Hicks ramps up bid to clear name

Hicks ramps up bid to clear name
Image: Former Guantanamo Bay inmate, David Hicks

The former Guantanamo Bay inmate looked healthy yet exhausted as lawyer Stephen Kenny announced they have filed documents in the US Court of Military Commission Review.

If successful, it will see David Hicks’ conviction for ‘providing material support for terrorism’ quashed.

In a room adorned by photographs of human rights warriors Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, Mr Hicks announced the official commencement of his legal bid to have his name cleared.

“Today is just the first step in a long process to correct the wrongs committed against me,” Mr Hicks told the press at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University last Thursday.

“This is important for myself, my family, and all those who have supported me over the years.”

Mr Hicks’ legal team will argue that his charge did not exist at the time of his capture in 2001. The Hamdam II decision handed down in the US last year held that the Military Commissions Act 2006 – the legislation that created the offence – could not retroactively punish crimes.

Mr Kenny stated: “It is clear in the US as it is in this country that you cannot plead guilty to a crime that does not exist.”

The second grounds of appeal is a contestation that Mr Hicks’ plea was entered under conditions of severe duress.

“During the time he was incarcerated he was beaten, sexually assaulted, injected with unknown substances, subject to sleep deprivation and endless periods of solitary confinement,” argued Mr Kenny. “There is no doubt that his treatment constituted torture.

“Because of his treatment, his lack of options, and the lack of support, David’s plea was involuntary, and as such must be set aside.”

Mr Hicks and his legal team have been working for over a year on this appeal, a process that began before the Hamdan II decision was handed down.

“I expect to wait at least a year for a decision … I have faith in the US civilian courts,” said Mr Hicks. Mr Kenny echoed the sentiment more confidently, telling the press gallery that Mr Hicks’ ordeal was the result of a “fiction”.

One potential roadblock is Mr Hicks’ right to appeal, supposedly rescinded under his plea bargain. Mr Kenny argued the waiver is inherently flawed by being improperly served after the conviction, and invalidated by the non-existence of the crime.

Nevertheless, any quashing of Mr Hicks’ conviction would still see detractors question his presence in a combat zone. He admitted to “receiving military training” and attested that most of his story really lay in Kashmir, the territory disputed by India and Pakistan.

When questioned about what it would mean to achieve justice, Mr Hicks responded “that this won’t happen again.”

“I am looking forward to putting Guantanamo behind me,” said Mr Hicks. “This formal acknowledgement of the illegality of the military commission’s system is the final step in this process.”

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