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Premier questions community threat posed by Hicks
South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson says the Premier is right to question the threat to the community posed by convicted terrorism supporter David Hicks.Hicks's Australian lawyer David McLeod is on his way to Cuba to bring his client back to Australia. The Guantanamo Bay detainee is scheduled to return to South Australia by May 29 to serve a nine-month sentence at Yatala prison. He is then expected to be released on December 29. As he departed yesterday, Mr McLeod criticised the State Government for trying to influence Hicks's treatment when he arrives. But Mr Atkinson says it is the Government's responsibility. "The State Government is responsible for the safety of South Australians," he said. "The Premier was right to put on the record in State Parliament exactly what David Hicks had admitted to. Those who want to treat David Hicks as a hero after that - I think the Premier's statement will give them some pause." Hicks could arrive in Australia as soon as the weekend. But Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says it is unlikely Hicks will be back by Sunday. Hicks's father, Terry, says the Government has gone over the top. "Nowhere in there it says he's killed anyone or blown anything up or anything like that," he said.
Posted by: Steve White 2007-05-14 |
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