Guantanamo prisoner reunited with family
The father of an Australian cowboy accused of fighting with Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban saw his son for the first time in five years today as a US military commission panel gathered to hear charges against him.
David Hicks, 29, faces charges of conspiracy to commit war crimes, as well as aiding the enemy and attempted murder for allegedly firing at US or coalition forces in Afghanistan.
He arrived at the hearing at an American base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in a suit and tie.
“My expectation was that we would have David back to Australia after the first three months,” said father Terry Hicks, 58, after arriving from Adelaide with his wife, Beverly, Hicks’ stepmother. “I don’t think it is a fair and honest system.”
The US military said it would allow Hicks to meet with his parents after the preliminary hearing. They held a 15-minute meeting before the proceedings. There were no guards present but it was unclear whether Hicks was shackled.
Hicks, who arrived at the prison camp in Guantanamo in January 2002, could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. He was expected to plead innocent at today’s hearing.
