Australian David Hicks overturns US terrorism conviction

An Australian former Guantanamo Bay detainee has had his conviction on terrorism charges overturned in the US.

David Hicks, 39, pleaded guilty at the base in Cuba in 2007 for providing material support to terrorists.

A US Court struck down the conviction, on the grounds that the charge was not a war crime and so should not have been heard at a military court.

Mr Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, where he attended al-Qaeda training camps and met Osama Bin Laden. 

A Pentagon spokesman said the US would not appeal against the verdict.

The unanimous ruling, by the Court reverses what had been one of the few successes in prosecuting Guantanamo detainees. Mr Hicks told a news conference in Sydney that he had been waiting for this decision for years.

He said he would not seek an official apology but should be compensated for medical treatment needed to fix himself from torture.

BBC