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David Hicks

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For the U.S. chaplain, see David Hicks.
David Hicks outside his family home in Adelaide.

David Matthew Hicks (born August 7, 1975), also known as Mohammed Dawood after his conversion to Islam, is an Australian being held prisoner by the United States government at Guantanamo Bay. He has been detained for more than three years without charge as an "unlawful combatant" having allegedly fought with the Taliban of Afghanistan.

David Hicks was born in Adelaide, Australia in 1975. Described by his father as "adventurous", he spent time working on rural properties in the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1999, he fought in the Kosovo War for two months as a member of the KLA. After his return to Australia, Hicks began to study Islam. To further his studies in Arabic, he joined the Pakistani Army.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, David Hicks was in Afghanistan with the Taliban in the area of Kandahar. He may have played a role defending Kabul against the Northern Alliance. He was captured by Northern Alliance soldiers on December 9, 2001, and subsequently handed over to the United States. After being interrogated on US Navy warships, he was sent to Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo Bay. The legality of his incarceration has been disputed as a contravention of responsibilities under the Geneva Convention. If he was fighting using guerrilla tactics, these conventions may not apply, as the conventions main intent is to limit civilian casualties and ensure ability to surrender while fighting.

His father Terry Hicks has made efforts to have his son brought to Australia for trial. Terry Hicks has said that his son seemed unaware of the September 11 attacks when they spoke on a mobile phone a few days after the American bombing campaign in Afghanistan began.

In 2004, an Australian documentary called "The President versus David Hicks" was made by Curtis Levy, with the cooperation of Terry Hicks, who himself appears in the documentary. Although Hicks and his father have denied the charges made against him, it may seem surprising that in the documentary, Terry Hicks reads out tracts of his son's diary, given the possibly self-incriminating sentiments which are expressed. It talks of a "Jewish conspiracy" to take over the world, and also praises the Taliban as being "real Muslims".

According to David Hicks' conversations with his father, he was abused by both Northern Alliance and U.S. soldiers. Even after incidents of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the Australian Government has consistently accepted U.S. assurances that David Hicks and another Australian at Guantanamo Bay, Mamdouh Habib, have been treated in accordance with international law.

On August 5, 2004 David Hicks filed an affidavit (SMH) declaring that he had been tortured, abused and ill-treated during his detention by US military authorities, and that he saw and heard similar treatment inflicted on other detainees. The affidavit was made public on December 10, 2004. US military authorities are investigating the claims.

David Hicks was formally charged by a US military commission on August 26, 2004, with conspiracy to attack civilians, attempted murder, and aiding the enemy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial was initially set for January 10, 2005. He will be represented by Stephen Kenny, his family's lawyer, and Major Michael Mori, his US-Army appointed counsel.

David Hicks' trial was rescheduled for March 15 2005, but was further delayed in November 2004 after the US Federal Court ruled that Commissions were neither competent nor lawful.

In mid-February 2005, Jumana Musa, Amnesty International's legal observer at the Guantanamo Bay, visited Australia to speak to Philip Ruddock (the Attorney General) about the military commissions. The Sydney Morning Herald (15/02/05) quoted Ms Musa as stating that Australia is, "the only country that seems to have come out and said that the idea of trying somebody, their own citizen, before this process might be OK, and I think that should be a concern to anybody."

In July 2005 the US appeals court ruled that the trial of "Unlawful Combatants" did not come under the Geneva Convention, and that they could be tried by a military tribunal[1].

In early August 2005 leaked emails from former US prosecutors were obtained by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that were critical of the legal process[2]. They accuse it of being "a half-hearted and disorganised effort by a skeleton group of relatively inexperienced attorneys to prosecute fairly low-level accused in a process that appears to be rigged" and "writing a motion saying that the process will be full and fair when you don't really believe it is kind of hard, particularly when you want to call a lawyer." The Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock claims that the email comments, which were written in March last year, "must be seen as historic rather than current"[3].

In September 2005, it was revealed that Hicks was eligible for British citizenship through his mother, after the passing of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. Hicks' British heritage was revealed during a casual conversation with his lawyer, Major Michael Mori, about the 2005 Ashes cricket series. As the British government has previously negotiated the release of the nine British nationals incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, it is possible that this may be extended to Hicks if his application is successful.

See also

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