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Nine months imposed by Howard’s phony deal

David has pleaded guilty to “providing support to a ‘terrorist’ organisation” - a plea bargain very difficult to reject by anyone in his position. His ‘crime’ is unknown in Australian law and was only recently created in the US. Even National Senator Barnaby Joyce said: ‘The only thing that is guilty here is the
judicial process under which [David] was being tried’.

David has been languishing in the hell hole of the US naval base of Guantanamo since 11 January 2002. He was condemned by the Howard government to 5 years of hell. Howard confessed that just a phone call would have freed David from this ordeal, but he refused to do so. In 2004, a military commission, a kangaroo court, was set under US executive orders to determine the fate of those charged at Guantanamo. In June 2006 the MC was found unlawful by the US Supreme Court. Initial charges against David were dismissed. In October 2006 US Congress approved of an unconstitutional MC, currently being challenged in the US Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, David’s new charge: “providing material support for terrorism” was introduced – a retrospective charge non-existent in international law. Howard’s phony deal with the US administration means David has been imposed ‘gag orders’ and another 9 months of imprisonment, not because of
David’s guilt but for Howard to have a smooth run before the next Federal election.

Rush is on to cover cracks with 'guilty' plea
Date: March 9 2007
Is the United States performing the unsightly trick of talking out of both sides of its mouth at once? It looks like it. On Wednesday the US ambassador in Canberra, Robert McCallum, said that in relation to the David Hicks case, "Australians are understandably angry and distraught by the delay". This, he added, was a sentiment he shared.

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Hicks case pulled in all directions
Date: March 9 2007

DAVID HICKS has become mired in a legal tug-of-war, with the US ordering him to stand trial in 11 days at the same time as the Federal Court has rejected the Australian Government's attempt to block a case to have him brought home.

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I am delighted this Human Rights Education Conference is being held, it is timely, it is important. The more understanding there can be about basic human rights for men, women and children, for people of all religions, for minorities, for the disadvantaged, for all people, the better it will be and the sooner our society will return to one of decency and charity.

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The first detainees arrived in Guantanamo four months to the day after the 9/11 attacks. From the opening of Camp X-Ray--the first site of imprisonment, notorious for its tin-roofed open-air cages--to the recently completed permanent prison known as Camp 6, critics have called for its closure. Even President Bush has said, "I'd like to end Guantanamo. I'd like it to be over with." Yet he refuses to close it because, he says, it holds detainees who "will murder somebody if they are let out on the street."

This afternoon, all Senators will be forced to vote on whether Government legal advice on the new US Military Commissions should be made public. "If the Government has nothing to hide, this should be an easy motion for them," Democrats' Attorney-Generals Spokesperson Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said.

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Prime Minister John Howard is facing further pressure from within the Coalition over the amount of time it is taking for Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks to be brought to trial. Federal Liberal MP from Queensland, Michael Johnson, is the latest Coalition MP to raise the matter of Hicks with Mr Howard.

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The European Parliament has criticised its own member-states for turning a blind eye to the American practice of extraordinary rendition. Extraordinary rendition refers to the transporting of terrorist suspects to places beyond the reach of American human rights laws.

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NEW YORK - New Details Emerge of "Baptizing" of Detainees and Koran Desecration; ACLU Questions FBI Failure to Investigate Detainee Abuse. 

The American Civil Liberties Union today released more than 200 pages of documents obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation detailing 26 eyewitness accounts by agents of detainee abuse, 17 of which the Bureau apparently chose not to investigate further.

After extensive testing, today we have launched a new feature - a completely different look for the campaign pages on the 2007 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras campaign.

As with all other site features, we welcome feedback and would appreciate it if you could report any issues you may notice with this new feature.

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