Military commission unfair: Major Mori (Hicks case)

[struggle4progress]

Thursday, 1 March 2007
Nick Higgins

Never could Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks have imagined he might be the catalyst for a gathering last night of 700 people at the University of Ballarat.

The crowd had come to hear Major Michael Mori, the man who has dedicated three years of his professional life trying to free Hicks from the United States military prison in Cuba where he has been incarcerated since January 2002.

Hicks is Major Mori's sole client and the lawyer and officer in the US Marine Corps has visited Australia several times to raise awareness and support for the former Adelaide man arrested while apparently fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan ...

Major Mori said ... "And really, if an American can't go through it how come it's okay for an Australian, and really David deserves the same rights and protections as an American citizen ...

http://batemansbay.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=national%20news&subclass=general&story_id=561623&category=general

[cal04]

1. Hicks to face 'kangaroo court', report says

Three Australian lawyers have written a scathing report on America's military commission process under which Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks will face trial.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance, which includes high profile QC Julian Burnside, will present the report to federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock this afternoon.

They says the military commissions under which Hicks is facing trial are nothing more than kangaroo courts which fail international standards of justice.

The alliance president Simon Morrison says the 20-page report highlights the failings of the commissions, particularly their reliance on hearsay and coerced evidence.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1860573.htm