Aussie Terror Convict Freed From Prison

Confessed Al Qaeda Backer Was First Person To Be Convicted At U.S. War Crimes Trial Since WWII

(AP)  Confessed terror supporter David Hicks was released from an Australian prison Saturday after completing a U.S.-imposed sentence for aiding al Qaeda.

Hicks became the first person convicted at a U.S. war crimes trial since World War II after he pleaded guilty in March to providing material support to a terrorist organization.

Caught fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan in December 2001, Hicks spent more than five years without trial at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before a plea deal secured his transfer to Australia earlier this year.

The 32-year-old former Outback cowboy and kangaroo skinner was freed from South Australia state's Yatala prison where he was picked up by his father and lawyer and driven away in a civilian car with a police escort.

Dozens of reporters and around 20 supporters gathered to catch a glimpse of the confessed Taliban gunman, who was taken to a secret location.

Hicks did not stop to comment. But Hicks' father, Terry, and lawyer David McLeod later read a short statement in which Hicks thanked his family, friends and legal advocates for helping to secure his release.

Hicks refused to speak to the media directly for fear of being sent back to Guantanamo Bay. Under his plea deal, Hicks agreed to remain silent about any alleged abuse he suffered while in custody and also forfeited any right to appeal his conviction and agreed not to speak with the news media for a year from his sentencing date.

"It is my intention to honor this agreement as I don't want to do anything that might result in my return there," Hicks said in the statement.

Terry Hicks told reporters on Friday that his son would apologize for any wrongdoing he committed while in Afghanistan, but the statement contained no such apology. Asked about the omission, Terry Hicks said his son had served his time and had nothing to be sorry about.

During his incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, Hicks became somewhat of a cause celebre in Australia, where many activists and outspoken politicians criticized former Prime Minister John Howard for allowing an Australian to languish for years in a foreign jail without trial.

Around 20 supporters cheered at Hicks' release Saturday and held up signs that read, "Hicks is not a threat," an apparent reference to a recent court order allowing the government to place strict controls on the 32-year-old's movements.

Last week, a federal magistrate ruled that Hicks was a security risk because of the training he acknowledged receiving in terrorist camps in Afghanistan. The court was told he met al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at least 20 times, describing him as a "lovely brother" in letters home.

The magistrate ordered Hicks to report to police three times a week and obey a curfew by staying indoors at premises to be agreed on by police. Other restrictions include that he not leave Australia or contact a list of terror suspects. The restrictions will last for one year.

Throughout his ordeal, Hicks' lawyers referred to their client as a misguided adventurer who only traveled to Afghanistan because his application to join the Australian army had been rejected due to his lack of education. Terry Hicks has regularly maintained his son's innocence, saying he never intended to do anyone harm.

Hicks' family and lawyers have said he is suffering from psychological problems related to his long detention at Guantanamo Bay, but that he is now focused on finding a job to fund university courses in environmental studies. Now that his sentence is over, they say Hicks just wants to lead a normal life.

The only other Australian to be sent to Guantanamo Bay was Mamdouh Habib, who was detained in Pakistan in October 2001 and released in January 2005 after officials found there was insufficient evidence to lay charges.

[michellet35]

If you%u2019d like to read an extraordinary speech about Middle East issues that was given by Newt Gingrich on 11/15/07, then go here:
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/terrorism.php?id=1385641
It%u2019s entitled %u201CSleepwalking Into a Nightmare%u201D, and it%u2019s as good as it gets. When it comes to people that actually %u201Cget it%u201D in regards to the threats from radical Islam, Newt is virtually without peer.

[speakinup]

FeelFree1 - I''ll speak my opinion on this web site, when ever and where ever I please. You can beg all you want, but it ain''t gonna stop.

And, by the way, Hugo Chavez lover, - his being caught while fighting with the Taliban is NOT constitionally protected, at least not in THIS country.

Or, were you speaking about the Venezuelan constitution ?

Like I said, he should have been shot on sight. Now neutering will have to do, once one of those Aussies finds him that lost their kin in Bali.

