Australian Terror Detainee (David Hicks) to Be Released

Source: NY Times

SYDNEY, Australia — David Hicks, the only person sentenced by the military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try suspected terrorists, is scheduled to walk out of prison in Australia on Saturday morning, the government said, after serving nine months for providing support to a terrorist organization.Mr. Hicks had been held at Guantánamo for more than five years prior to his appearance before the military commission in March, when he pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain. The deal, in which Mr. Hicks acknowledged that prosecutors had the evidence to prove that he had been an Al Qaeda trainee who was prepared to fight Americans in Afghanistan in 2001, allowed him to serve out the remainder of his sentence in his native Australia. He also agreed not to speak to the press for one year.

Speaking from his modest home in Adelaide, South Australia state, Mr. Hicks’s father, Terry Hicks, said that his son was drafting a statement to express his regrets for the difficulties he has caused and to thank those who have supported him.

Mr. Hicks’s case has been highly politicized. After allowing Mr. Hicks to remain in Guantánamo for five years without any significant protest, Australia’s Prime Minister at the time, John Howard, came under significant domestic pressure to secure his release, or at least a trial. Mr. Howard made what was tantamount to such a demand on Vice President Dick Cheney when he came to Australia earlier this year. Formal charges and the plea bargain quickly followed.

After his release, Mr. Hicks will be subject to a so-called control order imposed by the Australian government. He is limited to one e-mail account, one mobile phone number and one land line, which must be registered with the police. He is also under a midnight to 6 a.m. curfew, and must report to the police three times a week.

“How is he supposed to get a bloody job if he has to report to the police three times a week?” Mr. Hicks’s father said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/world/asia/29hicks.html?ref=world

Now this is interesting....

From the article sabra linked:




OK, let me get this straight:

Pakistani intel runs Laskhar-i-Taibi.
Laskhar-i-Taibi has training camps in affiliation with Al Qaeda.
Pakistan is (supposedly) a US ally in the (repeat after me) Global War On Terror.
Al Qaeda is (supposedly) a US enemy in the (repeat after me) Global War On Terror.

Somehow, we haven't heard complaints from BushCo about this alliance.

I know, none of this probably shocks most DU readers.

Still, it's a bit jarring to see it reported so... matter-of-factly by the NYT. Buried of course 16 paragraphs into the article.

Or maybe not. :P

(Cross-posted from http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3117649">this thread.)