David Hicks claims physical abuse at Guantanamo Bay The World Today - Thursday, 13 May , 2004 12:42:00
Reporter: Nance Haxton
ELEANOR HALL: Returning now to allegations of prisoner abuse, and as you heard in Matt Brown's report, the lawyer for David Hicks has claimed that his client has been subject to physical abuse while being held at the US-run prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Stephen Kenny made the allegations at a press conference in Adelaide this morning also attended by David Hicks' father Terry.
They spoke to Nance Haxton a short time ago.
NANCE HAXTON: Stephen Kenny and Terry Hicks, thank you for joining The World Today today.
STEPHEN KENNY: Thank you.
TERRY HICKS: Thank you.
NANCE HAXTON: Firstly, Mr Kenny can you detail for us the concerns that you are raising today?
STEPHEN KENNY: The concerns I'm raising is that David Hicks has been subject to abuse and I am concerned that the Australian Government didn't know about it earlier. I would have thought Red Cross reports would have been sent to them about it, but clearly they haven't.
And what I would like the Australian Government to do is to listen to our concerns and to raise them with the American Government, and in particular ask the American Government to include the treatment of the two Australians in any congressional inquiry in the US.
NANCE HAXTON: What are the abuses that you're detailing here?
STEPHEN KENNY: I'm not in a position to be able to detail what those abuses are, but I can say that they are not simply the abuses of stress and duress techniques and the manner in which David Hicks is being held in Guantanamo Bay.
I'm referring to specific incidences that I believe were not just the actions of individual guards, but rather a well known activity that must have been authorised by some reasonably high up people in the chain of command of the US forces.
NANCE HAXTON: Is this abuse ongoing?
STEPHEN KENNY: No, it is not ongoing at the present time. The guards who are currently caring for David do treat him in a humane manner.
NANCE HAXTON: So, are you saying that the Federal Government position that has been put forward in the past few days, that they didn't know about this abuse, is actually incorrect? That they are misrepresenting that?
STEPHEN KENNY: No, what I am saying is I had assumed, because I know that David did report these abuses to the Red Cross in 2002, I had assumed the Red Cross had passed that material on to the Australian Government. If the Australian Government haven't had that then their position may well be correct.
NANCE HAXTON: So what should be done from here? Should Mr Downer or Mr Ruddock take this case further?
What's your ideal position?
STEPHEN KENNY: My position is that I will seek permission to detail those abuses to Australian Government officials.
If an independent assessment of those, and I'm not saying just Mr Downer's or Mr Ruddock's assessment, but an independent assessment finds them to be serious abuses, then I want an undertaking from both of those gentlemen and Mr Howard that they will press the American government to include the treatment of David Hicks in any congressional inquiry in the United States.
NANCE HAXTON: Are you able to even give these details of the abuse if you are limited by what the American GovernmentŠ the conditions they're put on your representation of David Hicks?
STEPHEN KENNY: I may well be, but I cannot believe that they would refuse me permission to speak over something that I consider to be a criminal offence.
NANCE HAXTON: So you will be able to give those details and not only Major Michael Mori, who is American, representing him?
STEPHEN KENNY: Yes, quite certainly, Major Mori and I are under the same restrictions and I've asked Major Mori to put in a specific request to the appointing authority of the military commissions to allow us to speak about the details.
NANCE HAXTON: Terry Hicks, is this knowledge - this is previously known to you, the abuse or alleged abuse of your son in Guantanamo Bay?
TERRY HICKS: Not really, no. What Stephen is speaking about, I hadŠ I suppose really any situation similar to what David's in, he would have been mistreated somewhere along the line, so I suppose you've always got to try and prepare yourself for the worst or whatever.
ELEANOR HALL: David Hicks' father, Terry Hicks and lawyer Stephen Kenny, speaking there to Nance Haxton.