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Hicks appears in Guantanamo court | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
The first detainee at Guantanamo Bay to face terror charges under new US rules, Australian David Hicks, has begun a hearing before a military court. | |
Lawyers for Mr Hicks, who has been held at the US base for five years, have been considering a plea bargain. | |
Unless he pleads guilty, he should proceed to a full jury trial by July. | |
David Hicks was the first detainee to be charged under the new Military Commissions Act, accused of providing "material support for terrorism". | |
It is alleged that the Muslim convert attended al-Qaeda training camps and fought with the Taleban. | |
'Razor denied' | 'Razor denied' |
One of Mr Hicks's defence team, David McLeod, would not say how his client would plead, but suggested a plea bargain might be an option. | |
"All of the options obviously have to be discussed, from not guilty and tough it out, through to 'How do I get out of here at the earliest opportunity'," he said. | |
He said the five years his client had spent at the Cuban base had "begun to take a toll". | He said the five years his client had spent at the Cuban base had "begun to take a toll". |
"Today he had dark, sunken eyes and he looked very tired," Mr McLeod said after a meeting with Mr Hicks on Sunday. | "Today he had dark, sunken eyes and he looked very tired," Mr McLeod said after a meeting with Mr Hicks on Sunday. |
Profile: David Hicks Q&A: Military tribunals | Profile: David Hicks Q&A: Military tribunals |
Mr McLeod said his client had grown long hair so he could pull it over his eyes at night to keep out the light and allow him to get to sleep. | Mr McLeod said his client had grown long hair so he could pull it over his eyes at night to keep out the light and allow him to get to sleep. |
Mr Hicks wanted to shave his beard but had been denied a razor, the lawyer said. | Mr Hicks wanted to shave his beard but had been denied a razor, the lawyer said. |
Mr McLeod said his client was approaching the hearing with "trepidation", and "doesn't have a lot of confidence in the process". | |
Mr Hicks was expected to be allowed an hour with his father and sister before the hearing, and another hour afterwards. | |
He last saw his father, Terry, at a previous hearing in August 2004. | |
"They will be allowed physical contact and to hug each other," Navy Commander Robert Durand, a Guantanamo spokesman, said. | |
He's not going to be the same person I saw three years ago Terry HicksDavid Hicks' father | |
Terry Hicks said he, too, was apprehensive about the reunion, after hearing from lawyers that his son's mental health had deteriorated. | |
"He's not going to be the same person I saw three years ago. We've got to brace ourselves for that bit," he said. | |
The hearing was also being opened to members of the press. | |
Criticism | Criticism |
Mr Hicks arrived in Guantanamo Bay in early 2002 after being captured in Afghanistan a month earlier. | |
Mr Hicks, 31, a former farm hand and kangaroo skinner, was charged and started a trial process previously, in August 2004. | |
However, the US Supreme Court last year ruled the system unconstitutional. | However, the US Supreme Court last year ruled the system unconstitutional. |
The administration of President George W Bush then tabled a revised tribunal system that was passed by Congress. | The administration of President George W Bush then tabled a revised tribunal system that was passed by Congress. |
Mr Hicks is the first person due to be tried under the new procedures. Two others, Omar Khadr, a Canadian, and Salim Ahmed Hamdan, from Yemen, have been indicted but have not yet been read sworn charges, Cmdr Durand said. | |
The US has said it plans to use the new system to prosecute about 80 of the remaining 385-or-so prisoners at the camp. | |
Human rights campaign group Amnesty International has condemned the tribunals as "shabby show trials" and demanded that detainees be tried under the regular US judicial system. | |
US Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, the chief prosecutor for the tribunals, said he believed critics would find that the new system answered many of their complaints. | |
"One thing I hope is that in the way we conduct these proceedings, maybe we can change some of those attitudes," he said. |