CANBERRA - Supporters of Australian al Qaeda suspect David Hicks appealed to the Government yesterday to seek his repatriation from a United States military base in Cuba after Washington indicated it could release some foreign prisoners.
Hicks, a 26-year-old Islamic convert, was captured in Afghanistan in early December.
He is one of 300 foreign captives held at Camp X-Ray, a US military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Up to 100 people from Hicks' home town of Adelaide have set up a group, called "Fair Go For David", to demand he receive unbiased treatment after being held for nearly three months without charge.
Spokeswoman Trudy Dunn said previous appeals for Canberra to intervene with US authorities had fallen on deaf ears.
But the group renewed its lobbying efforts yesterday after US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at the weekend that Washington could repatriate British prisoners as long as they faced prosecution back home.
"More Australians are questioning what is seen as the inhumane detention and treatment of David. He's held in a cage which most Australians wouldn't use for a pet dog," said Dunn, a telephone saleswoman.
"Everyone, regardless of what they've done, deserves a fair trial ... "
Australian authorities said they had no plans at this stage to try to repatriate Hicks as it remained unclear which, if any, Australian laws he had broken.
"We're still investigating if he can be charged under Australian law," said a spokeswoman for Attorney-General Daryl Williams.
"We believe it is appropriate that he is held in military custody in Cuba while these investigations are ongoing.
- REUTERS
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Hicks' backers want him home
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