Image source, AP. The US transferred hundreds of prisoners from its "war on terror" to the military base at Guantanamo Bay. Image source, Getty Images. A Pentagon spokesman said the US would not appeal. Related Topics. Guantanamo Bay Australia. Published 19 February Hicks , House Hansard, 11 May She seeks confirmation that the Government would not discourage the repatriation of Mr Hicks to the UK. The list also indicates the citizenship of the detainees.
The Law Council thinks that the Prime Minister is 'engaged in blame-sghifting' concerning delays in bringing Mr Hicks to a military commission hearing, claiming the US Government has engaged in a 'drawn-out' process 'designed to avoid real judicial scrutiny'. The petition calls for immediate action by the House to help gain Mr Hicks s release and his immediate repatriation to Australia.
Democrats Senator, Natasha Stott Despoja, says that she wants persons charged with terrorist acts to be brought to justice and not detained without charge and held in foreign detention facilites.
She also says that David Hicks has been abandoned by his own government to Guantanamo Bay where International Humanitarian Law and basic democratic freedoms are not observed. A report on human rights led by Swiss politician, Dick Marty, has revealed participation by as many as 14 European countries in the CIA rendition programme. Greens Leader, Senator Bob Brown, accuses Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, of 'dismissing' the breaches of international and domestic law with regard to Mr Hicks that he claims have occurred.
Three prisoners commit suicide in Guantanamo Bay becoming the first to successfully do so. There have been 41 suicide attempts by 25 detainees at the facility since the facility opened in Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says David Hicks has not been suffering from psychological harm and therefore should not be at any risk of committing suicide.
He says that a recent consular visit ascertained he was only suffering from a sore back. Org publishes a listing of numbers of Guantanamo Bay detainees since including information about releases, suicide attempts, hunger strikes and successful suicides. The list is sourced from US Department of Defense press releases and is continually updated. Org, Guantanamo Bay: Detainees. Senator Allison and Senator Stott Despoja present signed petitions calling for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
Professor Alfred McCoy, University of Wisconsin, says David Hicks was subjected to days of isolation which can be regarded as the most extreme isolation in the year history of CIA psychological torture techniques. He says David Hicks would therefore have suffered great psychological damage.
The US suspends all military trials for war on terror Guanatanamo Bay detainees. Ten suspects from about detained have been charged as enemy combatants.
Greens Leader, Senator Bob Brown, is joined by Labor and Democrats members in endorsing a motion that notes the suicides of three Guantanamo Bay detainees who had not been brought to trial and that David Hicks has been in captivity for over 4 years, also without trial. The Australian Government is urged to encourage the closure of Guantanamo Bay, and to have Mr Hicks returned to Australia for a fair trial.
Shadow Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, says now that David Hicks has been detained for four and a half years it is an 'embarassment' to Australia that the Government has not been 'able to argue with the US' for a fair trial.
He is concerned especially in light of the three recent suicides by Guantanamo Bay detainees, Professor A. McCoy s expert comments on Guantanamo Bay torture techniques and the present solitary confinement of David Hicks.
The British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, will have the Hicks case presented before her for her decision as to "whether and if so what representations should be made to the US Government in relation to Mr Hicks". Kevin Rudd, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, says the Australian Government should be asking the US to grant the British Government consular access to David Hicks, and that any individual should have basic entitlements to a fair trial and access to consular services.
Prime Minister John Howard is facing opposition from his backbenchers on a number of issues including the detention of Mr Hicks for more than four years without trial.
McCoy s comments on Gunatanamo Bay torture. Michael Ratner, Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, discusses the outcomes for detainees following the Supreme Court ruling. The British Foreign Office decides not to make representations on behalf of Mr Hicks because he was an Australian citizen when he was captured and taken to Guantanamo Bay.
The US Supreme Court ruled that the military commissions, which were outlined by President Bush in a military order on 13 November , were neither authorised by federal law nor required by military necessity, and were contrary to the Geneva War Conventions. However, officials note an implicit invitation has been given for the Bush administration to seek the required authority from Congress to effectively try the detainees.
Hamdan v Rumsfeld ;. Council President, Tim Bugg, says the military commission process is a system 'widely regarded as unfair, rigged and flawed. It was a process controlled by the Pentagon which acted as gaoler, judge, jury, prosecutor and appeal court'. However he notes the Australian Government has all along supported the military commission process.
