March 30, 2007

Hicks Found Guilty On Terror Charges

Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks was found guilty "of providing material support for terrorism, marking the first conviction at a U.S. war-crimes trial since World War II," AP reports.

The 31-year-old Australian's plea agreement requires him to serve seven years in prison on the condition that he "drop any claims of mistreatment by the U.S. government since he was captured in Afghanistan and taken to Guantanamo Bay, said the judge, Marine Corps Col. Ralph Kohlmann."

"Hicks acknowledged that he trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, fought with its forces against U.S. allies in Afghanistan in late 2001 for two hours and then sold his gun to raise cab fare and tried to flee to Pakistan. He denied having any advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks," Reuters reports.

Within two months, Hicks is to be transferred to Australia, where he is allowed to serve out his sentence under a previous agreement. Hicks has already spent five years detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Meanwhile, debate over the legality of military tribunals held there is flaring up again in Washington. Defense Secretary Robert Gates yesterday told a House panel that he "felt that no matter how transparent, no matter how open the trials, if they took place at Guantanamo, in the international community they would lack credibility," the Los Angeles Times reports.

Gates reiterated his support for closing down Gitmo as Congress is mulling transferring detainees to other facilities. The issue is also playing out in the judicial branch, with the Supreme Court expected "to announce within days whether it will hear appeals filed on behalf of two groups of detainees who have been held" at the base, the New York Times reports.

Posted at 11:35 AM
Posted to: Guantanamo Bay, Terrorism
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