Lawyer to Visit Camp Delta Man

An Australian lawyer will make the first independent legal visit to Guantanamo Bay's Camp Delta tomorrow to meet David Hicks, accused of fighting for the Taliban.

Stephen Kenny will become the first non-military lawyer to visit the camp when he begins five days of talks with Mr Hicks and a US military lawyer, Major Michael Mori.

Guantanamo detainees had been refused all access to lawyers until last week, when the Pentagon announced it would provide a military lawyer for Yaser Esam Hamdi, a US-born suspect.

Last Wednesday Maj Mori was appointed to Mr Hicks's case, and the meeting with Mr Kenny was arranged after a telephone conversation between him and Mr Hicks's father, Terry.

Mr Hicks, 28, is one of six men, including two Britons, who have launched a habeas corpus case in the American supreme court demanding that they face trial in the US.

Yesterday was the second anniversary of Mr Hicks's arrest near Kandahar in Afghanistan, but he has yet to face charges.

"The main thing is to get some instructions from him and advise him of what actions we have been taking on his behalf," Mr Kenny told Australia's ABC radio.

It is believed Mr Hicks could be planning to admit a minor terrorist offence as part of a plea bargain to prevent him being tried by a military tribunal.

A convert to Islam, he joined the Taliban shortly before the 2001 war in Afghanistan. US and Australian authorities claim he was working for al-Qaida, and the Australian government has refused to petition for his release despite a campaign by his father.