Oz wants word with Aussie POW
2002-01-13 11:54
Canberra - Authorities here were seeking to know what access they will have
to captured Australian David Hicks, who has been transferred with
19 other al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners to a US military prison in
Cuba.
"We're in discussions with the US about access to him and we're
still continuing our investigations into his activities," a
spokesperson for Attorney-General Daryl Williams said of the
26-year-old former Adelaide man.
Hicks was caught fighting with al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan
and had previously been held on a US warship in the Arabian Sea,
along with 368 other al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters assessed as
being the most serious security threat to coalition forces.
On Saturday he was transferred to a cell at the US marine base
at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay.
"We are satisfied he [Hicks] is in good health and we've been in
contact with his family and we're in contact with US authorities
about him," Williams' aide said.
Hicks was interviewed by the Australian Federal Police and
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation during his detention
on the warship.
Legal status remains uncertain
Further interviews may be necessary as the government continued
to look into the possibility of charges against Hicks, Williams'
spokesperson said.
The legal status of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay remains
uncertain. Washington classifies them as battlefield detainees and
not as prisoners of war with rights under the 1949 Geneva
Convention.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, "technically,
unlawful combatants do not have any rights under the Geneva
Convention", but the military had every intention, "for the most
part, [to] treat them in a manner that is reasonably consistent
with the Geneva Convention".
The prisoners are being held in individual, 1.8-by-2.4 metre outdoor cells ringed with razor wire, with open
chain-link walls and concrete floors. Kitted with foam mats and a
sheet, they are dressed in zippered bright orange jumpsuits.
Eventually, the detainees are expected to number as many as
2 000. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA