David Hicks

David Hicks
Born	(1975-08-07) August 7, 1975 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Other names	Muhammed Dawood
Occupation(s)	Former militant trainee, author
Known for	Detention at Guantanamo Bay, involvement with al-Qaeda training camps

David Matthew Hicks (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian national who received training at al-Qaeda's Al Farouq camp located in Afghanistan. After embracing Islam, Hicks traveled to Pakistan to further explore his religious beliefs, which eventually led him to the training facility. He asserted that he was unaware of al-Qaeda’s attacks targeting civilians and met Osama bin Laden in 2001.

Later that same year, Hicks was apprehended and handed over to U.S. authorities for prosecution. He was held at Guantanamo Bay from 2002 until 2007 and reported experiencing torture by American personnel. Convicted under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, his verdict was later nullified in 2012 because the legislation was enacted after the time of his alleged offenses.

Early life

David Hicks was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to parents Terry and Susan Hicks. At the age of ten, his parents separated. His father described him as "a typical boy who struggled to settle," while a former school principal labeled him "one of the most challenging students." During his teenage years, Hicks experimented with drugs and alcohol and was expelled from Smithfield Plains High School at the age of 14. With his father’s approval, he discontinued formal schooling before reaching 15 years old. Although a former partner accused him of engaging in criminal acts such as vehicle theft for financial support, there is no record of adult convictions.

Hicks held a variety of jobs, including factory labor and work on remote cattle stations across the Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia.

Marriage and family

At 17, Hicks met Jodie Sparrow in Adelaide and became a father figure to her daughter. The couple had two children together, Bonnie and Terry, before separating in 1996. Subsequently, Hicks relocated to Japan where he worked as a horse trainer. In 2009, he married Aloysia Brooks. In April 2017, Hicks faced court over an alleged assault involving a subsequent partner; however, the charges were dismissed and legal costs were awarded against the South Australia Police.

Guantanamo Bay

In 2007, Hicks entered a guilty plea under a negotiated agreement for providing material support to terrorism before a United States Guantanamo military commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. He received a suspended sentence and was repatriated to Australia. This conviction was overturned by the US Court of Military Commission Review in February 2015.

Hicks was among the initial individuals charged and convicted under the Military Commissions Act, which drew significant criticism both within Australia and internationally regarding his treatment, evidentiary basis, trial process, and the legal framework employed. In October 2012, the US Court of Appeals invalidated the charge due to its retroactive enforcement. By January 2015, US officials acknowledged that Hicks’ conviction was flawed and did not contest his innocence.

After converting to Islam in 1999 and adopting the name Muhammed Dawood (محمد داود), Hicks was later publicly criticized for insufficient religious practice. Captured by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan in December 2001, he was sold to US forces for a $5,000 bounty and subsequently transported to Guantanamo Bay as an enemy combatant. During detention, Hicks alleged he endured torture including forced anal examinations.

The initial charges against Hicks were filed in 2004 under a military commission system established by Presidential Order; however, this system was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006). Congress later reinstated a revised version of the commissions. New charges were brought against him in February 2007 before this reconstituted tribunal. In March 2007, Hicks entered an Alford plea admitting to providing material support for terrorism as part of a pre-trial agreement. His defense team argued that his acceptance of the plea resulted from desperation for release and coercion due to harsh detention conditions violating international human rights standards.

Return to Australia

In April 2007, Hicks came back to Australia to complete the remaining nine months of a suspended seven-year sentence, during which he was prohibited from engaging with the media. Some critics contended that his release was postponed until after the 2007 Australian federal election. Colonel Morris Davis, who formerly served as the Pentagon’s chief prosecutor, later acknowledged political interference by both the Bush administration and the Howard government, asserting that Hicks should not have faced prosecution.

Hicks served his sentence at Yatala Labour Prison in Adelaide and was freed under a control order on 29 December 2007, which remained in effect until December 2008. He continues to reside in Adelaide and has authored an autobiography.

Religious and militant activities

Hicks embraced Islam and studied Wahhabism at a mosque located in Gilles Plains, Adelaide. The president of the Islamic Society of South Australia remarked that Hicks exhibited "some interest in military matters" and pursued Islam following his own research.

In 2010, Hicks clarified that his conversion was motivated less by spiritual reasons and more by a wish to belong and connect with individuals concerned with global issues, reflecting youthful impulsiveness.

