Australia Govt Accused of Politicizing U.S. Trial

[Khephra]

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's opposition Labor accused the conservative government on Monday of politicizing the military trial of an Australian al Qaeda suspect, detained at a U.S. naval base in Cuba.

The government's plan to raise concerns with close ally the United States over the fairness of the military commission trying the suspect, David Hicks, was a stunt ahead of the Oct. 9 general election, said Nicola Roxon, Labor's legal spokeswoman.

Hicks, a 29-year-old convert to Islam arrested in late 2001 during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, was among the first group of four al Qaeda suspects held at Guantanamo Bay to face the military tribunal late last month.

"For three years (the government has) been ignoring this issue. They have not been demanding a fair trial or a fair process when they should have been, and now I think it's basically an election stunt," Roxon told Australian radio. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said on Sunday Australian officials observing the appearance of Hicks before the military commission last month identified a number of operational and procedural concerns.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6158515

[BillZBubb]

1. Hopefully, Aussies are smarter than Americans

and will see right through this right wing feigned concern for Mr. Hicks' rights.