Australian Gitmo Detainee Gets 9 Months

In this courtroom sketch reviewed by U.S. Military officials, Guantanamo detainee David Hicks, far left, sits with his defense council in the U.S. military courtroom in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Friday, March 30, 2007. Hicks, a 31-year-old former kangaroo skinner, faces no more than seven years in an Australian prison after pleading guilty at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to aiding al-Qaida. It is the first conviction at a U.S. war-crimes trial since World War II. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool) (Janet Hamlin - AP)

Hina Shamsi of Human Rights First said it was clear the plea bargain was propelled by political considerations of a U.S. ally. "Mr. Hicks' military commission was like a train hurtling toward judgment," he said.

Chief prosecutor Air Force Col. Morris Davis denied that and said he was satisfied the proceedings were fair. He added that he hoped Hicks' short sentence would not set a precedent.

"I think David Hicks is very fortunate he's getting a second chance," he told reporters. "I think that he's learned a lesson from this and he'll make the most of that second chance."

Hicks had also been charged with supporting terrorist acts. That count was dismissed as part of the agreement.

Under the deal, he will also be required to cooperate with U.S. and Australian authorities to share his knowledge of al-Qaida and a militant Pakistani group, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, which helped him travel to Afghanistan to attend terrorist training camps.

"Any failure to cooperate with U.S. or Australian law enforcement may delay your release from confinement," Kohlmann warned.

Another condition calls for Hicks to hand over to the Australian government any proceeds from selling the rights to his life story.

In the days before his arraignment Monday, Hicks' lawyers said their client was deeply depressed and eager to leave Guantanamo. He spent the last few months alone in a small, solid-walled cell.

His father vowed to pursue the allegations that his son was sexually abused and tortured both physically and mentally by Americans.

"I'm not going to let this lie just because David's been forced into a situation where he has to sign a waiver," Hicks said.

Prosecutors say they plan to charge as many as 80 of the 385 men now held at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

But Hicks is the only detainee who has been formally charged since the military tribunals were revised after the Supreme Court in June struck down the original system as unconstitutional.

Now the court is considering a challenge to the new setup, which is also under attack from some members of Congress.