, his military defence lawyer, Major Michael Mori, says.

The incident, which Major Mori complained about to authorities, happened the day after Hicks' legal team left Guantanamo Bay early last month.

Major Mori said Hicks, 31, had told him he was visited in his cell by a Guantanamo official who gave him liquid medicine ostensibly for a chronic stomach complaint.

"They told him they wanted to try a new medicine for his stomach problems," Major Mori said yesterday after seeing Hicks at Guantanamo Bay last week. "It sedated him. It basically knocked him out for 24 hours — it was a strong sedative — and the next thing he knew he was being dragged into a room and told about the charges."

Major Mori said Hicks could not comprehend what was happening and was kept sedated for almost 24 hours. He remained bewildered and confused for three weeks, including when 10 officers arrived in his Guantanamo Bay cell to tell him he was being charged and brought before the military commissions.

Major Mori said it was the first time Hicks had been forcibly medicated since he was injected with a sedative soon after he arrived at Guantanamo in January 2002.

Hicks will be brought before a court at Guantanamo Bay next Monday to lodge an expected plea of not guilty to the single charge of providing material support for terrorism.

His father, Terry Hicks, and sister Stephanie will travel to Guantanamo Bay at the end of this week in response to a direct request from Hicks delivered by the Red Cross.

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Mori demands explanation over Hicks sedation