Mixed media: Justice for all

Prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, many for more than two years, are finally able to challenge their accusers

FAIR TRIAL?

INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCY: Pre-trial hearings at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, of prisoners taken in the US "war on terrorism" are "designed to convict", says one expert. The lack of attorney-client confidentiality, absence of an appeals process, classified testimony and the 2 1/2 years that many detainees have been held without access to lawyers has produced a legal system tilted against the defendants, says Michael Ratner, president of the Centre for Constitutional Rights. The four suspects arraigned include an accountant accused of working for the al Qaeda terrorist group, a poet accused of writing terrorist propaganda, a man alleged to have been the chauffeur for al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and an Australian who fought with the former ruling regime in Afghanistan, the Taleban, against US forces. - Eli Clifton -IPS News Agency

ASIAN-INDIAN PORTAL: Salim Ahmed Hamdan 34, from Yemen and Osama bin Laden's former driver was the first to appear. He postponed entering a plea to the charge of conspiracy to commit murder. He appeared without handcuffs or chains ... listening to an Arabic translation of the proceedings and occasionally smiling. Hamdan's military-appointed lawyer, Lieutenant Commander Charlie Swift, questioned the suitability of four panel members judging him, saying they had connections with the 9/11 attacks and the "war on terror" that could lead them to be biased. He said Hamdan, who denies terrorism, should have had the chance to contest his status as "enemy combatant" in a US civilian court. - Indolink, Asian Indian web portal

A CORRESPONDENT: The alleged terrorist [Salim Ahmed Hamdan] had little chance to speak except to say la (no) and na'am (yes) as his defence counsel almost immediately began to challenge the legitimacy of the hearings. Asked by the defence whether he believed the orders establishing the military commission were lawful, Colonel Brownback paused, and to the surprise of some observers, said: "I choose not to answer that question at this time." Asked again by the military prosecutor, Commander Scott Lang, Colonel Brownback replied that he had "a duty to comply" with any order, even if it was "questionable". Security is tight ... but observers from the American Bar Association, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been allowed into the hearings. - Australian correspondent, telegraph.co.uk

KANGAROO COURT

AUSTRALIAN DAILY: David Hicks last night saw his father for the first time in five years, just hours ahead of his appearance before a US war crimes tribunal. Hicks, 29, a former jackaroo and kangaroo hunter, will become the second detainee at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to appear before the military commissions. Mr Hicks said he had been looking forward to giving his son a hug. Mr Hicks said he believed his son should be tried in a civil court in Australia. - Herald Sun AFP

HOMETOWN USA: David Hicks always had a taste for excitement. After dropping out of high school he rode broncos and bulls at rodeos, skinned kangaroos, went fishing for sharks and worked as a cowboy in the harsh Australian Outback. But after a stint as a racehorse trainer in Japan, his adventurous spirit took him on an even more dangerous path - one that ultimately landed him in a small cell in Guantanamo Bay. Hicks' father Terry believes his son read about atrocities being carried out by Serb forces in Kosovo in 1999 and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to join the Kosovo Liberation Army. David Hicks was in Kosovo for only six weeks, but during that time he was introduced to Islam, a faith that apparently gave his life a direction it had been lacking, his father said. - Kansas City Star- AP

TV EYE: An Australian detainee accused of fighting for the Taleban in Afghanistan was arraigned before a military commission ... where he pleaded "not guilty" to all charges. David Hicks is one of only four detainees who have been charged so far. All face charges of conspiracy to attack civilians, conspiracy to attack civilian objects, murder by an unprivileged belligerent, destruction of property by an unprivileged belligerent, and terrorism. Hicks faces two additional charges of attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy. Hicks, appearing older than his 29 years, entered the courtroom He was clean-shaven and wore a gray suit. - CNN.com.