- NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The
U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where suspected Taliban soldiers
are being held, is a "physical and moral black hole," the first
civilian lawyer allowed to meet a client there said on Wednesday.
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- Australian lawyer Stephen Kenny, who last week visited
detainee David Hicks of Adelaide, Australia, said at a news briefing in
New York that Hicks was in "reasonable spirits" but "quite
depressed about his conditions."
-
- Hicks, 28, and hundreds of other detainees were arrested
in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 attacks
by the al Qaeda network of Islamic militants headquartered there.
-
- The detainees have been held for two years without charges
or contact with the outside world, drawing worldwide criticism of this
aspect of Washington's war on terrorism.
-
- The Australian was the first detainee at Guantanamo Bay
to be allowed a visit by a lawyer. Kenny was accompanied at the Navy base
by U.S. military defense counsel and restrictions were placed on what he
could say about his five days of meetings.
-
- The government gave permission for the visit after the
U.S. Supreme Court said last month it would review a ruling that the detainees
are outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. The court would decide by
the end of June the cases of two British nationals, two Australians and
12 Kuwaitis, but a ruling would likely effect all detainees.
-
- Kenny said the United States had not issued a timetable
for Hicks' case and "I don't know when, or if, David will be formally
charged, or if or when he will come to trial."
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- CONVERT TO ISLAM
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- Hicks, a convert to Islam, was arrested in December 2001
while fighting with the Taliban. Kenny said Hicks, one of two Australians
being held, had not killed or injured U.S. or Australian military personnel.
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- Kenny referred to a lecture last month by British law
Lord Johan Steyn, who called the U.S. Navy base "a legal black hole"
for suspected soldiers of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban government.
-
- "After having been there, it is a physical and a
moral black hole," said Kenny, whose efforts are supported by the
New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, which will argue the detainees'
case before the Supreme Court.
-
- He said he expected to have discussions with prosecutors
to see if Hicks' case can be finalized without a trial, but referring to
any possible plea deal, he added, "I don't want to give you an indication
one way or another, or suggest that I am leading you in any direction."
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- Kenny said under Hicks' isolated conditions, he found
it "totally unacceptable" that authorities reportedly approached
Hicks before any lawyer's involvement to discuss possible legal options.
-
- Kenny said apart from discussing his case and giving
legal advice, he also took Hicks chocolate and an Australian treat of Vegemite
spread. He said he also cooked Hicks a steak.
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- Kenny said he "did not see any other detainee, not
even in passing" while at Guantanamo Bay.
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- http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4012139
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