by Tim Witcher
GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE, Cuba, Aug 25 (AFP) - A US military tribunal on Wednesday charged Australian Taliban fighter David Hicks with warcrimes after he was allowed to meet his family for the first time in five years.
The 29-year-old former ranch hand and kangaroo hunter made his first public appearance since he was captured in Afghanistan in December 2001.
He was charged with conspiracy to attack civilians and civilian targets, attempted murder and aiding the enemy by fighting alongside the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that was deposed in 2001.
Wearing a grey suit, Hicks, a small, stocky figure, had flecks of grey in his hair that made him appear older, but otherwise appeared healthy. He spoke only to say he was happy with his defence team.
Before the hearing, Hicks was allowed to meet his father, Terry, and stepmother, Bev.
"At the request of the Australian government, arrangements were made for David Hicks`s family to meet with him for 15 minutes before this morning`s proceedings began, in a secure room in the commission building," said a military spokesman.
"There were no guards in the room," he added.
"At the conclusion of proceedings, they will have another meeting for approximately 30 minutes."
The meeting took place just after Hicks was taken in a convoy of vans from Camp Delta, where the remaining 585 war on terror detainees have been held in isolation for more than two and a half years, to the commission building.
His lawyers have said he will plead not guilty to all charges. His Australian lawyer, Stephen Kenny, said Tuesday a new attempt to launch civil action in US courts was being prepared.
Terry Hicks said after his arrival that it would be an emotional reunion. "We have got five years of catching up, so we will probably have a good session."
He also criticised the US military commissions, which he said are not "honest and fair", and the Australian government, which he said "demonised" his son from the start of his detention in late 2001.
Hicks is said to have gone to Pakistan and then Afghanistan after converting to Islam in 2000. Before that, he had fought with an Islamic-led militia in Kosovo during the Balkans war in 1999.
The US military accuses him of joining a radical Pakistani group which sent him to Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. The charges also say he fired at coalition forces fighting the Taliban.
"David has been an adventurer all his life. He has always wanted to see what was over the next fence, and as he got older, the fence got taller," the father said.
The Australian government has faced criticism at home for supporting the military commission process started by the US authorities.
But Australian Prime Minister John Howard said his government would seek Hicks`s immediate release if he is acquitted.
Howard, one of Washington`s closest allies, said in a radio interview: "I can tell you, if he is found innocent, he will be let go."
On Tuesday, Osama bin Laden`s personal driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a 34-year-old Yemeni, was formally charged in the first hearing of the new military commissions.
Hamdan wore a traditional white Arab robe and did not have the shackles that Guantanamo detainees are forced to wear.
He will make a plea at a new hearing in November, after a number of motions made by his lawyer have been ruled on.
Hamdan`s lawyer, Navy Lieutenant Commander Charlie Swift asked for the presiding judge and four of the panel members to be taken off the case.
The military-appointed lawyer said presiding officer Colonel Peter Brownback was not qualified to hear the cases and objected to two officers who were involved in operations in Afghanistan.
Swift said the United States "appears to be meting out victor`s justice" by letting the officers stay on the panel.