Balancing The Scales

Ladies & gentlemen of the jury, what I am going to tell you may shock you, but justice demands that a jury of peers must hear the charges, weigh the evidence and to freely and fairly reach a verdict. The court of public opinion has heard many representations by the defendants defence team, their many television channels, newspapers and websites. I seek to balance that deluge of rhetoric and present the case against the administration of Mr. George W. Bush & it's many officers and employees. Also the administration of a Mr. J Howard and Mr. John Reid, under orders from a Mr. Anthony Blair. None of them right or honourable as you will see. The charges stem from the sworn affidavit of Mr. David M Hicks and it is to that document I now turn:-

DAVID M HICKS, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
1. I am David M Hicks, a Petitioner in the abo e-captioned action, and I make this Affidavit, submitted under seal (*), in support of my of my Amended Complaint, and my applications for injunctive relief.
2. I am a native and citizen of Australia, born in Adelaide August 7, 1975. I have completed the 9th Grade in the Australian school system.
3. This Affidavit provides an outline of the abuse and mistreatment I have received, witnessed, and/or heard about since I have been detained by the United States in Afghanistan, aboard US Naval vessels and US military aircraft, and at the US Naval
Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (hereinafter "Guantanamo Bay"). I have been detained by the United States Armed Forces from December 2001 until present. I arrived in Guantanamo Bay in January 2002. I does not detail all of the abuse I have received, or witnessed, or heard about, but merely sketches some of it. I have been careful to specify what happened to me, what I saw happen to others, and what I have heard about. During the course of my interrogations, I have repeatedly asked for a lawyer and why I am not being treated as Prisoner of War.
First charge, kidnapping and denial of proper legal representation.

4. Since I do not have access to either a typewriter or computer, this Affidavit has been prepared by my attorneys based on information I have provided to them. I have reviewed the Affidavit carefully, and verify that it is completely accurate.
5. I have been beaten before, after, and during interrogations.
Second charge, assault causing actual bodily, multiple counts.

6. I have been menaced and threatened, directly and indirectly, with firearms and other weapons before and during interrogations.
Third charge, assault with a deadly weapon, multiple counts.

7. I have heard beatings of other detainees occurring during interrogations, and observed detainees' injuries that were received during interrogations.
While this does not directly concern this case these other instances are now being looked into, although the jury should bear these in mind so as to construct a picture of the perpetrators and their propensity for violence.

8. I have been beaten while blindfolded and handcuffed.
Assault causing grievous bodily harm, multiple counts, false imprisonment,

9. I have been in the company of other detainees who were beaten while blindfolded and handcuffed. At one point, a group of detainees, including myself, were subjected to being randomly hit over a eight hour session while handcuffed and blindfolded.
Torture, a count with multiple elements as described in the Geneva accords and United Nations international declaration of human rights.

10. I have been struck with hands, fists, and other objects (including rifle butts). I have also been kicked. I have been hit in the face, head, feet, and torso.
Assault with a deadly weapon, grievous bodily harm, further multiple counts.

11. I have had my head rammed into asphalt several times (while blindfolded).
Assault, multiple counts.

12. I have had handcuffs placed on me so tightly, and for so long (as much as 14-15 hours) that my hands were numb for a considerable period thereafter.
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm, multiple counts.

13. I have had medication - the identity of which was unknown to me, despite my requests for information - forced upon me against my will. I have been struck while under the influence of sedatives that were forced upon me by injection.
A most serious charge, assaults where medical treatment is forced on a subject can occasion attempted manslaughter or attempted murder charges. We ask the Jury to consider the possible worst-case scenario of this assault with regard to a manslaughter charge.

14. I have been forced to run in leg shackles that regularly ripped the skin off my ankles. Many other detainees experienced the same.
Assault, multiple counts. False imprisonment.

15. I have been deprived of sleep as a matter of policy.
Again this is Torture under the aforementioned treaties and statutes.

16. I have witnessed the activities of the Internal Reaction Force (hereinafter "IRF"), which consists of a squad of soldiers that enter a detainee's cell and brutalize him with the aid of an attack dog. The IRF invasions were so common that the term to be "IRF'd" became part of the language of the detainees. I have seen detainees suffer serious injuries as a result of being IRF'ed. I have seen detainees IRF'ed while they were praying, or for refusing medication.
Again not directly relevant but should be considered as to the disposition of the perpetrators.

17. I was told repeatedly that if I cooperated during the course of interrogations, I would be sent home to Australia after the interrogations were concluded. I was told there was an "easy way" and a "hard way" to respond to interrogation.
Demands with menaces. Multiple counts.

18. Interrogators once offered me the services of a prostitute for fifteen minutes if I would spy on other detainees. I refused.
Possible solicitation charges, we are looking into this and also attempting to ascertain the age of any woman involved.

19. Failure to cooperate meant the loss of the ordinary necessities of living, such as showers, sufficient food, relief from the prospect of IRF'ing and other regular abuse visited upon non-cooperative detainees, access to reading material, and social contact (including receiving mail).
False imprisonment, assault, multiple counts.

20. During Ramadan, food was withhold from detainees after the break of the daily fast in order to coerce cooperation with interrogators. Detainees who refused to cooperate were punished regularly, and denied the ordinary necessities of living.
As per last indictment.

21. I have been told that strobe lights and extreme cold were also used to disorient detainees in order to soften them up for interrogation. I have also heard that religious detainees were exposed to pornography, and were dragged around naked in order to break their will.
Sexual assault charges are being examined in this instance in regard of other detainees; again consider this information to provide a picture of the characters and intentions of the perpetrators.

22. Detainees were not allowed to know the date, day, year, or time. We were deprived of any and all information and news from the world. Detainees were permitted very little exercise.
False imprisonment, cruelty.

23. At one point during 2003 alone, my weight dropped by 30 pounds (and I was not overweight to start).
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

24. Other detainees also informed me that interrogators attempted to turn them against me by spreading rumors about me. In any event, due to the way interrogations were conducted, and the physical layout of the camps, it was obvious to all of the detainees who was being interrogated, for how long, and whether that detainee emerged abused or not (with the latter signifying cooperation). Thus, any detainee would know who was cooperating with the interrogators.
Extortion.

25. The interrogation process ruled the detention camps and the lives of detainees. Cooperation with interrogators offered the only means of relief from the miserable treatment and abuse the detainees suffered. Those who failed to comply suffered abuse until they gave in.
Extortion and assault, goes to establishing the character of the assailants.

26. My conditions changed after I was moved to Camp Echo (as did the treatment afforded me by the military personnel on duty there) July 9, 2003, and then again after the visits from my attorneys began. However, at Camp Echo, I have been held in a solitary cell and have been so since arriving at Camp Echo. I was not allowed outside of my cell in Camp Echo for exercise in the sunlight, from July 2003 until March 10, 2004.
Cruel and unusual punishment, false imprisonment.

27. As noted earlier, the above catalogue of abuse and mistreatment is not complete. It is but a summary of some of the abuse I suffered, witnessed, and/or heard about since my detention began. I would be able to provide further information and detail if the Court so desires, but a complete account would require a substantially longer document. In fact, at my request and due to the persistence of my lawyers, I have recently met with US military investigators conducting the probe into detainee abuse in Afghanistan. Also, this is not the first time I protested my mistreatment, since on several occasions - in Afghanistan, and later at Guantanamo Bay - I informed representatives of the International Red Cross of the abuse.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.