Justice Minister, Chris Ellison, says that Hicks will be able to serve his sentence in Australia because of a prisoner transfer agreement with the US. A media report questions the pursuit of Mr Hicks by the Prime Minister as well as the advice that the Prime Minister readily accepts from the US government. Editorial opinion sees the Supreme Court ruling as another delay lasting possibly years to a trial for Mr Hicks and other detaineees. The White House has indicated no detainees will be released without trial before a military tribunal or sent to another country to continue their detention.
But the US Congress would have to pass legislation so the Supreme Court can allow trials or courts martials to take place as soon as possible. Neil James, Executive Director of the Australian Defence Association, says we cannot release Guantanamo Bay detainees who are considered combatants due to a range of legal, moral, humanitarian, strategic and operational reasons.
He says there is a risk that those who are released while the conflict is continuing could take up arms again against us. Gerard Henderson, Executive Director of the Sydney Institute, comments that while Mr Hicks needs justice in a court and that his incarceration has been 'unduly harsh', there is no need to dismiss his admission of having trained with al-Qaeda.
It is claimed that alliance considerations and personal loyalty have been at play in Prime Minister Howard s acceptance of the US Government s military commission trials.
Several experts disagree with the Government s response to David Hicks's case. A newspaper poll invites readers to vote as to whether David Hicks should be returned to serve a future sentence in Australia percent say Yes while 74 percent say No. David Hicks has, in letters to his father, declared himself a Taliban member and advocated strict Islamic law.
This opinion piece lists the facts regarding what Mr Hicks has been charged with and questions how sympathisers could want him back. Prime Minister John Howard is firmly standing by the need for Mr Hicks to be tried in the US-whether by a court martial, q different style of military commission or a civilian court. This follows the decision of the US Supreme Court that the current military commission trials are illegal.
In a phone call to his father David Hicks says he has felt 'pushed all the time' at Guantanamo Bay. His chair, table, books, pen and paper have been removed. Mr Hicks has been kept in isolation for the last three months, and after the recent suicides of three fellow detainees he was stripped of personal items including books, cards and pens.
The Law Council of Australia says that the Pentagon announcement to treat the detainees at Guantanamo Bay in accordance with the Geneva Convention is of little value and will not compensate David Hicks and other detainees for the hardship they have endured over the last five years.
Mr Hicks is said to be the first Australian to have had connections with LeT, having trained with the group for a total of twelve weeks-first in and then following the September 11 attacks in The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, hopes David Hicks is brought to trial as soon as possible and does not see the application of the Geneva Convention to the detainees as an issue.
Malcolm Fraser, a former Liberal Prime Minister, says Robert Menzies also a former Liberal Prime Minister would not have allowed David Hicks to be tried by a US military commission, and claims that a change in relations in recent times has seen American interests favoured more than Australian interests. Senator Stott Despoja sets up a motion to force a vote in the Senate to acknowledge the US Supreme court ruling that the military commission process is illegal and to accept the findings of an international human rights report with regard to Guantanamo Bay.
An appeal against the new trial process is considered inevitable by lawyers for the terrorist suspects. The Shadow Minister for Health, Julia Gillard, says that while David Hicks should be punished if he has committed an offence, it has been a long time getting him the opportunity of a fair trial.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock warns there could be further delays ahead for Mr Hicks if his lawyers appeal against the new military commission process. It is suggested David Hicks could be brought back to Australia if he accepts a plea bargain or the US Government drops the charges. Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, compares the Hicks case with that of men charged with gang rapes in Sydney, in which their case was resolved five years later.
Shadow Attorney-General Nicola Roxon says that Mr Ruddock was wrong to compare the process, time and results of the Hicks case with the case of the jailed gang rapists.
A media report says Major Michael Mori refers to Hicks s offences as poor decisions and that while the legal issues of his incarceration are complex the moral issues are quite clear. David Hicks s US lawyer, Major Michael Mori, says that Mr Hicks should be moved out of solitary confinement where he is held up to 23 hours a day without sunlight. Geoffrey Robertson QC says that those who ignore the Geneva Convention by not offering a fair trial to prisoners of war are in grave danger of being complicit in breaching international law.