He renounced Islam during his early detention at Guantánamo Bay. In 2006, former detainee Moazzam Begg reported that Hicks had abandoned his faith and faced criticism from fellow prisoners for not observing religious practices. This was corroborated by Hicks’ military attorney, Major Michael Mori, who described it as a personal decision.

Kosovo Liberation Army

In approximately May 1999, Hicks traveled to Albania intending to join the Kosovo Liberation Army. The US military claimed he underwent basic training and engaged in combat before returning to Australia and converting to Islam. The KLA, predominantly Catholic, did not embrace Islamic fundamentalism. The Kosovo War concluded in June 1999, leading to the disbandment of the KLA under UNSCR 1244. Hicks characterized his experience with the KLA as transformative and began studying at a mosque in Gilles Plains, Adelaide upon his return.

Lashkar-e-Taiba

On 11 November 1999, Hicks journeyed to Pakistan to pursue Islamic studies and allegedly received training with Lashkar-e-Taiba (L-e-T) in early 2000. Charges brought by the US Military Commission in 2004 accused him of training at the Mosqua Aqsa camp in Pakistan before participating in hostile operations against Indian forces in Kashmir.

In a letter dated March 2000, Hicks described undergoing three months of training at a camp in Pakistan-Kashmir followed by a decision to enter Indian-administered Kashmir. By August 2000, he claimed he had been accommodated by Pakistan’s military near front lines and had fired hundreds of rounds during clashes with Indian troops.

Hicks maintained comprehensive notes on weaponry, explosives, and combat tactics, highlighting guerrilla warfare as a form of "sacrifice for Allah." His diary contained drawings of firearms such as Heckler & Koch submachine guns, M16 assault rifles, RPG-7 grenade launchers, anti-tank rockets, along with strategies for VIP security infiltration. Correspondence sent to family detailed extensive training on ballistic missiles, machine guns, pistols, AK-47 rifles, mines, and explosives, stating he was "war-ready" after three months.

In January 2001, Hicks received financial support and an introductory letter from Lashkar-e-Taiba before traveling to Afghanistan for additional training. According to his autobiography Guantanamo: My Journey, he was unaware of Al-Qaeda until after his detention at Guantanamo Bay.

Afghanistan

After arriving in Afghanistan, Hicks is reported to have gone to an al-Qaeda guesthouse where he encountered Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda. For protection, he handed over his passport and assumed the name "Muhammad Dawood". It is alleged that Hicks participated in several al-Qaeda training programs, acquiring skills in guerrilla warfare, weaponry—including landmine usage—kidnapping, and assassination methods. Additionally, he completed an advanced surveillance course that involved reconnaissance of former US and British embassy premises in Kabul. Subsequently, Hicks was dispatched to train with the Pakistani group L-e-T for missions in the contested Kashmir region.

Hicks refutes any association with al-Qaeda or awareness of its existence prior to his Guantanamo Bay interrogation. He asserts that he attended conventional camps rather than terrorist ones and lacked access to covert terrorist operations due to his background and language barriers.

The US Department of Defense claims Hicks interrogated al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden about training materials that were not available in English and began translating them. Hicks denies this assertion; both Major Michael Mori and detainee Moazzam Begg have attested that Hicks did not possess sufficient Arabic language skills. Hicks acknowledged exaggerating the number of his encounters with bin Laden—initially stating he met him 20 times but later revising this to approximately eight meetings and one conversation.

Prosecutors allege that Hicks was questioned by al-Qaeda military commander Mohammed Atef regarding his personal background and travel patterns within Australia. In a memoir later discredited, detainee Feroz Abbasi described Hicks as "Al-Qaedah's 24 [carat] Golden Boy" and a favored recruit during training at the al-Farouq camp near Kandahar. The memoir further claimed Hicks trained alongside recruits from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and made violent remarks while detained at Camp X-Ray.

September 2001

On 9 September 2001, Hicks traveled from Afghanistan to Pakistan to visit a friend. According to a statement from the US Department of Defense, after watching television coverage of the 11 September attacks while in Pakistan, Hicks returned to Afghanistan to rejoin al-Qaeda associates for combat against coalition forces including those from the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Afghanistan. Hicks contests this version in his autobiography. Although Lashkar-e-Taiba (L-e-T) provided documentation facilitating his return to Australia, Hicks feared arrest due to forged documents and instead returned to retrieve his passport and birth certificate before traveling back home to Adelaide.

Upon reaching Kandahar, Hicks reported to Saif al Adel who assigned him a position. Equipped with an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, and grenades, he opted to fight alongside al-Qaeda members defending Kandahar airport. Following coalition airstrikes commencing in October 2001, Hicks guarded a Taliban tank emplacement near the airport for about a week before relocating closer to the frontline in Kunduz with an acquaintance from L-e-T. There he joined others including John Walker Lindh.

Colonel Morris Davis, chief prosecutor for the US Military Commissions, stated that Hicks intended to return to Australia when the 9/11 attacks occurred. After learning about the events, Hicks reportedly expressed approval and returned to Afghanistan to report for duty under al-Qaeda leadership. Davis compared Hicks’ purported conduct with individuals involved in terrorist incidents such as the Bali bombings, London attacks, Madrid bombings, and the Beslan hostage crisis. Terry Hicks recalled that during a November 2001 telephone call his son was initially unaware but later skeptical about the 9/11 attacks and mentioned David’s plan to defend Kabul against Northern Alliance forces.

In October and November 2001, Hicks sent letters to his mother under the pseudonym Abu Muslim Austraili to avoid interception. In these letters he expressed his interpretation of jihad and martyrdom:

As a young Muslim who is fit my duty is to protect my brothers from aggressive non-believers... Islam will prevail again but for now we must be patient... There are many rewards in heaven... I get to bring ten family members who were destined for hell into heaven with me but first I must be martyred... We will all die eventually so why not be martyred?

Hicks also authored anti-Semitic letters published in The Australian, alleging "The Jews have complete financial and media control many of them are in the Australian government" and asserting "Western society is controlled by the Jews."

In November 2005, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners broadcasted a transcript of a 2002 interview between Hicks and Australian Federal Police. The program disclosed that Hicks had signed a statement prepared by American military investigators admitting involvement in training with al-Qaeda in guerrilla tactics and urban warfare. It also reported that he claimed having met Osama bin Laden and expressed disapproval of the 9/11 attacks but stated he was unable to leave Afghanistan. In his autobiography, Hicks denied participating in combat against US or allied forces and maintained that he signed the statement under coercion.

Capture and detention

Around 9 December 2001, Hicks was apprehended near Kunduz, Afghanistan, by a "Northern Alliance warlord" and subsequently transferred to US Special Forces on 17 December 2001 for a payment of US$5000. According to Hicks's father, Terry, his son was seized unarmed while in the back of a truck or van rather than during active combat.

In 2002, Terry Hicks initiated efforts to have his son returned to Australia for trial. By 2003, the Australian government formally requested an expedited trial for Hicks and provided consular assistance alongside legal support through the Special Circumstances Overseas Scheme.

Torture allegations

In an affidavit dated 5 August 2004 and made public in December of that year, Hicks detailed various abuses he endured at the hands of US personnel. These included being beaten while blindfolded and restrained, coerced into taking unidentified drugs, sedated without consent and assaulted during sedation, forced to run with leg shackles resulting in injury, subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation, sexually assaulted, and witnessing the use of attack dogs against detainees.

He recounted encounters with US military investigators who were examining detainee mistreatment in Afghanistan and reported communicating these abuses to the International Red Cross. In 2004, Hicks informed his family that he had been anally assaulted during interrogations while hooded and bound; his father described this experience as "quite brutal." Terry Hicks discussed these claims during an interview on ABC's Four Corners.

Hicks attributed mistreatment to both Northern Alliance fighters and US soldiers. The Australian government accepted assurances from the US that Hicks was treated in compliance with international legal standards.

In March 2006, all ten Guantanamo detainees facing charges were placed in solitary confinement prior to their tribunals. Hicks remained isolated for seven weeks following the US Supreme Court decision declaring military commissions unconstitutional, which reportedly exacerbated his condition.

Though considered a "well-behaved detainee," Hicks was confined to his cell for 23 hours each day. His cell’s window looked onto an internal corridor. He reportedly avoided visits from Australian Consular officials due to fear of repercussions stemming from previous frank discussions about his detention conditions. While isolated at Camp Echo, Hicks exhibited suicidal thoughts, including attempts to harm himself by banging his head against the cell walls.

Initial charges

On 26 August 2004, Hicks was formally charged by a US military commission.

While detained at Guantanamo, Hicks signed a statement acknowledging he had received training at al-Qaeda camps, describing these as venues where Muslims prepared for military operations and Jihad. The US indictment claimed that prior to his capture in 2001, Hicks trained with Islamist groups and acted as an "unprivileged belligerent" aiding enemy forces without specifying direct involvement in violent acts. The primary allegations included:

• Traveling to Pakistan in November 1999 to join Lashkar-e-Toiba.
• Undergoing two months of weapons training at Lashkar-e-Toiba camps; serving near Pakistan administered Kashmir in 2000.
• Journeying to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in January 2001 carrying a letter from Lashkar-e-Toiba addressed to senior al-Qaeda operative Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi; adopting the alias "Mohammed Dawood".
• Completing eight weeks of weapons and explosives instruction at al-Qaeda’s al-Farouq camp near Kandahar.
• Participating in an additional seven-week course focused on marksmanship, ambush tactics, camouflage, and intelligence gathering.
• Translating al-Qaeda training documents from Arabic into English upon Osama bin Laden’s request.
• Receiving urban combat training at Tarnak Farm camp under Mohammed Atef in June 2001.
• Studying intelligence collection techniques and Islamic theology in Kabul during August 2001.
• Being present in Pakistan during the September 11 attacks.
• Returning to Afghanistan anticipating a US-led offensive against the Taliban regime.
• Assigned to defend Kandahar airport alongside al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters before relocating northward to engage Coalition forces.
• Captured near Konduz on 9 November 2001 amid combat with Coalition troops.

On 29 June 2006, the US Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that military commissions violated US law and the Geneva Conventions, effectively nullifying charges against Hicks.

In January 2007, Colonel Morris Davis, chief prosecutor for Guantanamo military commissions, asserted that Hicks had been armed against US forces and conducted surveillance on American and international embassies. Davis alleged Hicks maintained connections with senior al-Qaeda leadership and anticipated additional charges before the month’s end. He likened Hicks to the Bali bombers and cautioned Australians not to underestimate the military commission process despite public relations efforts by Hicks's legal team.

James Yee, a US Army chaplain who provided spiritual counsel to Hicks at Guantanamo, stated after Hicks's release in December 2007 that he did not perceive Hicks as a threat to Australia, observing that "any American soldier who has been through basic training has had 50 times more training than this guy."

Defence team

The US Army designated United States Marine Corps Major Michael Mori to serve as Hicks's military defence attorney. Funding for Hicks's civilian legal representation was provided by Australian businessman Dick Smith, who expressed his support was intended to ensure Hicks received a just trial.

Delays in legal proceedings

In November 2004, Hicks's trial faced postponement after a US Federal Court deemed the military commissions unconstitutional. By February 2005, Hicks’s family replaced their lawyer Stephen Kenny with David McLeod, a Vietnam veteran and army reservist.

Although the trial was initially scheduled for 10 January 2005, it encountered multiple deferrals amid ongoing legal disputes. Around mid-February 2005, Jumana Musa, a legal observer from Amnesty International, criticized Australia's acceptance of trying its citizen through military commissions.

In July 2005, a US appellate court sided with the prosecution’s argument that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to detainees affiliated with al-Qaeda such as Hicks, thereby permitting trial by military tribunal. In August 2005, leaked communications from former US prosecutors condemned the process as chaotic and unjust; Attorney-General Philip Ruddock dismissed these critiques as outdated.

In October 2005, the US government declared that any pre-trial detention time would not be credited if Hicks were convicted. On 15 November 2005, District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly halted proceedings pending the Supreme Court’s decision on related appeals.

The Supreme Court’s 2006 ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld invalidated military tribunals under US law and the Geneva Conventions. Following this, Pentagon directives were issued to guarantee detainees humane treatment consistent with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Attorney-General Ruddock indicated intentions to seek Hicks’s repatriation to Australia should new charges fail to be filed promptly.

Subsequently, the US Congress enacted the Military Commissions Act of 2006, signed into law on 17 October, which established an alternative judicial mechanism for Guantanamo detainees.

