AUSTRALIA/FILE: Australia launches legal action against David Hicks to seize profits from his book written about his time in Guantanamo Bay

Record ID: 190033

  • Title: AUSTRALIA/FILE: Australia launches legal action against David Hicks to seize profits from his book written about his time in Guantanamo Bay
  • Date: 4th August 2011
  • Summary: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (AUGUST 3, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS OUTSIDE COURT PERSON HOLDING BOOK (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW SOUTH WALES GREENS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, DAVID SHOEBRIDGE SAYING "David Hicks has a valid story to tell. He's not a hero, but he's a man who is subject to more than half a decade of persecution. He's a man who has his unique take on the Australian war on terror. He's told that story in his book that was published here in Australia and now the Australian Government wants to take his profits away. This is a warning bell by the Australian Attorney General to future authors. If you publish a decent invoice, if you expose the complicity of the Australian government, they will come after you and they'll prosecute you for your profits." SUPPORTERS OUTSIDE COURT
  • Embargoed: 19th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Australia
  • Country: Australia
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA6S0EW9IMC356LHBIJTLUAX238
  • Story Text: Supporters of David Hicks gathered outside the New South Wales Supreme Court on Wednesday (August 3), as Australian prosecutors began legal action to seize book profits from the former Guantanamo Bay inmate.
    Hicks, the only inmate convicted of terrorism offences, was not at the hearing where a judge froze earnings made through sales of his book.
    The judge adjourned the case for two weeks.
    Greens Member of Parliament, David Shoebridge was among the supporters outside court.
    "David Hicks has a valid story to tell. He's not a hero, but he's a man who is subject to more than half a decade of persecution. He's a man who has his unique take on the Australian war on terror. He's told that story in his book that was published here in Australia and now the Australian Government wants to take his profits away. This is a warning bell by the Australian Attorney General to future authors. If you publish a decent invoice, if you expose the complicity of the Australian government, they will come after you and they'll prosecute you for your profits," he said.
    Hicks's book, "Guantanamo, My Journey", was published last year by Random House, and is based on his time at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba from 2001 until 2007.
    Under Australian law, a person cannot gain commercial benefit from a crime, which can prevent criminals receiving payment for writing books about their offences.
    Earnings from Hick's book are held by a family trust.
    The book has reportedly sold 30,000 copies, regarded as "solid" sales for a hardcover book in Australia. As a rule of thumb, an author can expect around 10 percent of sales, with Hick's book having a recommended price of A$49.95 ($47).
    Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 and spent five years in Guantanamo before pleading guilty to supporting terrorism and becoming the first person convicted by the war crimes tribunals created by the United States to try non-American captives.
    Hicks, a former kangaroo skinner, admitted training with al Qaeda and meeting its then-leader Osama bin Laden, whom he described as "lovely," according to police evidence given to the U.S. military court.
    Hicks returned to Australia in 2007 as part of his guilty plea, which also included a one-year gag order.
    Another Australian, Mamdouh Habib, was released from Guantanamo without charge in 2005.
    Australia, a close U.S. ally, was an original member of the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003 and Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 airliner attacks in the United States.
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