Major Mori says he will never feel encouraged about David Hicks's situation until David gets off a plane in Australia. Major Michael Mori visits Australia to talk to parliamentarians, university groups, the media and other audiences to encourage support for David Hicks's return to Australia.
Major Mori says the Australian Government s acceptance of Mr Hicks s treatment would never be tolerated by the US Government for one of its own citizens. A petition demanding the return of David Hicks, signed by more than 50 people, is to be handed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer. He says while he trusts the US civilian judicial system, it is important to try Mr Hicks in such a system or bring him home.
The Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, says that Mr Hicks will not face the death penalty and that the original assurance given by the US Government would remain even with a new trial system. David Hicks receives and then is stripped of his British citizenship after a few hours because of new amendments to UK citizenship laws. It is reported that David Hicks would not receive any credit for time already spent in Guantanamo Bay if he is convicted and that if the new military commission process is challenged Mr Hicks might spend another two years in jail.
There are concerns that advice by military lawyers about the admission of secret evidence to the new military commission is not being heeded. President Bush admits to secret detention places for terrorists in a program used by the CIA after 11 September He is proposing legislation requesting the authorisation of military commissions to try suspected terrorists, including David Hicks.
The Australian Senate supports a motion passed by Senator Brown that the Geneva Conventions be upheld regardless of where or by whom they are breached. The US lawyer for David Hicks, Major Mori, considers the new military commission process similar to the earlier military commission process in its contravention of the Geneva Conventions. The Law Council of Australia condemns the Military Commission Bill as a political document that will not provide a fair trial. Media reports claim the Australian Government has a legitimate right to pursue David Hicks being returned as a POW and that the Government could maintain its stance against terrorism while upholding humanitarian considerations on behalf of its citizens.
It is reported that Terry Hicks is committed to doing whatever it takes to help his son. Senator Linda Kirk ALP , says the proposed new system denies defendants access to classified evidence and also depends on 'unreliable' evidence. The Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, is confident the Hicks case will be expedited through a fair process and that Mr Hicks will not face the death penalty. Having met with Department of Defense and State Department representatives as well as US Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney-General Philip Ruddock responds to questions on the timing of the new military commission process, the possibility of changes to the charges David Hicks faces and the torture legislation.
Mr Ruddock is confident of the fairness of the newly legislated military commission process. US Department of State, Congress passes legislation on questioning, trying detainees , 29 September It is expected that the legislation will be challenged again in the US courts. It is reported that the US ambassador to Australia, Robert McCallum, sees David Hicks as an enemy combatant and therefore dangerous and not ready to be released to Australia. Shadow Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon questions how Philip Ruddock, as Attorney-General, deviates from a bipartisan Australian commitment to oppose all forms of torture.
Amnesty International rejects the Attorney-General s comment that sleep deprivation is not torture. It is disappointed more so because Mr Ruddock is a long-time member of Amnesty International and a leading member of the Parliamentary Amnesty International Group.
It is claimed that, although David Hicks has been in solitary confinement since April, the Australian Government relies on media guidance from the Joint Task Force in Guantanamo Bay and the Pentagon to deny claims of abuse and isolation. An affidavit by a marine says there were routine beatings. US military lawyer for David Hicks, Major Mori, says that supportive messages to his client are being deleted and mail was being delayed for some months as a means of creating a sense of hopelessness.
With the introduction of the Military Commissions Act , there is little hope for habeas corpus as a legal right to the Guantanamo detainees. Drumgold, US military trials law gives the last rites to habeas corpus , Canberra Times , 12 October In an annual report on human rights throughout the world, the British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, says the Guantanamo BayCamp is unacceptable and counter-productive.
The Government is now consulting with Washington. It is reported that military lawyers defending Guantanamo Bay detainees have been intimidated for exposing detainee abuse. Lieutenant Colonel Colby Vokey and Sergeant Heather Cerveny are reported to have been cautioned against speaking to the media.
Lawyers for David Hicks hope that, if they can strike a deal with the Australian Government, Mr Hicks will be brought back to Australia while he is not charged and placed under a control order. Failing this, the lawyers will seek to appeal against the military commission process. The Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, says that David Hicks has the option to plead not guilty or to enter into plea bargaining which would mean a lesser sentence. According to Terry Hicks, David Hicks s lawyers will appeal against the revamped military commission trial process.
