David Hicks, who fought for the Taliban, which is implicated in the assassination of Bhutto, is being released today. His incarceration from the time of his capture in Afghanistan, where he went to fight for the Taliban after 9/11, has been contested by lawyers of the left. He has a control order on his movements. 
David Hicks' freedom is in contrast to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, which may condemn Pakistan to years of misery. No left wing lawyers for her.
Australian Convicted of Aiding Al Qaeda Set Free
ReplyDeleteFrom foxnews.com
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — Convicted terror supporter David Hicks was released from an Australian prison Saturday after completing a six-year, U.S.-imposed sentence for aiding terrorists.
Hicks was the first person convicted at a U.S. war-crimes trial since World War II after he pleaded guilty in March to providing material support to Al Qaeda.
The former Outback cowboy had been fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan when he was captured in December 2001 by U.S.-backed forces. A month later, he was sent to the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he spent more than five years without trial.
A U.S. military tribunal sentenced Hicks — a Muslim convert who has since renounced the faith — to seven years in prison, with all but nine months being suspended, after he confessed to aiding Al Qaeda during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Under a plea bargain, Hicks was allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence at a maximum security prison in his hometown of Adelaide in South Australia state.
Under the deal, Hicks has forfeited any right to appeal his conviction and to a gag order that prevents him speaking with news media for a year from his sentencing date. The government concedes the gag order may not be enforcable in Australia, where Hicks has not been convicted of any crime.
Hicks, who has been described as depressed and anxious by family members, was not expected to speak to the media upon his release. But his father, Terry, said Hicks would issue a brief statement through his lawyer, David McLeod.
"There'll be some sort of apology," Terry Hicks told Sky News television. "It is important to him that he gets this message across and thanks everybody who has been supportive of him."
Hicks' lawyers have described their client as an immature adventurer who traveled to Afghanistan only after his application to enlist in the Australian army was rejected because of his lack of education.
The Hicks case became a cause for rights campaigners in Australia, and a political problem for former Prime Minister John Howard, who was criticized for allowing an Australian citizen to spend so long behind bars in Guantanamo.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who defeated Howard at elections in November, was a strong critic of Hicks' treatment and the military tribunal system that convicted him, saying it could not deliver justice.
But Rudd has not challenged the plea deal, and said Friday that Hicks would have to comply with restrictions placed on him by a court at the request of Australian federal police.
"Mr. Hicks should be treated no differently to any other Australian citizen in these circumstances and our expectations of Mr. Hicks is that he would comply with the requirements which have been imposed upon him," Rudd told reporters in the southern city of Melbourne.
A federal court ruled last week that Hicks was a security risk because of the training he had received in terrorist camps in Afghanistan. The court was told he met Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden at least 20 times.
Under the court order, Hicks must report to police three times a week and obey a curfew by staying indoors at locations decided by police. Other restrictions include that he not leave Australia or contact a list of terror suspects.
The restrictions will last for one year. Hicks will have an opportunity to challenge the orders at a hearing set for Feb. 18, though his lawyers say they doubt he will do so.
Terry Hicks said his son was eager to resume a normal life in Australia, and hoped to find a job and attend university.
David Hicks walks free from jail
ReplyDeleteBy Steve Larkin
TERRORISM supporter David Hicks has been freed from an Adelaide prison.
The 32-year-old walked out of the Yatala prison in Adelaide's north at 8.17am (CDT).
Hicks has been in custody since being captured among Taliban forces in Afghanistan, in December 2001.
The father of two has completed a jail sentence, after pleading guilty before a US military commission in March this year to a charge of providing material support for terrorism.
Hicks was driven out of the maximum security jail in the back seat of a police sedan which drove slowly past waiting media.
Hicks, with closely cropped hair, was to be driven to a secret location in Adelaide where he will start his life out of custody.
Hicks glanced at waiting media as he was driven from the jail.
