Posted on 03/28/2007 6:58:58 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
DAVID Hicks, already facing the possibility of 20 years' jail on terrorism charges in the US, is the subject of a new investigation by the Indian Government over his attacks on their armed forces in Kashmir.
The investigation has been triggered by disclosures in American prosecution files about the involvement of Hicks with a terrorist group that has killed thousands of people in the disputed Indian territory of Kashmir.
The prosecution file states that the former kangaroo skinner and father of two who converted to Islam joined the terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan, travelled to the border with Indian Kashmir in 2000 and fired on Indian troops.
Senior officials in New Delhi yesterday confirmed they were examining that material.
SNIP
"If Mr Hicks was involved with them at any level, and if he was indeed firing weapons at our troops, then, most certainly, we'd like to talk to him about it.
The American file is consistent with a letter Hicks wrote to his family in Adelaide in which he admits to firing hundreds of bullets in Kashmir at the enemies of Islam.
SNIP
In a March 2000 letter, Hicks told his family "don't ask what's happened, I can't be bothered explaining the outcome of these strange events has put me in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in a training camp. Three months training. After which it is my decision whether to cross the line of control into Indian-occupied Kashmir."
The training camp was run by Lashkar-e-Toiba, the army of the pure, Islamic fundamentalists fighting to free Muslims under Indian rule and designated a terrorist group by Australia in 2003.
SNIP
"I got to fire hundreds of bullets."
Australia has an extradition relationship with India as a fellow member of the Commonwealth that could allow the transfer of a suspect in special circumstances.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
David_Hicks
"David Matthew Hicks (born August 7, 1975), also referred to as
Abu Muslim al-Austraili and Mohammed Dawood while in Afghanistan,
is an Australian who was captured in Afghanistan and has been held
prisoner as an unlawful combatant by the United States Government
at Guantánamo Bay since his capture.
According to the U.S. government, Hicks served as a common foot soldier
with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
David Hicks was born in Adelaide, South Australia,
In 1999, Hicks traveled to Albania, where he joined the Kosovo Liberation Army,
fighting against Serbian forces in the Kosovo War.
On returning to Australia Hicks applied to join the Australian Army but was rejected.
Hicks then converted to Islam and began to study Arabic.
On 11 November 1999 Hicks traveled to Pakistan to study Islam.
After a period of time he began training with the Lashkar-e-Toiba
learning guerrilla warfare, weapons training, kidnapping techniques,
and assassination methods.
In a March 2000 letter, Hicks told his family "don't ask what's happened,
I can't be bothered explaining the outcome of these strange events has
put me in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir in a training camp."
US military prosecutors have alleged Hicks "attended a number of
al-Qaeda training courses at various camps around Afghanistan,
including an advanced course on surveillance, in which he conducted
surveillance of the US and British embassies in Kabul, Afghanistan".
They claim that, on an occasion when al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden
visited an Afghan camp, Hicks questioned bin Laden about the lack
of English in training material and subsequently "began to translate
the training camp materials from Arabic to English". Hicks wrote home
that he'd met Osama bin Laden 20 times, later telling investigators
that he'd exaggerated. He'd seen bin Laden about eight times and
spoken to him only once.
He was captured by a "Northern Alliance warlord" on or about December 9, 2001,
near Kunduz, Afghanistan, and turned over to US Special Forces for
$1000 on December 17, 2001.
And if he gets extradited to India, he will be tried and hanged by the long-drop method.
Depends on who does the extradition.If he gets handed over to Australia(which doesn't have the death penalty),then I think the Indian government has to assure Canberra that he won't be strung up to even have a chance to lay hands upon him.
Yes.By hanging.Though used very sparsely("RAREST OF RARE" Cases) & an excruciatingly long appeals process which starts from the district court(lowest court which can give death) upto the President via the Supreme Court.
I think the technical term for this POS's situation is "deep do-do."
You're right.
Generally Australia will not extradite a citizen facing the death penalty, but the government has indicated that policy could be flexible for the most heinous of terrorism cases. I can't see that being applied to what Hicks is being accused of.
Well he is getting off after doing 9 months. I wonder if he will get time reduced for good behavior.
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