[speakinup]

===If my friends had died in the hotel blast in, where was it Bali, I''''''''d hunt you down like the piece of slim you are and neuter you.===
posted by speakinup

"Somehow, I doubt you would have the courage to do that. Brave words fromn behind your keyboard.
Posted by Rafterman1




You really are witless aren''t you ? My point is, I DIDN''T lose anyone in Bali, but lots of Aussis did, and they WILL cut his gonads off. Grow a brain rafter.

[inventagod]

Just wait a year until his book comes out...

They will be trying to indict Bu$h and Cheney for decades - war crimes have no statute of limitations, boys

[sgtrds]

His case was a travesty from the beginning. He never should have been kidnapped by the US government or held in the concentration camp at Gitmo. He should tell the US to go to hell when it comes to the part of the plea deal where he won''t reveal the abuses he suffered at Gitmo and bring it all out into the open. It''s about time someone laced the boil that is this administration''s version of justice and drained all of the pus out of it once and for all.

[sevenveils]

The Taliban brand of brainwashing was intense for this individual. For someone so distant to Afghanistan and completely foreign to its culture this person was prepared to die for a cause that was not his. The brainwashing techniques of the Taliban and al Qaeda have been derived from the very successful applications of brainwashing by the scientologists.

[toolmangler-2009]

according to feely1, the only innocent terrorists are those in prison or where ever they live. The only guilty people are western christians and Jews.

Don''t tell me not to put words in your mouth, you have never said a kind word about anybody not involved in terrorism. Your every word is a denouncation of all things, western and American or Jewish.

[rafterman1]

===If my friends had died in the hotel blast in, where was it Bali, I''''d hunt you down like the piece of slim you are and neuter you.===
posted by speakinup

Somehow, I doubt you would have the courage to do that. Brave words fromn behind your keyboard.

[feelfree1]

speakinup,

Re: "I don''t know who he includes in his ''Many of us'', but it certainly doesn''t include any freedom loving folks."

I was referring to people who value our constitution, and who have a basic sense of common decency.

I am not surprised that this group does not include you.

Nobody is interested in your brand of "freedom", besides a handful of dead-enders.

Take your tantrums somewhere else please.

[speakinup]

"Many of us deeply regret that those who have seized power here, imprisoned and tortured you into making a false confession before a kangaroo court. I know that we can never make it up to you, but we are working to bring the Bush regime terrorists to justice, and we will not quit until we achieve this objective. - feelfree1

In case anyone reading the above isn''t aware - feelfree1 is a self-professed hugo chavez loving communist. He has on called BOTH Hillary and Bush Nazis.

I don''t know who he includes in his ''Many of us'', but it certainly doesn''t include any freedom loving folks.

Hicks should have been shot during the battle he was captured in.

[speakinup]

"It is my intention to honor this agreement as I don''t want to do anything that might result in my return there," Hicks said in the statement.


So much for GITMO not being effective. Thank-you Mr Hicks for letting all of your Al Qaeda friends what a hell hole it can be.

Pleasant dreams - you human piece of garbage. I hope your fellow country men give you the ''warm'' welcome you deserve.

If my friends had died in the hotel blast in, where was it Bali, I''d hunt you down like the piece of slim you are and neuter you.

Make sure you look over your shoulder, garbage!

[feelfree1]

Re: "before a kangaroo court"

Is that a pun?

Posted by Stezzer

###

Ha,ha! Purely accidental, I assure you!

[b-easy63]

"Under his plea deal, Hicks agreed to remain silent about any alleged abuse he suffered while in custody and also forfeited any right to appeal his conviction and agreed not to speak with the news media for a year from his sentencing date. "

Now why would our government cut a plea deal requiring someone to keep quiet about any alleged abuse? *** are we doing in our concentration camps?

[stezzer]

FeelFree1

"before a kangaroo court"

Is that a pun?

[feelfree1]

Re: "Confessed terror supporter David Hicks was released from an Australian prison Saturday after completing a U.S.-imposed sentence for aiding al Qaeda."

Congratulations, Mr. Hicks!

Many of us deeply regret that those who have seized power here, imprisoned and tortured you into making a false confession before a kangaroo court.

I know that we can never make it up to you, but we are working to bring the Bush regime terrorists to justice, and we will not quit until we achieve this objective.

Congratulations on your reinstated freedom.