Sydney, July 04: Australian David Hicks, detained as a suspected terrorist by US authorities since late 2001, is among six detainees eligible for trial by military tribunal, attorney-general Daryl Williams said today.
Williams said Hicks had not been charged "at this time" and Canberra did not know if he would be, but had been assured that if he was tried by a military commission he would be entitled to the normal rights accorded to an accused in a criminal court. He would be entitled to a presumption of innocence, the requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt, access to legal representation, a right to silence without adverse inference and access to witnesses and documents.
Williams said Hicks' family, through his lawyer, had made public the fact that the young Adelaide man was one of six detainees in the US camp at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay who was on a list of prisoners US authorities had determined were eligible for trial. The list had been drawn up under a military order made by president George W Bush, in consultation with the defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"The Australian government has had very extensive discussions over a range of levels with US government authorities", Williams said.

"The purpose of these discussions, from an Australian point of view, was to ensure if any Australians are subject to military commission trial that the processes are fair and transparent". These assurances had been given.

Any suggestion of a conviction leading to a death sentence would not be supported by the Australian government.

Bureau Report