Chance Hicks May Be Home In Time For Christmas
The Age
Tuesday August 15, 2006
DAVID HICKS could be back in Australia by the end of the year. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said he would seek the Guantanamo Bay inmate's return if the US did not proceed quickly to lay substantive new charges.
Mr Ruddock indicated that the Australian Government wanted a new US military tribunal, and fresh charges, to be in place by November, as promised by his US counterpart, Alberto Gonzales. "It should happen as quickly as possible. Were that not to be the case, we would be seeking his return in the same way we did with Mamdouh Habib," Mr Ruddock said. Hicks has been in Guantanamo Bay for four years. This is the first time the Government has openly canvassed the possibility of his return to Australia without being tried. The US Supreme Court ruled in June that the military commission system set up by the Bush Administration, and supported by Australia, breached the US constitution and could not deliver a fair trial. The military commission was quashed, as well as the three charges that Hicks was facing: conspiracy to commit war crimes, aiding the enemy and attempted murder. Congress has to legislate for a new military tribunal and then fresh charges could be laid against him. If Hicks does come home, Mr Ruddock has said he would not face charges because he has not broken Australian laws. Mr Ruddock said Mr Gonzales had told him Hicks would quickly face new charges and get a fair trial under the new military court. But Hicks' US lawyer, Major Michael Mori, said the US Government had made repeated assurances to the Australian Government that had not been kept. Only weeks before Mamdouh Habib, the Sydney man alleged to have trained with al-Qaeda, was released from Guantanamo Bay, the US had said he would be charged. It also repeatedly said the original military commission process was lawful. "This has cost David five years of his life," Major Mori said. "He should be brought back to Australia right away. He's happy to co-operate with any conditions that may be applied." The speedy resolution of Hicks' charges could be thwarted on several fronts. Major Mori said the Supreme Court decision meant two charges against Hicks would have to be dropped. The US Congress could fail to agree on a new military commission process before it adjourns for mid-term elections in November. And it is likely that the new process could face appeals and be tied up in the courts for years. Mr Ruddock said he would not be swayed by "spurious" appeals but "would never deny anyone the opportunity to test substantial issues".
© 2006 The Age