The father of an Australian terror suspect scorned the US military tribunal that his son will face, saying yesterday that his conviction seemed a foregone conclusion and accusing interrogators of abusing him during two years of detention at Guantanamo Bay.
The Pentagon said Thursday that David Hicks will be tried for alleged al-Qaeda activities in Afghanistan including conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who has been under fire at home for not doing enough to press for a quick trial for Hicks, welcomed the news and rejected suggestions that the man would not get a fair trial. He said the trial could start within two months.
"The first indication we had was the military commission could be convened, and I underline, could be convened, in August," he told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
Thursday's announcement was a relief to the premier, who promised progress on Hicks' case and who discussed the issue with US President George W. Bush last week.
In the southern city of Adelaide, Hicks' home town, his father Terry said he feared charges against his son could be based on information forced from him by interrogators.
"Most of this stuff David has said has probably been said under coercion or threats, so I suppose he could say anything," he said.
Lawyers for Hicks and fellow Australian detainee Mamdouh Habib have claimed both men have been abused while in US custody.
While Australia's federal opposition welcomed the news that Hicks had been charged after more than two years in custody, it also criticized the delay.
"It's a disgrace that he's been held for two and half years without being charged," said Labor lawmaker Nicola Roxon.
Hicks will not face the death penalty, according to terms the US agreed to last year in negotiations with Australia.
Hicks is charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy, the Pentagon said in a news release.
His military-appointed lawyers, who await more details of the charges and the trial, have questioned the veracity of the charges.
"David Hicks has not violated any law of war and shouldn't have been charged," US Army Major Michael Mori said. "It's unfortunate these charges will never be tested before a fair and established justice system."
Also see story:
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats