David Hicks

The first Guantánamo detainee to be formally charged under the new military

commission rules, David Hicks, has alleged in a court document filed here that

during nearly five years in American custody he has been frequently beaten

during interrogations, and that as a result he "cooperated" with his interrogators.

The document said that beatings and other abuse included being thrown on the

ground along with other detainees and walked on by soldiers, being stripped naked,

having all his body hair shaved, and being subjected to injections. The maltreatment

began during interrogations in Afghanistan and continued aboard U.S. Naval ships

where he was held before being taken to Guantánamo, in early 2002, according to an

affidavit by Hicks that has been filed in support of a request by Hicks for British

citizenship. Hicks is Australian; his mother was born in Britain.

A spokesman for the military commission, Commander J.D. Gordon,

described Hicks's allegations as "false," and "completely lacking in merit."

At a U.S. military commission hearing scheduled for March 26, Hicks will plead not

guilty to the charge of material support for terrorism, his lawyer, Major Michael

Mori, said. The initial charges against Hicks, including attempted murder and

aiding the enemy, have been dropped.

Source: Reuters.