from our fair but imbalanced ABC …..

Hicks's father confronts PM about terrorism charges

The father of Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks has confronted Prime Minister John Howard on radio about the charge laid against his son by the United States military commission.

South Australian David Hicks has been formally charged with providing material support for terrorism.

A charge of attempted murder has been dropped.

His father, Terry Hicks, rang Mr Howard during an interview on Macquarie Regional Radioworks and quizzed him about the remaining charge.

Mr Hicks asked Mr Howard why the US can drop one charge and then lay a charge that has been retrospected to cover these charges against his son.

"I mean the Australian Government keeps saying they can't retrospect the law to bring David back to face charges," he said.

Mr Howard responded to Mr Hicks by saying providing material support for terrorism has been a crime in US law for years.

"Good morning, Mr Hicks, the reason this is happening is that the charges are not retrospective," he said.

Mr Howard says the scrapping of an attempted murder charge against David Hicks indicates the US military commission system is fair.

He says he wants the Guantanamo Bay detainee to face court.

"The fact that the attempted murder charge was thrown out indicates that the process is a lot fairer and a lot more independent of the critics of the Government suggested," he said.

Shadow attorney-general Kelvin Thomson insists Hicks will not receive a fair trial.

"After five years in Guantanamo Bay, David Hicks is now to be charged with something which was not an offence until last year," he said.

Terry Hicks suspects his son has not been told about the latest development but says the Australian Government could give his son legal assistance if it wanted to.

"They've got a little bit of leeway I suppose to get things organised," he said.

"But David's still facing a court system that the Americans won't even put their own through and the charges are being retrospective.

"So here we have the Australian Government saying they can't retrospect charges ... against David to bring him back."

The US lawyer for Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, says the Federal Government must challenge the American military over the terrorism charges laid against the South Australian.

The chief legal officer for the US military commissions, Judge Susan Crawford, formally approved the charge of providing material support of terrorism, but decided to drop another proposed charge of attempted murder.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of life in jail.

David Hicks, originally from Adelaide, is accused of training with terrorist group Al Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2001.

Hicks's US lawyer, Major Michael Mori, has told the ABC Radio's AM program the remaining charge against his client is without foundation, like the others that have already been dropped.

Major Mori is seeking an urgent meeting with federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock over the charges.

He says the charges prove the American military commission is fabricating offences.

"It's a made-up charge, it has a really impressive name, but it never existed in the law of war, in any of the US law of war manuals, or in any Australian law of war manual," he said.

"Again the United States administration, this military commission is fabricating offences, and trying to apply them retroactively to David and the Australian Government cannot be fooled a second time."

Major Mori says the Federal Government must become involved with the case before it goes to court .

"I want to speak to the Attorney-General's Department, make sure they understand the nature of the charge, the illegality of this new charge and it's about time they took some action and just didn't rely on US assurances any more," he said.

"We can not have another reinforcing of failure which the first commission system was, and putting David through an unfair system on made-up charges."

Meanwhile, the chief US military prosecutor, Colonel Moe Davis, is pleased the Hicks case is finally moving forward.

"We're anxious for the world to see that we're going to provide a fair trial and that this isn't a kangaroo process that Major Mori seems to represent that it is," he said.

"We're going to do this right and treat Mr Hicks properly and give him a fair proceedings.

Hicks will face a preliminary hearing within a month and a full military tribunal by July.

notwithstanding the obvious shameful travesty of justice being perpetrated against Hicks, our rogue rattus claims to be “very pleased” that the process has been expedited – this after Hicks has been held in solitary confinement & tortured for more than 5 years…..

As to the alleged “fairness” of the US Military Commission process, if it is so fair, how is it that US citizens facing identical accusations enjoy the full protection of the US Judicial system?

And as for the final, phoney charge laid against Hicks – “providing material support for terrorism” – where does that leave the likes of bushit, jabba, rummy, “aussie tony” & rattus - war criminals all?

There is no doubt who the people of Iraq & Afghanistan would judge to be the real “terrarists” & it sure isn’t David Hicks.