David Hicks

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David Hicks (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian who became known for his detention at Guantanamo Bay and the legal fights around his case.

Early life
- Hicks was born in Adelaide, South Australia. His parents are Terry and Susan Hicks. The family later separated and his father remarried.
- As a teenager, Hicks was described as unsettled and troublesome. He left school early and held various jobs, including factory work and cattle station work. He had a partner named Jodie Sparrow, with whom he had two children, Bonnie and Terry, before they separated in 1996.
- He later moved to Japan to work as a horse trainer and, in 2009, married Aloysia Brooks.

Religious conversion and early overseas activity
- In 1999, Hicks converted to Islam and took the name Muhammad Dawood.
- He traveled to Albania in 1999 to join the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). He later traveled to Pakistan to study Islam and reportedly began training there with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) around 2000.
- Hicks spent time in Afghanistan in 2001, attending camps that US authorities described as al-Qaeda training camps. He later said he did not know about al-Qaeda at the time.
- He has said he met Osama bin Laden a number of times, though he later questioned the accuracy of how often this happened.

Capture and detention
- In December 2001, Hicks was captured near Kunduz, Afghanistan and handed over to the United States. He was transported to Guantanamo Bay, where he was detained for several years.
- Hicks has described being subjected to abuse and harsh conditions during his detention, including claims of mistreatment by U.S. and Northern Alliance guards.

Charges and legal proceedings
- The United States charged Hicks in 2004 under a military commission system created by President George W. Bush.
- The Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006) that the initial military commissions were unconstitutional, leading to changes in how detainees could be charged.
- A new Military Commissions Act was passed in 2006 to provide a different legal framework.
- In March 2007, Hicks agreed to a plea deal known as an Alford plea, pleading guilty to providing material support for terrorism. He received a seven-year sentence with all but nine months suspended, and he was returned to Australia to serve the remaining time.
- The U.S. appeals process later questioned the validity of the charges Hicks faced, given the laws in place at the time of the alleged acts.

British citizenship attempt
- Hicks briefly sought British citizenship through his mother and was granted citizenship in June 2006, but this grant was effectively revoked a few hours later by the Home Secretary.

Return to Australia and aftermath
- Hicks arrived in Australia in May 2007 and was held in solitary confinement under a control order.
- He was released from the control order in December 2007, and the order expired in December 2008. He later moved to New South Wales and began rebuilding his life.
- Hicks published an autobiography, Guantanamo: My Journey, in 2010, describing his experiences and views on the detention system.
- His case continued to generate debate in Australia and internationally about due process, national security, and how Guantanamo detainees are treated.

Legal resolution and later developments
- In October 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Hicks’s conviction under the particular charge was invalid because the law did not exist at the time of the offense.
- In 2015, the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review overturned Hicks’s conviction.
- In 2012, Australian authorities and Hicks’s supporters pressed for a full clearing of his name; in 2012 it was reported that the case against him had effectively been dropped, though the implications for his name were nuanced.
- By the early 2010s, Hicks’s supporters continued to advocate for a formal exoneration and accountability for mistreatment claims.

Today
- Hicks remains a controversial figure in debates over the Guantanamo detention system, rights of detainees, and international law.
- He has lived in Australia since his return, got married, and pursued work and writing, including his biography.

Note
- This is a simplified overview of a complex and disputed set of events. Many details about Hicks’s travels, training, and the exact nature of his activities remain debated.