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Australian signs Guantanamo plea deal for seven years
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Australian Guantanamo prisoner David Hicks signed a plea agreement that limits his sentence for supporting terrorism against the United States to seven years in prison, the military tribunal judge said on Friday. But it was unclear whether that would include the five years that Hicks has already been held at the U.S. prison camp for foreign terrorism suspects. Appearing at the U.S. military's war crimes tribunal court at Guantanamo on Friday, Hicks acknowledged that he trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan and fought with its forces against U.S. allies in Afghanistan in late 2001 for two hours and then sold his gun to raise cab fare and tried to flee to Pakistan. He denied having any advance knowledge of the Sept 11 attacks. The 31-year-old former farmhand from Adelaide pleaded guilty on Monday to providing material support for terrorism. Hicks will serve his prison term in Australia. At the tribunal, the military accused Hicks of training with al Qaeda, taking up arms to join the Taliban and fighting U.S. forces and their allies in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks. Hicks is not accused of actually shooting anyone. A convert to Islam who has since abandoned the faith, he sold his gun to raise cab fare and was captured trying to flee to Pakistan by taxi in December 2001. To finalize his plea, Hicks must convince the judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, that he knowingly lent his services to an international terrorist group engaged in an armed conflict with the United States. Hicks was in the first group of prisoners brought to Guantanamo in January 2002 and has said he was abused by his captors, which the U.S. military denies. Posted by: tu3031 2007-03-30 |
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