Guantanamo lawyer renews attack

Major Mori said previous criticisms by lawyers had been ignored

The US military lawyer assigned to defend the man dubbed the "Australian Taleban" has complained that his client will not receive a full and fair trial.

Major Michael Mori represents "enemy combatant" David Hicks, one of six Guantanamo Bay inmates deemed eligible for trial by a US military commission.

Major Mori said those who had created the tribunals process had a "vested interest" in securing convictions.

Canberra, however, says it favours Mr Hicks remaining in US custody.

It says it believes Mr Hicks has a case to answer.

But Attorney General Philip Ruddock reportedly told Australian radio that, if the two Australian Guantanamo detainees were returned, "there are no charges that we would be able to bring against them under our law as it was at that time".

Mr Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, apparently while fighting for the Taleban.

Open attack

Marine Corps Major Mori's disquiet was initially made clear last week, when he and four other lawyers assigned to Guantanamo detainees criticised the tribunal in a "friend-of-the-court" brief filed with the Supreme Court.

Profile: The Australian Taleban

But Major Mori said their concerns had not been addressed, and he renewed his criticism on Wednesday, this time in an open attack conveyed directly to reporters.

"The military commissions will not provide a full and fair trial," Mori told the news conference in a Washington suburb on Wednesday.

"The commission process has been created and controlled by those with a vested interest only in convictions."

He said that because Mr Hicks had not been charged with anything, it would be difficult to prepare his defence.

Under the rules of the tribunal system, the Pentagon is allowed to monitor communications between detainees and their lawyers.

'Double standards'

The trials will be conducted behind closed doors, and there is no right to appeal in a civilian court.

However, Washington and Canberra have agreed that Mr Hicks and another Australian prisoner, Mamdouh Habib, will not face the death penalty and will be able to serve any sentence in Australia.

But Major Mori warned the tribunals could establish "a dangerous precedent.

"The reality is, we wouldn't tolerate these rules if they were applied to US citizens," he said.