On 6 December 2006, Hicks’s defence team submitted documents to the Federal Court of Australia, accusing the Australian government of neglecting its responsibility to ensure his treatment adhered to international legal standards.

By March 2007, Hicks’s attorney revealed plans to compel the Australian government to formally request his release from US custody. Journalist Leigh Sales suggested that Hicks’s defence aimed strategically to prolong proceedings until Australia would demand his return.

Throughout this period, concerns intensified about the legitimacy and fairness of prosecuting Hicks before a US military commission, with numerous legal experts and human rights advocates questioning the process's integrity.

British citizenship bid

In September 2005, it emerged that Hicks might qualify for British citizenship through his mother under provisions of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. This British connection came to light during discussions about the 2005 Ashes cricket series. Given earlier British government efforts to secure release of nine British nationals from Guantanamo Bay, speculation arose that his citizenship status could impact his detention circumstances.

Hicks applied for citizenship but encountered a six-month delay. In November 2005, his application was refused by the British Home Office on character grounds; his lawyers subsequently lodged an appeal. On 13 December 2005, Lord Justice Lawrence Collins ruled that then-Home Secretary Charles Clarke lacked legal authority to deny Hicks citizenship and ordered his registration. The Home Office attempted to appeal but was denied a stay of judgment and had to proceed with processing.

In March 2006, allegations surfaced from the Home Office claiming Hicks admitted in 2003 to MI5 that he underwent extensive terrorist training in Afghanistan. Despite this claim, on 12 April 2006, the Court of Appeal confirmed Hicks’s right to British citizenship. The Home Office intended further appeals potentially reaching the House of Lords, but on 5 May, the Court of Appeal ruled no additional appeals were permissible and mandated citizenship be granted.

Hicks’s legal representatives later asserted that delays in formal registration resulted from US obstruction since Britain was denied consular access necessary for him to take the oath of allegiance. His military counsel offered to administer the oath if allowed.

On 27 June 2006, after citizenship confirmation, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced it would not advocate for Hicks’s release, citing his Australian nationality at capture and prior consular support from Australia. On 5 July, Hicks was briefly registered as a British citizen; however, Home Secretary John Reid swiftly revoked this status under section 56 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, which permits deprivation of citizenship if deemed conducive to public good. Hicks’s legal team denounced this action as an "abuse of power" and prepared appeals before both the UK Special Immigration Appeals Commission and High Court.

Confiscation of legal documents

In the aftermath of the deaths of three detainees, authorities at the detention facility confiscated inmates' paperwork, citing security risks after purported instructions for constructing a hangman's noose were discovered on stationery provided to attorneys meeting with detainees regarding their habeas corpus petitions. The Department of Justice conceded in court that "privileged attorney-client communications" had been taken. Hicks's counsel challenged the assertion of a suicide scheme, highlighting that Hicks had been held in solitary confinement elsewhere for four months, and raised alarms about breaches of attorney-client confidentiality, which represented "the final legal right still being upheld".

Additional charges

On 3 February 2007, new allegations were announced against David Hicks by the US military commission: "attempted murder" and "providing material support for terrorism" as defined under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Both charges carried a potential life sentence. Prosecutors sought a 20-year term with a minimum mandatory period of 15 years. Sentencing decisions rested with US military officers and did not require credit for prior time served. The Convening Authority reviewed the evidence's adequacy before proceeding to trial.

The charge of providing material support for terrorism was applied retroactively based on legislation enacted in 2006. On 16 February 2007, the US Defense Department published a nine-page indictment alleging that Hicks conducted reconnaissance on US and British diplomatic missions in Kabul (August 2001); attended al-Qaeda training camps under the pseudonym Abu Muslim Austraili; received guerrilla warfare instruction at al Farouq camp where Osama bin Laden was present; returned to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks armed to engage coalition forces; fought on the Konduz frontline before retreating; and was captured by Northern Alliance forces in December 2001.

Hicks was formally charged with material support for terrorism and sent to trial on 1 March 2007; however, Judge Susan Crawford dismissed the attempted murder accusation due to lack of probable cause.

In March 2007, Hicks's attorney Mori faced potential delays when he was reportedly threatened with court-martial for disrespectful remarks toward US military leadership, though no formal charges ensued.

