Guilty plea will not bury Hicks' story, Australian minister says

Mar 28, 2007, 2:15 GMT

Sydney - Australian David Hicks' confession at a US war crimes tribunal in Guantanamo Bay that he provided material support to terrorists won't stop a full account of his activities coming out, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Wednesday.

The Muslim convert held in the prison camp in Cuba since he was captured in Afghanistan in December 2001 surprised most observers Monday by entering a guilty plea at his arraignment before a military commission.

Downer said that the guilty plea meant Hicks would not face trial but that there was a requirement that he sign a record of the charges against him.

'You'll see over the next few days Hicks will sign up to a full admission of what he did,' Downer said. 'It's not just a question of a guilty plea but in the military commission process the judge will go through, allegation by allegation, in relation to the facts of what he was doing.'

Adelaide-born Hicks faced a maximum of 20 years in prison if he denied the charge and was then convicted. A guilty plea means a reduced sentence and a quick return to Australia, where Prime Minister John Howard's government insists he must serve any remainder of his jail time.

Colonel Morris Davis, the chief prosecutor at the Guantanamo military commissions, confirmed to Australia ABC Radio that the 31-year-old former kangaroos skinner would have to detail what he was admitting to.

'He'll have to acknowledge that he's in fact guilty and that he's pleading guilty voluntarily and for no other reason,' Davis said.

Hicks is the first Guantanamo inmate to have his case brought before the military commission set up to try terrorist suspects. His arraignment hearing marked the resumption of tribunals after they were halted in 2004 over lawsuits filed in US courts challenging their legitimacy.

Military prosecutors had alleged that Hicks attended al-Qaeda training sessions and travelled to Afghanistan from Pakistan after the September 11 attacks to join the fight against the US-led coalition.

While welcoming the guilty plea, Howard has been at pains not to gloat over it. 'The good thing is that the long delay has ended,' he said. 'The good thing is that justice is being met and I think that is something, that is a source of satisfaction.'

Those who campaigned for the release of Hicks continued to argue that he confessed only so he could leave Guantanamo. Those happy with the outcome pointed out that Hicks would have been home by the end of the year anyway because of Howard's insistence that any additional time be served in an Australian prison.

Government member of parliament Don Randall urged critics to take Hicks' plea at face value.

'He's pleaded guilty to the fact that he was doing something wrong, and that is providing material support to terrorism, and I think most Australians would be abhorred by the fact an Australian would be out there supporting a terrorist organization like al-Qaeda.'