WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL Australian detainee faces military hearing

He is charged with aiding the enemy and other offenses.
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- The father of an imprisoned Australian cowboy accused of fighting with Afghanistan's ousted Taliban saw his son for the first time in five years today, as he prepared to go before an American military tribunal on war crimes charges.
After the meeting, David Hicks, 29, wore a suit and tie as he arrived for a tribunal hearing on charges of conspiracy to commit war crimes, aiding the enemy and attempted murder on allegations that he fired at U.S. or coalition forces in Afghanistan.
"My expectation was that we would have David back to Australia after the first three months," said his father, Terry Hicks, 58, after arriving Tuesday from Adelaide with his wife, Beverly, who is Hicks' stepmother. "I don't think it is a fair and honest system."
The U.S. military said it would allow Hicks to meet with his parents after the preliminary hearing. They held a 15-minute meeting this morning before the proceedings. There were no guards present, and it was unclear whether Hicks was shackled.
Hicks, who arrived at the prison camp in Guantanamo in January 2002, could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. He was expected to plead innocent at today's hearing.
On Tuesday, the first day of the tribunal, Osama bin Laden's chauffeur, 34-year-old Salim Ahmed Hamdan of Yemen, declined to enter a plea. That hearing marked the start of the first U.S. military tribunal since World War II.
Plea withheld
Hamdan withheld his plea until motions filed by his military-appointed lawyer are decided. A ruling is not likely until November.
His defense is challenging whether the hearing should proceed without a ruling on his "enemy combatant" status, which allows fewer legal protections than for prisoners of war. That classification was used to justify trying Hamdan and others before the tribunals, which will allow secret evidence and no federal appeals, rather than at courts-martial or in U.S. civilian courts.
Hamdan's defense attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Swift, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. civilian courts in Washington alleging the illegality of commissions.
Swift also challenged the capacity and impartiality of four panel members -- including the presiding officer -- and one alternate.
"It is important that these proceedings not only be fair, but appear fair to the world," Swift said in the hearing Tuesday that lasted more than eight hours.
Hamdan is charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, including attacking civilians, murder and terrorism. He isn't charged with any specific violent act.
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