Dogmatic

Protester displays his banner whilst Greens Senator Bob Brown speaks to the crowd. photo by JR

I decided to trek out to Federation Square this afternoon to attend the civilrightsdefence.org rally to bring Australian Guantanamo Bay captive David Hicks home. Whilst I am not a politically motivated person, I thought I would use the day to practice out my photo-journalism aspirations (ie. fantasy) and see if I could capture the mood and essence of the day.

Compared to the G20 protest of a few weeks ago, today’s rally was peaceful and in all honesty, a bit of an eye-opener. Whilst I fully agree that any terrorist should be tried to the fullest extent of the law, one must remember that Australian citizen David Hicks is rotting in a USA jail cell for the past 5 years without trial. Without trial!

Adelaide-born Hicks was captured among Taliban forces in Afghanistan in late 2001 and later charged by the US with conspiracy, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.

He pleaded not guilty but following a US Supreme Court ruling in June, that declared that the military tribunals set up to try Hicks and other Guantanamo Bay inmates were illegal, those charges were dropped.

Liberty Victoria’s immediate past president, Brian Walters, SC, said Hicks had been denied natural justice.

“An accusation of crime calls for a genuine charge and a serious trial in front of a properly constituted court,” he said.

“David Hicks currently faces no charges, is held in appalling conditions and authorities are trying to manipulate the system so that he will not receive a fair trial. Australia is complicit in this. We need only ask for his return and he would be returned.”

Mr Walters said for the past 2½ years, US authorities had argued that Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where Hicks is being held, was outside the rule of law and should not be subject to the oversight of courts.

More at my flickr page.