<< Back

"Aussie Taliban" Supporters Demand His Release From Guantanamo

Agence France Presse
August 23, 2006

SYDNEY , Aug 23, 2006 (AFP) - Supporters of Australia's sole GuantanamoBay detainee said Wednesday they would march on the foreign minister's office to present a 50,000-signature petition calling for the terror suspect's release.

The march in the southern city of Adelaide would follow a candlelight vigil attended by the US military lawyer for David Hicks, who has been held in the US military camp in Cuba for four and a half years, an activist group said.

"After nearly five years of waiting, Australians are tired of excuses," said Brett Solomon of the national community action group GetUP, which will lead the march on the office of Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

"Our government is finally starting to face the reality that David Hicks will never get a fair trial in GuantanamoBay and we want to make sure they understand the public will not tolerate months or years of justice delayed."

The call for the release of Hicks, who has been dubbed the "Aussie Taliban" by the media, has been signed by dozens of members of parliament, lawyers and trade unionists.

Critics, including Hicks's US-appointed lawyer, Marine Major Michael Mori, have questioned why the government has left Hicks in Guantanamo when Britain secured the release of nine of its citizens who were held there.

Britain declared that the military system set up to try the suspects failed to uphold basic standards of justice, but Prime Minister John Howard has refused to intervene on Hicks' behalf.

The Muslim convert, a former ranch-hand or "jackeroo" in the Australian outback, allegedly fought alongside the ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001.

He was one of a handful of Guantanamo detainees scheduled to face a special military tribunal, on charges of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.

But the US Supreme Court ruled last month that the tribunals violated the Geneva Conventions and US military law, and the administration is now seeking a new system for bringing the suspects to trial.

Howard, a faithful ally of US President George W. Bush who sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, has insisted Hicks must still be tried.

But Wednesday's demonstration comes shortly after the government signaled for the first time it could demand Hicks' return if delays with his US military trial persisted.

Speakers at the vigil will include Mori and Hicks' father, Terry Hicks, who has campaigned relentlessly on his son's behalf.

<< Back