Statement
His lawyer, David McLeod, later read a statement of Hicks' behalf.
In the statement, Hicks did not apologise for his terrorist-related conduct.
"I had hoped to be able to speak to the media but I am just not strong enough at the moment, it's as simple as that," Hicks said through his lawyer.
"I am sorry for that.
"As part of my conditions of release from Guantanamo Bay, I agreed not to speak to the media on a range of issues before March 30, 2008.
"It's my intention to honour this agreement as I don't want to do anything that might result in my return there.
"So for now, I will limit what I have to say - I will say more at a later time."
Hicks said he recognised "the huge debt of gratitude that I owe the Australian public for getting me home".
"I will not forget or let you down," he said.
'Thanks'
He also thanked his lawyers, various politicians and organisations that had lobbied for his fair treatment.
"Right now I am looking forward to some quiet time with my wonderful Dad, my family and friends," Hicks said.
"I ask that you will respect my privacy as I will need time to readjust to society and obtain medical care for the consequences of five and a half years at Guantanamo Bay.
"I have been told that my readjustment will be a slow process and should involve a gentle transition away from the media spotlight."
Hicks, a father of two, was driven from jail to a secret location in Adelaide.
His father, Terry Hicks, said his son was "on a high".
"It's now up to him," Mr Hicks told reporters.
"He now has got to get on with his life.
"He's on a high, he seems alright but I suppose in the quiet times everything will come back."
David Hicks's complete statement
ReplyDeleteTHIS is the full text of David Hicks's statement upon his release from Adelaide's Yatala jail today. The statement was read to media by his lawyer, David McLeod.
"Thank you for coming out on a Saturday and during the holiday period.
"I know you all hoped I might appear and answer some questions.
"I had hoped to be able to speak to the media but I am just not strong enough at the moment - it's as simple as that.
"I am sorry for that.
"As part of my conditions of release from Guantanamo Bay, I agreed not to speak to the media on a range of issues before March 30, 2008.
"It's my intention to honour this agreement as I don't want to do anything that might result in my return there.
"So for now, I will limit what I have to say - I will say more at a later time.
"I would ask the media and the public understand and respect this.
"I do however want to take this opportunity to say some overdue thank yous.
"First and foremost, I would like to recognise the huge debt of gratitude that I owe the Australian public for getting me home. I will not forget, or let you down.
"Next, I would like to thank my family and friends who have been so supportive of me. Words cannot adequately express the level of my feelings for them. I love them very much.
"Also my team of lawyers: Major Dan Mori, Josh Dratel, Michael Griffin, Steve Kenny and David McLeod, as well as their legal teams in Adelaide, Sydney, Washington and London. Much of their work was carried out pro-bono and they know I owe my freedom to their efforts.
"I also thank the legal profession within Australia, including the Law Council of Australia and the state Law Societies, and those abroad, who strove to uphold the ideal of a free trial for an Australian citizen.
"Many thanks go to the Fair Go For David campaigners and organisations such as Amnesty International, GetUp, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Dick Smith, church groups including the Catholic Church, and various anti-torture and human rights groups.
"The Red Cross played an important role by trying to improve conditions and the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their efforts.
"There are certain politicians I would also like to particularly mention and thank: Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Danna Vale, Sandra Kanck, Senator Bob Brown, Senator Kerry Nettle, Mark Parnell, Senator Linda Kirk, Nicola Roxon, Bob Debus, Rob Hull, Frances Bedford, Kris Hanna and many others who preferred to work behind the scenes.
"A huge thank you also to the members of the media who wrote about and increased public awareness of my detention and treatment over the years. Without you, the court of public opinion would not have been as informed or influential.
"There are many other groups, both large and small, and individuals involved in the campaign for my return to Australia, and to them I offer them my heartfelt thanks.
"This list is in no particular order and to anyone that I haven't mentioned, I am very sorry. I hope to thank all of you personally at a later date.
