Today we have signed a letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US Congress, calling on the United States Congress to help bring David Hicks home immediately.
David Hicks, an Australian citizen, has been held at Guantanamo Bay for over five years now. That’s five years with no charges laid and no chance of his release in sight.
It is clear that the Howard Government has abandoned one of its own citizens to a military commission process that no other Western country considers acceptable.
There is no reason, other than a lack of political will and the stubbornness of the Howard Government, for David Hicks not to be returned to Australia immediately.
We have called on the Government repeatedly to reconsider its position, embrace the rule of law and to end the injustice for an Australian citizen overseas. But our concerns, and the concerns that have been expressed by the Australian public, have fallen on deaf ears
By signing this letter we are joining many other Federal Parliamentarians frustrated by the lack of action by the Howard Government to bring David Hicks home.
As outlined in the letter, we are not satisfied that the recently announced rules for Guantanamo Bay detainee trials will afford David Hicks a fair hearing, consistent with international legal standards and Australian law.
We are also concerned about reports by Australian psychiatrists that David Hicks is exhibiting signs of mental illness. This is not surprising given that he has reportedly spent most of the past five years in solitary confinement.
We condemn the Government for failing to take reports of David Hicks’ deteriorating mental health seriously, with Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock saying today “people respond to detention in different ways. I don’t hear most people detained in Australian are found to be unfit to plead simply because they’ve been detained”. This shows the Governments complete ignorance about the conditions at Guantanamo Bay.
We hope that the United States Congress considers our letter, and the letters sent by other members of the Australian Parliament, and will take steps to bring about the return of David Hicks to Australia.
We are committed to pursuing this matter vigorously and continuing to pressure the Government into bringing David Hicks home now.
Contact: Rachel Allen – 0418 488 295 (Lundy) Ash Musgrove – 0419 020 419 (Ellis)Margaret Watt – 0438 271 749 (McMullan)
