Guantanamo man seeks UK passport (BBC re: Hicks)

[struggle4progress]

By Phil Mercer
BBC News, Sydney

An Australian being held at Guantanamo Bay has applied for a UK passport, in the hope of securing his release.

David Hicks, whose mother is a British citizen, was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 where he allegedly fought against American-led forces.

His lawyers say the UK is more strident in securing the release of its citizens from Guantanamo Bay than Australia.

Mr Hicks revealed his mother was British by chance in a conversation about cricket with his lawyer. <snip>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4281716.stm


Govt 'forced Hicks' to apply to UK
September 25, 2005

Labor says Australian David Hicks was forced into applying for British citizenship after the federal government failed to pressure the United States to have his military tribunal scrapped. <snip>

He is due to face the tribunal in October charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.

Opposition leader Kim Beazley criticised the Australian government for failing to stand up for Hicks' legal rights.

"I don't know what the British will do (about Hicks' citizenship application) but the issue arises because the government hasn't pressed the Americans in the same way the British have ... to ensure that Australian citizens ... are tried under appropriate American jurisdiction," Mr Beazley told reporters. <snip>

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Govt-forced-Hicks-to-apply-to-UK/2005/09/25/1127586750249.html


Hicks's British application could take 12 months

<snip> The British Government has refused to allow any of its nine Guantanamo inmates to be tried because of concerns the US military tribunals failed to meet international justice standards.

All were set free. <snip>

The British high commission website says a person born between 1961 and 1983 to a mother who was a British citizen at the time of the birth is entitled to make an application for citizenship.

However, it warns that applications, which incur a fee of $390.25, can take between six and 12 months to process, and sometimes longer. <snip>

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/hickss-british-application-could-take-12-months/2005/09/26/1127586783176.html