SYDNEY, 6 September 2004 — The Australian government expressed reservations for the first time yesterday about whether two of its citizens detained at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba will receive a fair trial from the US military.
After previously insisting that US military tribunals will provide a fair trial for the Australians, Attorney General Philip Ruddock said that government officials monitoring last month’s initial hearings at the base had raised concerns.
“Following our observations of the preliminary hearing, it appears that some improvements are required to ensure that understandings on procedural fairness are met in practice” he said in a statement.
Australian David Hicks, a 29-year-old Muslim convert, was among the first Guantanamo detainees to face a military tribunal last month. A second Australian, Mamdouh Habib, is being held at the base and listed as eligible for trial.
The Australian government said the initial Guantanamo hearings had raised a number of concerns, including “the lack of agreed rules of procedure that could lead to uncertainty for both prosecution and defense in preparing cases”.
