David Hicks, the former Guantánamo Bay prisoner, has been told his anti-terror control order will not be extended by Australian police - effectively ending the tough restrictions in place since his release by the US under a plea bargain.
Hicks, a 33-year-old Outback cowboy and kangaroo skinner turned Taliban foot soldier, has been subject to the order since his release from prison in his home state of South Australia last December.
Hicks had today broken his long media silence, asking the police to let him "get on with" his life. He released a 54-second video message through a political lobby group opposed to Australia's toughened anti-terrorism laws saying he feared police would ask for the control order to be extended for another year. The restrictions are due to expire next month.
"I don't know what the future holds for me," Hicks said in the video, posted on the GetUp group's website. "The only thing I do know is that until the control order is lifted, I will not be able to get on with my life."
Under the order, the former detainee has to report to police three days a week, observe a curfew and is banned from using any telephone or internet account not approved by the police.
The Australian federal police initially said it would be inappropriate to comment on whether an extension would be sought. But soon afterwards a second statement said: "Following extensive consultation with a number of agencies, the AFP has decided it will not be seeking a further control order in respect of Mr Hicks."
In a response posted at the GetUp site, Hicks said: "Today's AFP decision is a great relief for my family and me. I owe the Australian people a lot. I want to thank all Australians for their support. The decision not to renew my control order will allow me for the first time to now move on with my life. Thank you."
It is unclear if the government will allow Hicks to apply for a new passport or travel overseas.
The Muslim convert was captured by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan in late 2001 and handed to invading US troops. He was held for five and a half years without trial at the US military prison in Cuba before pleading guilty at a military tribunal. In return for the plea he was allowed to serve a nine-month jail sentence in Australia.
Under the plea bargain, Hicks admitted providing material support to al-Qaida. The deal prevented him from speaking to the media until March 2008 but even after that date he refused all media pleas to tell his story.
He said today that he must first recover from his years in detention.
"Because I'm still recovering from that ordeal, I'm not yet ready to fully explain what happened or why," he says. "One day, I will tell Australia that story, but I am not at that point yet."
Hicks' father, Terry, said his son was happy he "forced the situation" with his public appeal. He was continuing psychiatric treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and had a part-time job in "environmental-type work".
Since Hicks' guilty plea, only two Guantánamo Bay detainees have been convicted on terrorism charges. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's media specialist, Ali Hamza al-Bahlulto, was sentenced this month to life in prison. Bin Laden driver Salim Hamdan was convicted in August and sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
