Father brings son’s Guantanamo experience to New Zealand
As part of its campaign to close Guantanamo Bay, Amnesty International NZ brought Terry Hicks – father of former Australian Guantanamo detainee David Hicks (1) to New Zealand.
Terry spoke at the organisation’s Wellington annual meeting (May 9-11) about the travesty of justice that saw his son detained for five and a half years – mostly in solitary confinement – without charge or fair trial. He detailed the family’s battle for the rule of law to apply and on finally bringing David home.
“The Guantanamo setup is outside of international law and the Geneva Conventions and it is now being shown up very badly. It’s about time it was shut down altogether. Guantanamo is past its use-by date,” Terry says.
Terry detailed the journey from David’s pariah status to “political football”, the growing unease of the Australian public as the stories of illegal detention, ill treatment and torture leaked out of Guantanamo, and their increasing desire to take action.
“As time went on David became a political football. For the last 12 months (of his incarceration) the then Australian government started to feel the reactions from the public and of course as we now know they were voted out”, says Terry.
Public awareness made the system change by building pressure on the American government and its allies, confirms Terry.
Amnesty Australia’s action in publicly touring a Guantanamo Bay sized prison cell around the country contributed to that mind shift by showcasing the grim realities of David’s detention.(2)
Terry advises, “David’s response to the size of the cell was pretty basic – ‘you try to do push ups in your toilet’… it’s not a very big size.”
He also spoke about the impact on the Hicks family.
“We were just a normal family like everybody else… we read the papers and thought it will never happen here. But it does happen. It happened to us,” he says.
“Terry knows better than most the need to build pressure on the USA government by raising public awareness and is keen to ensure that by telling David’s story other families will get their sons out of Guantanamo,” says AINZ spokesperson Margaret Taylor.
Although nine more Guantanamo detainees were released at the start of May, 270 remain incarcerated. Amnesty is calling on the US administration for fair trial or freedom, and with full protections against further abuse on any return home.
“The USA government should abandon its trials by military commissions, which are not independent of the same branch of government that has authorised and condoned abuses against detainees and which may rely on information obtained under torture,” says Margaret Taylor.
Following Terry Hick’s speech orange jumpsuits were signed calling for the closure of Guantanamo Bay, and for the return home of detainee and Canadian national Omar Khadr. (3)
For further comment contact: AINZ Spokesperson Margaret Taylor, 021 729 373
Backgrounders
(1) David Hicks
David Hicks, a former horse trainer from Adelaide, South Australia, converted to Islam after training with the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo. Following the 9/11 attacks in the USA, he telephoned his father from Kandahar, Afghanistan, to tell him that he was going to help the Taliban defend Kabul from the Northern Alliance. He was captured on 9 December 2001 in Afghanistan by the Northern Alliance, allegedly subjected to ill-treatment, handed to the US authorities and then transported to Guantánamo Bay. He was one of the first detainees to be charged in preparation for trial by military commission. At a U.S war crimes tribunal, Hicks pleaded guilty to providing material support to a listed terrorist organisation and was sentenced to seven years in prison. David remained in Guantanamo until May 2007, and was transferred to Adelaide's Yatala Labour Prison to serve the rest of his sentence. He was released on 29 December 2007.
(2) AI Australia’s Guantanamo Bay Cell Tour
To draw attention to the conditions at Guantánamo Bay, Amnesty International Australia created a full-scale replica of a Guantánamo Bay cell, complete with glaring light, stainless steel toilet and bunk bed. During the first part of 2007 it was on display in major cities and selected venues across Australia. Around the country people were recording video messages from inside the replica cell, calling for the closure of Guantanamo Bay and the unlawful military commissions. The videos were displayed on a Close Guantanamo webpage and people could send them to friends to help build support for the campaign. The cell tour has now been shipped over to Amnesty International USA, where a new tour will commence in Miami, Florida on May 8th to coincide with the presidential elections.
(3) Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr was taken into US custody when he was 15 years old after being wounded during a battle in Afghanistan. After detention at Bagram airbase, he was transferred to Guantánamo Bay where he has been interrogated by US and Canadian officials. The US government classified him as an "enemy combatant” and he is to be tried by military commission. Omar Khadr is one of at least four and possibly nine of the current Guantánamo Bay detainees aged under 18 when detained. In April 2003 the US authorities revealed that children as young as 13 were detained in the prison. Reports of torture and attempted suicide by juvenile detainees undermine the claim by US authorities that they are receiving "special emotional and physical care". Amnesty International is lobbying the Canadian government to bring him home.
Logistics
Terry Hicks spoke at Te Whaea National Dance ad Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Road, Newtown, Wellington, 3pm – 4pm on Sunday 11th May.
Minister of Trade, Disarmament and Corrections Phil Goff spoke on Saturday 10th May, 5pm to 6pm.
Both sessions were open to the media.
For more information on Amnesty International New Zealand's Annual Meeting please visit this page.
