David Hicks releases new tell all book about his time at Guantanamo.

Australian David Hicks who was held captive at Guantanamo Bay has just released a new tell book about his time at Guantanamo and what led to him being kept prisoner there.

Three short extracts of the 456-page book released to the media tell how, after five years in America's harsh detainment facility, Hicks eventually pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism and was sent to Adelaide's Yatala Prison to serve the remainder of a seven-year sentence.

Hicks was released in 2007 and lived under a control order for the following 12 months.

Leaving aside questions of whether Hicks can profit from the book and whether it was ghost-written, publisher Random House has a best seller.

Hicks has told in detail his version of the events that led to his five years in the US facility at Guantanamo Bay.

Bigpond News - Hicks Tell All

reply to post by Havick007


Yes, I saw this on the news today. I hope we hear the truth about the treatment handed out by the US military on these "so called" terrorists..

The Hicks confession was given only so he could get out of that place..
I would have confessed to shooting JFK to get out of that place!!!

reply to post by Havick007


well the dude shouldnt have been in afghanistan........what prey tell was he doing there?

gitmo years of living hell? please............prisons arent meant to be club med


meh so what im taking away with this is some guy saw a way to make a few bucks..........and as it was gitmo

the wealth of documentation is out there if you know where to look..................

so im not buying the innocent chance encounter.

Originally posted by scitpeks
I hope we hear the truth about the treatment handed out by the US military on these "so called" terrorists..

Well. you certainly will not hear any truth coming from Hicks...

The Hicks confession was given only so he could get out of that place.

Sure it was, and everyone in prison is innocent as well!!

Originally posted by dereks

Originally posted by scitpeks
I hope we hear the truth about the treatment handed out by the US military on these "so called" terrorists..

Well. you certainly will not hear any truth coming from Hicks...

The Hicks confession was given only so he could get out of that place.

Sure it was, and everyone in prison is innocent as well!!

edit on 15/10/10 by dereks because: fixed quote

Yeah i'm not saying i think he is innocent or guilty, although he pleaded guilty and also served his time and still proclaiming his innocence so that makes me wonder.....

Oh and false imprisonment? well thats not at all possible....hmmm

I would plead guilty to get out of that place as well.

reply to post by dereks

Sure it was, and everyone in prison is innocent as well!!

Thats a silly comment..You DON'T go to prison BEFORE you are charged and face a FAIR trial..
Unlike Gitmo, where you are sent without trial while they decide what to charge you with a few years down the track, and then torture you till you confess..

Now that what I call Justice!!

Care to deny that it happens?? The WH has admitted to it..

Its good to see David out of goal and good luck to him for making money out of his experiences. Thousands of others have done the same thing before him and thousands will do that same after him.

I agree with the other comments amde above. It is clear that he pleaded guilty as part of a deal to get out of the place as most of us would do faced with the same circumstances. Bear in mind; who knows how much information was witheld from him when it came to deciding what to do when a chance comes along to get out and remember, he only got out becasue the prime minister of Australia was facing an election and there was a growing sentiment that David should be brought home and the PM did not want his case to become an election issue.

This in it self shows that the players involved went from describing Hicks as one the worst of the worst to 'well-he's-not-so-bad-he-cant-be-brought-home" in a short space of time when it suited Bush and Howard.

I gotta say that I thought the American military lawyer who represented him done an excellant job, "without fear or favor" as they say. No doubt the lawyer would have come under consdierable pressure from his miltarly "friends" to tone down his defence of David Hicks. That lawyer is a very courageous man and deserves a distinguished service medal of some sort and should be held up as a military lawyers hero. I From what I remember he made himself unpopular with the military establishment as a result of his defence of David Hicks. I would.nt be supprised to learn that he has been demoted since.

I find it unforgiveable that the Australian goverment has permitted a foregin power to indefinatley detain one of it's citizns without trial and in violation of all human rights. Just goes to show how much of a pet dog the Australian goverment is to the US.

What do you think would happen if the Australian goverment detained an Americian citzen and sent them to a detention camp for interregation and possible torture? The US goverment would screaming words like, "hostage," "terrorist state." "illegal detention" "lets invade" etc etc.

Absolutely gutless lap dog you are Howard!!!!!!!.

cheers

well all i can say is, yes he was with them when court, yes he might of fired at the americans , but he defanetly shouldnt of been treated they way he was, an good on him for making some money out of his ordeal

Originally posted by bussoboy
and good luck to him for making money out of his experiences.

What makes you think he is making any money out of it? Australia has laws to stop criminals like Hicks profiting from their crimes...

reply to post by dereks

What makes you think he is making any money out of it? Australia has laws to stop criminals like Hicks profiting from their crimes...

He served his time, he is a FREE man.
I for one will gladly buy his book. I just hope it's not censored..

he had to wait 1 year before he could say,publish anything an untill now hes been prity quiet, couple years ago he got married but ather than that i havent herd anything

Originally posted by scitpeks
Yes, I saw this on the news today. I hope we hear the truth about the treatment handed out by the US military on these "so called" terrorists..

The Hicks confession was given only so he could get out of that place..
I would have confessed to shooting JFK to get out of that place!!!

Well, I am 3/4 through it now and you are right about the confession. And you hear plenty about his treatment.

I've also read "Enemy Combatant" by Moazzam Begg, a British muslim who also ended up in Guantanamo Bay. Backs up a lot about what he said too. Both are excellent books and I recommend them.

In both cases the guards were terrified of these individuals because of the propaganda they were told about them - that they were sort of some type of super terrorists. The stories the guards were told about them is actually incredibly funny and it is amazing they most of them actually believed them.

So does anyone think this guy was innocent ?

7 years was a light sentence IMO.

reply to post by Schaden


I do. Same with Moazzam Begg.

I just finished his book and found it quite disturbing since I'm only a year older than he is and grew up in the same area (Salisbury). He played in the same areas I did as a kid and drank in the same pub I used to. I must have brushed shoulders with him several times in my life, and as it seems he was just one of many who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I can't help feeling that it could have been me.

The 7 years he served was not light, given that he never actually broke any laws. When he was released from Yatala prison here in Adelaide he had to report to the police station twice a week. They couldn't put him on the computer system as he didn't even have a charge number, so they had to record his appearances manually on paper.