"Right now I am looking forward to some quiet time with my wonderful Dad, my family and friends.
"I ask that you respect my privacy as I will need time to readjust to society and to obtain medical care for the consequences of five and a half years at Guantanamo Bay.
"I have been told that my readjustment will be a slow process and should involve a gentle transition away from the media spotlight.
"Thank you for respecting my privacy and allowing me some breathing space to get on with my life."
Hicks walks free, gives no apology
ReplyDeleteBy Kate Kyriacou and Scott Walsh
CONVICTED terrorism supporter David Hicks was in hiding last night after walking from Yatala prison without apologising for his crimes.
After 2211 days in custody, Hicks left prison with his head held high yesterday morning, more than six years after he was arrested in Afghanistan for links with al-Qaeda.
Despite his father, Terry, indicating earlier in the week that Hicks would say sorry, Hicks released a statement that did not address his crimes.
He said he feared compromising a plea bargain cut to seal his release from Guantanamo Bay and gagging comment on his time abroad before March next year.
Instead Hicks thanked those who had supported him throughout his incarceration.
With police there to help him flee the waiting media contingent, Hicks, 32, was driven from Yatala Labour Prison with his father's former wife Bronwyn Mewett, who had led the campaign for his release.
But within hours of his release, a further controversy erupted over Hicks, with the mother of his two children claiming the youngsters had been left in the dark and did not know when they could see their father.
There were emotional scenes as his family gathered at the gates of the maximum security prison to escort Hicks to his first moments of freedom.
At 8.17am, the world got its first new glimpse of the man who spent six years locked up after he was captured alongside Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in December 2001.
Looking tired and overwhelmed, Hicks managed to flash a smile at Ms Mewett, who had gone there to meet him.
He kept his head up as he walked into the view of around 50 media representatives before entering a small building where he signed release papers.
From there, Hicks walked several metres to a waiting vehicle, which took him - guided by a police escort - to a secret location.
The convicted terror supporter looked curiously at waiting media and waved to supporters holding signs celebrating his release.
Hicks left behind his lawyer, David McLeod, who he had asked to read a statement on his behalf.
Stating that he "was not strong enough'' to talk publicly, Hicks said he wanted to thank his "wonderful dad'' and a host of friends, family and supporters.
The statement did not include an apology, although Terry Hicks said last week his son's statement would include "some sort of apology I suppose for what he's supposed to have done ... and what people believed he's done''.
Yesterday Mr Hicks said his son - whose actions overseas included completing a raft of terrorism training courses and frontline duty against western forces - had nothing to be sorry for.
"You know, you've got to realise that David's done five years - pretty tough,'' he said.
"And I think that he's done his time for whatever.
"Nothing's been proved (as to) what he was supposed to have done. He's done his time and it's time for him now to settle down.''
An emotional Mr McLeod said he had hugged Hicks as he signed his release papers and told him to go and "enjoy a beer''.
"It's sort of bittersweet in a sense. Really he should have been released a long time ago,'' he said.
"He only ever really asked to be put before a regularly constituted court and given a fair trial.
"That never happened. So, from a lawyer's perspective, I'm disappointed that we were never able to give him that - but to see him released, it's not too bad a second prize.''
Mr McLeod said Hicks was not the man he met more than two years before in Guantanamo Bay.
"I'm no psychologist or psychiatrist but let's just say the first time I saw him - which was in early 2005 - he was clearly someone who appeared to a lay person to be a broken man,'' he said.
"He was someone who had given up - someone who was despairing that he would never be released from Guantanamo Bay.''
Terry Hicks said yesterday ranked among the happiest days of his life.
"It's probably a huge day," he said.
"The main thing out of all this is he's now out. Give it a little bit of time and people will realise he's no harm to anybody.''
But as Mr Hicks spoke of plans for a family reunion, the mother of Hicks' children said she had been "left in the dark''.
