Former Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks prefers his prison cell to the prison yard after years of confinement, a report said Monday, just days ahead of the 'Aussie Taliban's' release. Hicks spent five years in US military custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and can no longer cope with open spaces, preferring enclosed rooms and artificial lighting to open air and sunshine, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.The former Muslim extremist who once described Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a "lovely brother", had only been into the prison yard once since he was returned to Australia in May, it said. "He tried to go out but he just said everything closed in on him," his father, Terry Hicks, told the paper.
The 32-year-old also suffered a panic attack on the one occasion he was removed from Yatala Labour Prison in South Australia as part of preparations for his December 29 release. The journey, to suburban Holden Hill police station, had to be called off because Hicks suffered the attack, believing he was back in the hands of the US military. "It was not good -- he had an anxiety thing," Terry Hicks said. "They told him he had no choice, he had to go (to Holden Hill) and they put him in the van and took him away. He just regressed back to Guantanamo Bay and he had such anxiety they had to bring him back."
Despite the reports of his fragile mental state, Hicks is still considered a terror risk and an Australian court on Friday imposed tough restrictions on his movements following his release. The magistrate placed Hicks under a midnight to 6:00 am curfew and ordered him to report to a police station three times a week. He is also banned from leaving Australia and there are limits on him owning a mobile phone.