US charges 'Australian Taleban'

[DoYouEverWonder]

Thursday, 10 June, 2004

The United States has brought three criminal charges against an Australian man held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

David Hicks, 28, is accused of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Mr Hicks, the "Australian Taleban" was arrested in Afghanistan in 2001.

<snip>

"It is alleged Hicks armed himself with an AK-47 automatic rifle, ammunition, and grenades to fight against coalition forces," the Pentagon said.

It said US prosecutors would not seek the death penalty.

Mr Hicks' US-appointed military lawyer has said he will not receive a fair trial.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3795805.stm

[LittleApple81]

1. Mr Hicks' US-appointed military lawyer has said he will not receive a fair

trial...hmmmm I wonder where he got this idea from? Bush said we are a country of laws.... Do you think that Bush might be lying? No, it couldn't be, could it?

[shraby]

2. I 'spect his lawyer figures

any witnesses against his client will have been tortured to produce the evidence for the government.

[anakie]

3. Amongst other charges

he is being charged with spying on the US and British embassies in Kabul in 2001. Yet as his lawyer points out

"The websites for the US State Department and the British Foreign Office said that their embassies shut in Afghanistan in 1989 and didn't reopen until 2002, so Major Mori says it's amazing that David Hicks was able to spy on them in 2001"

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2004/s1129577.htm

and another charge of translating al Quaida literature into English yet

"Major Mori is saying that David Hicks's Arabic isn't nearly good enough to be able to conduct such a translation. What's your understanding of his language levels?

STEPHEN KENNY: Well, I would have to agree with that.

I don't know what work he did, but my understanding is that his Arabic, even speaking it, was very limited."
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2004/s1129586.htm

And we are supposed to believe that he will get a fair trial.