Australian authorities and international legal experts criticized the prosecution as an application of ex post facto law and an infringement on Hicks's rights. The US responded that the Military Commissions Act merely codified pre-existing military commission offenses without establishing new crimes.

Hicks’s defense team and numerous judicial figures contended that conviction was improbable. Australian journalist Leigh Sales chronicled the case’s complexities from Hicks’s capture through the military commissions process in her book.

Separately, the Indian government launched an inquiry into Hicks’s involvement in attacks against their armed forces in Kashmir during 2000.

Pre-trial arrangement and sentencing

On 26 March 2007, after negotiations between Hicks’s defense counsel and authorities, Judge Susan Crawford sanctioned a pre-trial agreement. Under this deal, Hicks entered an Alford plea to a single count of providing material support for terrorism, receiving a substantially reduced sentence in return. The agreement stipulated that his five years detained at Guantanamo Bay would not be credited toward his sentence; he was required to abstain from media interactions for one year, refrain from pursuing legal claims against the US government, and withdraw allegations of military mistreatment. On 31 March, the military tribunal imposed a seven-year sentence but suspended all but nine months—marking both the first conviction by a Guantanamo military tribunal and the first US war crimes conviction since World War II.

This brief sentence provoked an "outcry" within the US and drew criticism toward Defense Department lawyer Susan Crawford, who bypassed prosecutors to finalize the agreement. Chief prosecutor Colonel Davis expressed surprise at being uninformed about the plea deal and at the nine-month term, stating he had anticipated a sentence exceeding ten years.

Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union described the case as "an inadvertent symbol of our disgraceful abandonment of the rule of law."

Allegations of political interference

Observers from Australia and the United States speculated that the one-year restriction on media coverage was a political concession sought by the Australian government. Senator Bob Brown of the Australian Greens pointed out that such a censorship would violate free speech protections in the US. The Law Council of Australia characterized the trial as a "manufactured event" intended to conceal a political arrangement, thereby compromising the rule of law. Human rights attorney and UN war crimes judge Geoffrey Robertson QC described the pre-trial agreement as a politically motivated tactic by the Australian Government aimed at securing electoral support, rather than a legitimate judicial process.

The Pentagon’s lead prosecutor Colonel Morris Davis, who resigned due to dissatisfaction with Guantanamo’s military commission procedures, alleged significant politicization and pressure to conduct trials lacking fairness. Davis condemned Hicks’s trial as flawed and expedited for the political advantage of the Howard administration, asserting that his superiors sought "show trials" disconnected from established military justice principles. In 2008, Davis testified he had inherited the Hicks case but did not regard it as sufficiently serious for prosecution.

In November 2007, an unnamed US military officer claimed that Vice-President Cheney directly intervened to secure Hicks’s plea deal as part of an arrangement with Prime Minister Howard. Howard refuted any involvement in negotiating the plea bargain.

The Government of Australia rejected any participation in imposing the media blackout or any political motivations linked to the 2007 federal election. Prime Minister Howard stressed that sentencing decisions were made by the military commission and that plea discussions occurred solely between prosecutors and Hicks’s legal team, dismissing claims of electoral influence as "absurd." Brigadier-General Thomas Hemingway later took responsibility for initiating the gag order. Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock clarified that Australian law did not forbid Hicks from speaking publicly but would bar him from profiting through selling his story.

Repatriation, release, and invalidation of charges

On 20 May 2007, Hicks returned to RAAF Base Edinburgh near Adelaide aboard a chartered flight costing the Australian government up to A$500,000. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock explained this expense was necessary due to US restrictions preventing Hicks from transiting US airspace or territory, eliminating cheaper commercial flight options. Upon arrival, Hicks was placed in solitary confinement within Adelaide's Yatala Labour Prison in its highest-security unit.

He was freed on 29 December 2007 under an AFP-issued control order limiting his travel and communications. On 19 February 2008, federal magistrate Warren Donald authorized Hicks to leave South Australia; he subsequently moved to Abbotsford, New South Wales, where he was subject to a curfew. The control order expired in December 2008 without renewal.

In 2009, Hicks married human rights advocate Aloysia Hicks in Sydney, with his former military counsel Michael Mori attending. Entrepreneur Dick Smith notably assisted in securing Hicks employment at a landscaping company in Sydney. By 2010, there were growing demands for Hicks to be exonerated from all charges against him.

