And he's not even one of those Australian's by way of Riyadh....he's a real bloomin' Australian.
His name is David Hicks (OK, it was Mohammad Dawood, but now it's David Hicks again, since he's purportedly given up Islam...at least for Lent) and he's a kangaroo skinner by trade. There's actually a huge need for kangaroo skinners in Afghanistan, especially in June, right after the annual "running of the roos," in Kabul.
Anyway, Hicks has been charged with "providing material support for terrorism," which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He is the first Gitmo detainee to be charged under the new law for military commissions (detainees will be charged and tried in secret by military tribunals).
The U.S. military also wanted Hicks tried on attempted murder charges for battling coalition forces with the Taliban, a charge that carried a maximum sentence of death, but Susan Crawford, the head of the military commissions dropped both the attempted murder and siding with the enemy charges and charged Hicks only with providing material support for terrorism.
This past Fall, Congress passed a law thatoutlined the rules under which such detainees can be tried. it's designed to both protect classified information. The military tribunal provides detainees fewer rights than either civilian or open military courts do, but proponents argue that non-citizens aren't guaranteed every Constitutional right.
Once such formal charges are filed, a preliminary hearing will be scheduled within thirty days.
Australia's John Howard has asked that charges not be filed against Hicks by the U.S. so that he can be tried and punished in Australia.
NAMBLA's mouthpiece (the ACLU) among other organizations have vowed to challenge the new law in court.
1 comment:
Interesting to charge a person with a crime that did not exist when he was captured and held without charge for over 5 years. But that is Justice the American style
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