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Hicks to open Guantanamo tribunal Hicks appears in Guantanamo court
(about 7 hours later)
Australian David Hicks is set to become the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to attend a hearing under revised US military tribunal rules. 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.
His lawyers said they may plea bargain to avoid a full trial and try to have him handed into Australian custody. Lawyers for Mr Hicks, who has been held at the US base for five years, have been considering a plea bargain.
Otherwise, Mr Hicks should proceed to the full trial by July. Unless he pleads guilty, he should proceed to a full jury trial by July.
David Hicks is the first to be charged under the new Military Commissions Act, accused of training and fighting with al-Qaeda and the Taleban. 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, said nothing had yet been decided on a possible plea bargain. 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.
"If it was yourself I suspect you would be thinking about how to get out of this place."
Profile: David Hicks Q&A: Military tribunalsProfile: 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 had not seen his father, Terry Hicks, since August 2004, and was approaching the hearing with "trepidation". Mr McLeod said his client was approaching the hearing with "trepidation", and "doesn't have a lot of confidence in the process".
"He doesn't have a lot of confidence in the process," Mr McLeod said. 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.
CriticismCriticism
Mr Hicks arrived in Guantanamo Bay in early 2002 after being captured in Afghanistan a month earlier. He was accused of attending al-Qaeda training camps and fighting with the Taleban. Mr Hicks arrived in Guantanamo Bay in early 2002 after being captured in Afghanistan a month earlier.
This criticism that we've created some novel Frankenstein, cobbled-together kind of system is totally inaccurate Col Moe Davischief prosecutor Mr Hicks, 31, a former farm hand and kangaroo skinner, was charged and started a trial process previously, in August 2004.
Mr Hicks, 31, a former farm hand, did appear before a previous military tribunal, 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.
Chief prosecutor Col Moe Davis said prosecutors would recommend a sentence of about 20 years and defended the new tribunal system. 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.
"This criticism that we've created some novel Frankenstein, cobbled-together kind of system is totally inaccurate. We've got nothing to be ashamed of and we're going to tell our story." 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.
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.
Human rights activists say those prosecuted are not given the same protections granted by 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.