ADELAIDE, Australia: Former Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks walked free from an Australian jail on Saturday, offering no apology for alleged terror links but vowing not to let down those who secured his release.
More than six years after he was captured in Afghanistan, the so-called “Aussie Taliban” was escorted from Adelaide’s maximum security Yalata jail past a media throng broadcasting live images of his release.
It was the public’s first chance to see the 32-year-old former Muslim convert since he was locked up at the controversial US military base in Cuba in early 2002, placing a strain on Australia-US relations.
Wearing jeans and a green polo top and appearing chubbier than photos taken before his capture, a smiling Hicks met supporters and was immediately driven to an undisclosed location.
Hicks’ lawyer David McLeod read a statement on his behalf, which said he was looking forward to “quiet time” with his family and friends.
He also asked to be left alone to make a “slow and gentle” transition to freedom. “I will need time to adjust to society and receive medical care for the consequences of five-and-a-half years in Guantanamo Bay,” he said.
Hicks thanked his family and friends, the lawyers and human rights groups that campaigned on his behalf, and credited the media with bringing his plight to the public’s attention.
“First and foremost I would like to acknowledge the huge debt of gratitude that I owe the Australian public for getting me home, I will not forget or let you down,” the statement said.
“I had hoped to be able to speak to the media but I am just not strong enough at the moment, it’s as simple as that,” it said.
Hicks’ father Terry said during the week that his son would apologise for the inconvenience he had caused Australians, but told reporters outside the prison that it was not necessary to say sorry.
“David’s done five-and-a-half years pretty tough, David has done his time,” Terry Hicks said, insisting nothing had been proven against his son.
Hicks’ case has sparked fierce debate in Australia over whether he was an Islamic militant with links to terrorist groups or a misguided adventurer who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Expelled from high school at 14, Hicks worked as a kangaroo skinner and rodeo rider in the Outback and fathered two children before converting to Islam in the late 1990s.
He was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 and accused of fighting alongside the Taliban against the US-led forces, which invaded the country after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
In a letter home penned during his time in Afghanistan, Hicks wrote of meeting al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and referred to him as a “lovely brother”.
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