Ruddock plays down Guantanamo Bay boss’s Hicks comments
Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says he does not think comments by the head of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre means David Hicks is being denied the presumption of innocence.
Yesterday, Rear Admiral Harry Harris said Hicks, original from South Australia, is being kept in his cell for 22 hours a day because he is a dangerous terrorist.
But Mr Ruddock says there is no reason to believe people involved in the US military process will not take their obligations as seriously as Hicks’s defence lawyer.
“People draw a lot of conclusions about the American military and I think one of the things that ought to be acknowledged is that part of that military justice system includes Major [Michael] Mori and nobody could say he hasn’t been a fearsome advocate,” he said. In other developments:
- This is the living space in which Australian terror suspect David Hicks spends 22 hours of each day. (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1843742.htm)
- Greens leader Bob Brown says he is outraged that the head of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre has described David Hicks as a dangerous terrorist. (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1843612.htm)
- The Australian lawyer for Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks says comments by the detention centre’s chief are another example of the demonisation process being undertaken by the US and Australian governments. (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1843508.htm)
- The head of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre has described Australian detainee David Hicks as a dangerous terrorist. (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1843445.htm)