Shadow Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, says that David Hicks should be brought home and managed with control orders if he cannot be prosecuted. It is reported that the new Military Commissions Act provides a legal framework for the military commission to try suspected terrorists, but that it also allows the CIA to continue with harsh interrogation tactics and denies detainees the right to challenge their detention in civil courts.
The Center for Constitutional Rights lists a number of questions and responses regarding the new Military Commissions Act. David Hicks's father and his US lawyer say that Mr Hicks will not be pleading guilty to charges before the new trial system in order to get home. Former diplomat Richard Woolcott criticises what he says is the Government s pro-American stance that allows it to undermine human rights in the Hicks case. She requests Mr Howard oppose the use of torture and calls for the closure of Guantanamo Bay.
Ruhal is the subject of a film by Michael Winterbottom, The Road to Guantanamo Bay , and he was to help launch the film. She thinks the Australian Government has behaved 'outrageously' towards Mr Hicks and that it has abandoned him. There is concern this Act does not respect 'international human rights law - especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the U.
It claims that Mr Hicks could be convicted on evidence he will not be able to see himself and evidence that may have been obtained by coercion and from witnesses whom he will not be able to cross-examine.
Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja Democrats says the new military commissions would still breach international laws and standards of justice. The Center seeks to argue that the Military Commissions Act is unconstitutional.
They plan to write to the Attorney-General Philip Ruddock. State Attorneys-General are seeking a response from their Federal counterpart, Philip Ruddock, to their call for David Hicks to be returned to Australia to face trial.
Analysis of the Manual, by James Montgomery S. Final charges approved and issued by the Convening Authority for Military Commissions. The second charge, that of attempted murder in violation of the law of war, is dropped. Mr Hicks challenges the Government in the Federal Court over its refusal to arrange his return to Australia to stand trial and over its conduct in relation to his detention.
Leave was granted for a hearing. Hicks v Ruddock [] FCA Vickery [et al], Advice in the matter of the legality of the charge against David Hicks. US v Hicks, Offer for a pretrial agreement.
Albrechtsen, ' Gun-toting jihadi was not an angel ', Australian , 28 March ; C. Lynch, ' Guilt in the minor league ', Age , 28 March David Hicks, his lawyer and the prosecution issue a joint statement of agreed facts to be given to the military commission. The statement includes facts agreed by David Hicks in his pretrial agreement of 26 March.
US v Hicks, Stipulation of fact. The US Supreme Court refuses to hear an appeal by Guantanamo Bay prisoners that their imprisonment under the Military Commissions Act is unconstitutional, on the grounds that the timing is not right for the court's involvement now. Boumediene v. Bush and al Odah v. Administrative Arrangement between the Governor-General and the Governor of the State of South Australia relating to the international transfer of prisoners Special Gazette no.
For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament. Chronologies are written for members of Parliament, being located on the Internet they can be read by members of the public.
However, some linked items are available to members of Parliament only, due to copyright reasons. Comments to: web. Australian Parliament House is currently closed to the public. Introduction In the months and years following the terrorist attacks of 11 September on the United States, a number of people suspected of involvement with terrorist organisations or their activities were apprehended in various countries around the world.
In addition to a guarantee that the media and Australian officials would be allowed to attend his trial, other significant assurances included that: the US would not seek the death penalty; an independent legal expert sanctioned by the Australian Government and two family members would be allowed to observe the trial; conversations between Mr Hicks and his lawyers would not be monitored; and if convicted, Mr Hicks would be transferred to Australia to serve any sentence.
Bush says: While the United States has not recognized the Taliban regime as the legitimate Afghani government, the Taliban members are covered by the conventions, which Afghanistan is a party to.
These are issued in accordance with the President s Military Order released on 13 November Alcorn and C. Australian officials will now have access to him. The Government rejects the allegations. The team will also assess their welfare. Forbes and P. Debelle, Cuba detainees claim maltreatment , The Age , 25 May Wright, Terror suspect sought funds for jailed extremists , Canberra Times , 6 July Eccleston and A.
