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ADELAIDE - Australians will get their first good look at the al Qaeda trained terrorism supporter David Hicks after his release from an Adelaide prison this morning.
While expected to show his face to the media, however, the man who has spoken with Osama bin Laden won't speak to waiting reporters after his release from Yatala jail at about 10am local time (12.30pm NZDT).
Instead, his lawyer David McLeod is expected to read a statement, including an apology, on Hick's behalf before the former Guantanamo Bay inmate is taken to a secret location in a bid to avoid further attention.
When the first photos of Hicks leaving the jail are published, Australians who have come to know Hicks by the stock pictures published in newspapers, such as the one of a fit, smiling Hicks in a blue V-neck T-shirt, will likely be surprised.
Hicks is short - at about 1.6m.
His father, David Hicks, said his 32-year-old son was feeling apprehensive about confronting the media.
"He is not fully aware of what's going to happen when he leaves the prison as far as the media goes - that will open his eye up.
"But he did tell us at this point he doesn't want to speak to the media because he is not sure how he will cope with it," Mr Hicks told the Seven Network today.
He was captured among Taleban forces in Afghanistan in December 2001 and transferred to the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the next month.
But it wasn't until March this year that he pleaded guilty to providing material support terrorism.
The father of two was subsequently returned to Australia to serve the remainder of his sentence as part of a plea bargain struck with the US.
Support groups say Hicks will need rehabilitation to adjust to life outside of jail but it could prove difficult because they say he has not been offered any assistance.
- AAP
