The announcement of proposed charges against Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks brings little relief, says his father Terry Hicks.Overnight, Colonel Morris Davis, the chief prosecutor for the upcoming US military commissions, announced Hicks would be one of the first three Guantanamo Bay inmates brought to trial. Col Davis has recommended Hicks be charged with "providing material support for terrorism and attempted murder in violation of the law of war". If convicted, the 31-year-old former jackeroo from Adelaide faces a maximum penalty of life in a US prison.
Col Davis "swore" the charges against Hicks today but they won't be formally laid until they have been approved by US military judge Susan Crawford - a process expected to take two weeks.
Terry Hicks says the new proposed charges are confusing and bring little promise that the process is moving forward. "There is in one way, but I would be more relieved if David was facing a fair and just situation, not virtually the same thing that they went through before, which has been ruled as illegal," Mr Hicks said today.