Chris Ellison, Australia and Thailand ratify prisoner exchange treaty , joint media release, 26 September Wilkinson, and P. Back to top 11 January After almost a year since Senator Hill said the US would like to see Australia prosecute its own citizens in Australia under Australian law, a spokesman for the Attorney-General says investigations are continuing and it is not appropriate to speculate about when the investigations will finish. Grattan, Terrorism torments our values , The Age , 5 March Banham and M.
Editorial, Sycophancy is shameful , Canberra Times , 19 May Six detainees to face Military Commissions 3 June President Bush determines six unnamed Guantanamo detainees to be enemy combatants who will be subject to his military order of 13 November Akerman Hicks gets justice, but victims didn t , Sunday Telegraph , 6 July Concessions granted in Mr Hicks s case 24 July Successful talks with the high-level Australian delegation achieve a number of critical outcomes for David Hicks with respect to the conduct of any Military Commission trials: the US has assured Australia it will not seek the death penalty in Mr Hicks s case; Australia and the US have agreed to work towards putting arrangements in place to transfer Mr Hicks to Australia, if convicted, to serve any penal sentence in Australia in accordance with Australian and US law; an Australian lawyer with appropriate security clearances may be retained as a consultant to Mr Hicks s legal team at Mr Hicks s request, following approval of Military Commission charges.
Mr Hicks s direct contact with such a lawyer will be further discussed with US authorities; conversations between Mr Hicks and his lawyers will not be monitored by the US, despite this being allowed in some circumstances by Military Commission rules; the prosecution in Mr Hicks s case does not intend to rely on evidence requiring closed proceedings from which the accused could be excluded; subject to any necessary security restrictions, Mr Hicks s trial will be open, the media will be present, and Australian officials may observe proceedings; and the US will work on ways to allow Mr Hicks additional contact with his family, including via telephone, following approval of Military Commission charges.
It is claimed the poll indicates that the Hicks and Habib cases are essentially only of concern to civil libertarians, family members and human rights advocates. Stewart, The secret life of us , Weekend Australian, 26 July Torture allegations 8 October The Shadow Minister for Justice and Community Security says that the allegations of torture of detainees in Guantanamo Bay should be investigated.
Lawyer claims Aust terror suspects tortured , Canberra Times , 9 October Back to top 1 January The Pentagon appoints a retired army general, John Altenburg, to oversee the Military Commission process, including approving the charges against accused persons. Schrader, Military set for terror suspect trials , The Age , 1 January Philip Ruddock, MP, Labor advocates no trial for terrorism suspects , media release, 16 January AAP and P.
It makes amendments to the International Transfer of Prisoners Act to enable Hicks and Habib, if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment by US Military Commission, to be transferred to Australia to serve their sentences here. Government denies any knowledge of harsh interrogation techniques 11 May The Attorney-General claims that the Federal Government has no knowledge of torture having been used in the interrogation of the two Australians at Guantanamo Bay. President George W.
Bush and The Hon. Charges against Mr Hicks announced 10 June The US Department of Defense announces that three charges have been approved against David Hicks, who will be tried by Military Commission: conspiracy to commit war crimes; attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent; and aiding the enemy. Text of charge sheet 22 June The US Department of Defense releases documents detailing the discussions and decisions on issues relating to torture in the War on Terror, including a Department of Justice memorandum on torture to White House Counsel, Alberto Gonzales.
Jay S. Gonzales, Counsel to the President and William J. United States Department of Defense, Combatant status review tribunal order issued , news release, 7 July Tipton Report : Detention in Guantanamo Bay: Composite statement by Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal and Rhuhel Ahmed, 26 July Mr Hicks pleads not guilty 25 August At the military commission proceedings in Guantanamo Bay, Mr Hicks pleads not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to attack civilians and civilian objects, murder, destruction of property and terrorism.
No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law. However, like them, Treaty Body experts are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization. Turn on more accessible mode. In April , as a result of a plea bargain where he plead guilty to providing material support to terrorism, Hicks was returned to Australia to serve the remaining nine months of his suspended seven-year sentence.
The Law Council took a close interest in David Hicks' case and played a prominent role in bringing his plight to the attention of Australian public. Throughout his period of detention, the Law Council was highly critical of:. Over this period the Law Council issued more than twenty press releases, public letters to Parliament and reports, including three reports from the Law Council's Independent Observer at Hicks' trial.
These materials are available below.
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