 LONDON - David Hicks, the Australian terror suspect held at the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, will on Wednesday launch a legal bid to challenge a decision not to grant him British citizenship.
| "Youse can't do dat to me! I got rights!" |
The 30-year-old, whose mother was born and lived in England as a child, applied for a British passport earlier this year but the request was refused by British Home Secretary Charles Clarke.
Clarkeâs refusal was on the basis that Hicks had allegedly performed âan act prejudicial to the interests of the United Kingdomâ by attending terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
| "Get lost! And don't come back!" |
| "And take your rocket launcher with you!" |
Hicks has applied for permission to seek a judicial review of the decision. The case has been set down for one day before a judge at the High Court in London. The Islam terrorist convert, from the southern Australian city of Adelaide, was captured in Afghanistan in January 2002 for allegedly fighting alongside the ruling Taleban against US-led forces.
| Just another humanitarian who got lost one day in Pakistan. |
He has been held at Guantanamo Bay ever since.
| Just think of it as an extended free Caribbean vacation... |
The British citizenship application followed reported comments to his lawyer about wanting to be British like his mother in order to celebrate the England cricket teamâs win against Australia in the recent Ashes series.
| More likely it's the following reason: |
The British government has negotiated the removal of nine of its citizens from military custody at Guantanamo Bay while Australia has refused to do the same for Hicks, the countryâs only detainee.
| Somehow I just don't see this punk pledging to defend the Queen. |
Hicks had been due to be among the first detainees to face a military commission trial this month. But proceedings have been put back to at least mid-2006 pending a legal challenge in the US Supreme Court about the legitimacy of the process. Hicks has always denied charges of conspiracy to commit war crimes and aiding and abetting the enemy.
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