More of the Guantanamo Charade and the Mockery of Justice and the Legal System

Australian detainee gets 9 months

An Australian who complained of his treatment at the US prison at Guantanamo in Cuba has been convicted of supporting terrorism, but will spend less than a year in jail at home in a deal that requires his silence about alleged abuse.

David Hicks, 31, who has spent more than five years at Guantanamo, was the first of hundreds of terror suspects held at the isolated prison in southeast Cuba to be convicted, a case that also marked the first US war crimes conviction since World War II.

He was tried by a military tribunal under a system created by President Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks that has been widely criticised as a violation of the prisoners' right to challenge their confinement in US courts.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the verdict vindicated what his government had said - that Hicks was a dangerous terrorist. But his father, Terry Hicks, called the light sentence "amazing" given that "the Americans have been touting David as the worst of the worst."

"Something's not right. It shows how weak the evidence is in this charade," he said.

His father has vowed to pursue the allegations that his son was sexually abused and tortured both physically and mentally by Americans.

"I'm not going to let this lie just because David's been forced into a situation where he has to sign a waiver," Hicks said.

His son had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison. He entered a guilty plea on Monday night, but was not formally convicted until the judge accepted his plea at last night's session.

A panel of officers flown to Guantanamo for the sentencing Hicks deliberated for two hours before approving a sentence of seven years, the maximum allowed under the plea deal.

After they left the courtroom, the judge, Marine Corps Col. Ralph Kohlmann, revealed all but nine months would be suspended.

Asked if the outcome was what he was told to expect, Hicks said, "Yes, it was."

The plea deal will send Hicks to a prison in Australia within 60 days. His sentence begins immediately, but Guantanamo commanders said there would be no change in his detention conditions before his departure.

Hicks said he agreed to plead guilty because prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. Speaking in a deep voice, he said he faced damning evidence taken from "notes by interrogators" that he had been shown.

Hicks wore a suit and tie and his hair had been shorn, a big change from previous sessions, when he appeared in a prison uniform and his hair hung below his shoulders. His lawyers said he had kept his hair long to help block out the round-the-clock lighting in his cell.

Hicks had alleged harsh treatment, including beatings, during his more than five years at the camp. But in his plea bargain, Hicks stipulated that he has "never been illegally treated by a person or persons while in the custody of the US government," according to Kohlmann.

Furthermore, the judge said, the agreement bars Hicks from suing the US government for alleged abuse, denies him any right to appeal his conviction and imposes a gag order that prevents him speaking with news media for a year.

Shayana Kadidal, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents hundred of Guantanamo detainees, said the provisions appeared aimed at preventing abuse allegations from emerging and politically damaging the Bush administration.

"If Mr. Hicks' treatment was not illegal, he should be allowed to describe it so the world can judge for itself," said Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union.

In a statement read by his Pentagon-appointed lawyer, Hicks thanked US service members for their professionalism during his imprisonment and expressed regret for his actions.

"He apologises to his family, he apologises to Australia and he apologises to the United States," said Marine Corps Maj. Michael Mori.

The lead prosecutor, Marine Lt. Col. Kevin Chenail, said Hicks deserved the maximum punishment for betraying the freedoms he was raised with in Australia.

In the days before his arraignment on Monday, Hicks' lawyers said their client was deeply depressed and eager to leave Guantanamo. He spent the last few months alone in a small, solid-walled cell.

Original article posted here.