US charges Aussie 'terrorist'
2004-06-11 13:53
Washington - The United States said on Thursday it has charged Australian David Hicks, a detainee at the Guantanamo 'war on terror' detention camp, with conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.
Hicks, 28, is the third 'war on terrorism' detainee at Guantanamo to be charged by the United States for trial by a military commission. Though the charges will bring a hearing closer, the Australian's defenders again complained about his treatment.
US Marine Corps defence counsel Major Michael Dante Mori told reporters in a press conference that Washington's charges against Hicks were "weak" and had inconsistencies. No date has yet been set for a trial.
"The charges include: conspiracy to commit war crimes; attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy," the defence department said in a statement.
Hicks was alleged to have attended al-Qaeda training courses at camps in Afghanistan, and as part of one course conducted surveillance of the US and British embassy buildings in Kabul.
But Mori said he had seen reports saying the embassies were "closed down" during the summer of 2001, when Hicks is alleged to have observed them.
Speaks no Arabic
Mori also said his client speaks no Arabic, countering government claims Hicks worked on translating an al-Qaeda training manual from Arabic into English on advice from Osama bin Laden.
The Pentagon alleged Hicks returned to Afghanistan to fight against US and other coalition forces after seeing television news coverage in Pakistan of the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.
"It is alleged Hicks armed himself with an AK-47 automatic rifle, ammunition, and grenades to fight against coalition forces," the Pentagon said.
According to the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a New York-based pressure group, Hicks has spent the last six months in solitary confinement awaiting charges.
Mori said his client, who he has visited eight times, had not been granted "fundamental" privileges that are given to civilians or soldiers facing court-martial and that he faces a life sentence if convicted.
"The rules and procedures abandon the established, fundamental protections that you would find in any civil criminal court or military justice court martial," Mori said.
"David Hicks has not injured any US service member or citizen. These are weak charges; where is the worst of the worst?" the major asked.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has described the hundreds of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay as "the worst of the worst" in the US war on terror.
"The Australian government has publicly admitted he did not violate any Australian law," Mori stressed.
"Will we have access to all the evidence? Will we have time to prepare? Will the defence be provided the proper resources?" Mori asked, complaining he had no staff aside from one paralegal for defending a case that has attracted international media attention.