In May 2011, Hicks’s family and supporters—including former politician and jurist John Dowd, ex-Human Rights Commissioner Elizabeth Evatt, and human rights lawyer Julian Burnside—initiated a campaign seeking to clear his name and investigate alleged abuses during his detention at Guantanamo Bay. This effort featured Brandon Neely, a former US guard at Guantanamo.

In October 2012, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that the charge on which Hicks had been convicted was invalid because the law did not exist at the time of the alleged offense and thus could not be applied retroactively. This decision underscored major legal issues surrounding US prosecution methods and suggested extensive consequences for others involved in conflicts against US forces.

Propublica obtained documentation revealing Guantanamo's Chief Prosecutor Mark S. Martins' opposition to Hicks’s motion to dismiss charges. While Martins argued that Hicks’s guilty plea should preclude reconsideration, he acknowledged that if the appeal were successful, "the Court should not confirm Hicks's material-support conviction," indicating a significant admission of weaknesses within the case against Hicks.

Autobiography

On 16 October 2010, Random House Australia released David Hicks's memoir titled Guantanamo: My Journey. Hicks characterized the book as a narrative encompassing both injustice and optimism. Early critical reception commended its literary quality. At first, the autobiography was not accessible to readers in the United States through bookstores or online platforms.

Australian anti-terrorism legislation concerning proceeds of crime prohibits offenders from benefiting financially from their illegal acts. Upon the book’s release, Random House refrained from disclosing whether Hicks received payment or if the publisher faced potential violations of these laws. Legal analysts pointed out that without proof of Hicks gaining financially, legal measures could not be pursued. By July 2011, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) commenced legal action to freeze a family trust receiving revenue from the book under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Nonetheless, experts anticipated the case might not succeed due to legislative amendments following the overturning of the military commission that convicted Hicks.

After the autobiography’s publication, Hicks was met with a standing ovation during his initial public appearance at the Sydney Writers' Festival in May 2011.

On 23 July 2012, the DPP discontinued legal proceedings against Hicks, citing issues regarding the admissibility of evidence obtained during questionable detention conditions and emphasizing that Australia does not acknowledge an Alford plea submitted by Hicks. The Commonwealth was ordered to cover Hicks's legal expenses. Hicks stated this outcome vindicated him, although Prime Minister Julia Gillard chose not to comment. The book reportedly sold approximately 30,000 copies, earning around $10,000 in royalties.

Play

In 2003, Chris Tugwell authored the theatrical production X-Ray, which dramatizes David Hicks's incarceration at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The playwright consulted Hicks’s family extensively, incorporating numerous scenes inspired by correspondence they received throughout his imprisonment.

The play was acclaimed as a "sensation" during the 2004 Adelaide Fringe and recognized as a "highlight" at the 2005 Darwin Festival. A U.S. staging premiered in November 2005. Additionally, a radio adaptation commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was broadcast on Radio National's Airplay in November 2004 and subsequently rebroadcast in 2005 and 2006. This radio version earned a bronze medal for Best Drama Special at the New York Festival's 2006 International Radio Awards.

See also

• Mamdouh Habib

• Guantanamo Bay attorneys
• Jenner & Block
• Jesselyn Radack
• John Walker Lindh
• Sabin Willett
• Shaker Aamer
• List of converts to Islam

Bibliography

• Guantanamo: My Journey, David Hicks, Random House Australia, 2010, Sydney, ISBN 978-1-86471-158-5
• Detainee 002: The Case of David Hicks, Leigh Sales, Melbourne University Press, 2007, Melbourne, ISBN 978-0-522-85400-8

Media

• "The Trials of David Hicks" (multimedia), The Age (Fairfax Media). Credits: Jane Holroyd et al.
• The President Versus David Hicks (2004). Documentary exploring David Hicks and his father's challenges. Produced by SBS TV; directed by Curtis Levy and Bentley Dean.
• "David Hicks: first public address since memoir publication" (audio), Radio National at the 2011 Sydney Writers' Festival (ABC).
• "Former Guantanamo detainee David Hicks speaks with the World Socialist Web Site", Richard Phillips (22 October 2011).
• Assange plea deal has echoes of David Hicks, Phillip Coorey (June 25, 2024)

External links

• Hicks v. United States – Center for Constitutional Rights