Teenagers Terry and Bonnie were desperate to see their father but had no idea when they would finally be reunited outside prison walls, she said.
David Hicks must renounce terrorism, says human rights lawyer
ReplyDeleteBy Steve Larkin
DAVID Hicks won't be taken seriously until he renounces terrorism, a prominent human rights lawyer says.
George Newhouse, who acted for wrongly-detained Australian citizens Vivian Alvarez and Cornelia Rau, said Hicks also had to renounce anti-Semitic views.
He said Hicks needed to go further than his statement on release from jail yesterday when he said he wouldn't let Australians down.
"He needs to go further and renounce the hateful and deeply anti-Semitic views he has espoused previously," Mr Newhouse said.
Hicks, 32, was freed from Adelaide's Yatala jail yesterday after completing a sentence for providing material support to terrorism.
Hicks expressed anti-Semitic views in letters to family in 2000, which were read to the Federal Magistrates Court in Adelaide during a control order application earlier this month.
"The western society is controlled by the Jews ... keeps Islam weak and in the Third World," Hicks wrote to his mother Sue King in 2000.
In others letters to family, Hicks wrote that training with terrorist organisations was designed to ensure "the Western-Jewish domination is finished" and warned his father to ignore "the Jews' propaganda war machine".
Mr Newhouse, 45, is a prominent member of Sydney's Jewish community.
He is co-founder of the Jewish Labor forum, former mayor of Waverley, in Sydney's east, and was the Labor candidate for the seat of Wentworth in the recent federal election.
He said Hicks needed to reassure Australians that his views had changed.
"Hicks' views are an insult to all Australians and he must renounce them immediately," Mr Newhouse said.
"David Hicks claims that his plea bargain (with US military prosecutors) and the conditions of his release from Guantanamo Bay restricts him from talking about a lot of issues, but surely they do not stop him from coming forward to renounce terrorism and anti-Semitism.
"Until he does that, his words cannot be taken seriously.
"David Hicks should appreciate the fact that he has been repatriated to his homeland where he can benefit from a robust democracy, the rule of law and an independent judiciary," he said.
"David Hicks needs to reciprocate by reaffirming the basic values of our nation and the right to all Australians, including Jews, to live here and abroad in peace and safety."
Hicks can't hide from past: victim
ReplyDeleteBy Kim Wheatley
THE twin brother of an Adelaide man killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks wants David Hicks to explain his reasons for being a "terrorist in training".
It came as the confessed terrorism supporter successfully varied the terms of his control order, which relate to reporting to a police station.
Stuart Knox, whose brother Andrew was on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Centre's north tower when American Airlines Flight 11 struck, joined a chorus of calls for Hicks to apologise.
"I would like an explanation as to why he would do that and some sort of expression of regret," Mr Knox said from his Woomera home.
"I do feel it's an insult for the victims of terrorism if he doesn't."
In the months prior to September 11, Hicks trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, where he claims to have met the "lovely" Osama bin Laden.
A US Defence Department document states Hicks travelled to Pakistan around September 9 to visit a friend and while there watched television footage of the World Trade Centre attack.
According to the file, Hicks said "it was a good thing" - 2749 people died in the attack including 11 Australians.
"That disgusted me," Mr Knox said.
Mr Knox said he was most worried about the former Muslim convert being turned into some sort of hero after spending much of his six years in prison without being charged.
"I don't want to see him made into a martyr," he said.
"He made a choice to train with the Taliban. I see him as having done something against Australia."
"Those people who stood at the gates of Yatala (Labour Prison) and were glad that he was free, I do hope they never have go through having a family member killed due to a terrorist attack."
Like Federal Magistrate Warren Donald, who placed Hicks under a control order, Mr Knox also wanted an assurance Hicks is not a threat.
Under the terms of the order, Hicks must report to his nearest police station, which is believed to be Port Adelaide, three times a week.
It's understood Hicks went to another station around 10am yesterday to avoid scrutiny.