Australian man may get life in prison on terrorism charge

Published: Friday, March 02, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration filed charges Thursday against David Hicks, an Australian suspected of aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan and the first terrorism-war era detainee to be charged under the new law for military commissions.


Hicks, whose case has drawn international attention, is a former kangaroo skinner captured in Afghanistan in December 2001. He has been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than five years without trial.

According to a Defense Department announcement, Hicks is being charged with "providing material support for terrorism." He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

U.S. officials assured the Australians nearly a year ago that, if convicted, Hicks could serve his sentence in Australia, a defense official said.

Despite a recommendation by military prosecutors that he also be charged with attempted murder for battling coalition forces in Afghanistan, officials decided to drop that charge.



"This is an important milestone for military commissions," said Cmdr. J.D. Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.

Hicks was among 10 detainees who had been charged with crimes under the earlier law that the court struck down. Then, he had been charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.

Last month, military prosecutors recommended that Hicks be charged with attempted murder and providing support for terrorism.

On Thursday, Susan Crawford, the head of the military commissions, formally charged Hicks only with providing material support for terrorism. The military offered no immediate explanation of why the attempted murder charge was dropped.

The military eventually hopes to charge 60 to 80 of the Guantanamo detainees - none of whom have ever gone to trial.
