Spotlight: The President versus David Hicks
The President versus David Hicks, by veteran Australian filmmaker Curtis Levy and co-director Bentley Dean, is the first serious documentary about Australian David Hicks and his five-year detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
This beautifully shot film embarks on a real journey with David Hicks’ father, Terry Hicks, as he searches for the truth about his son. After trying in vain to win the support of the Australian government in his battle to persuade the U.S.A. to grant his son a fair trial, Terry decides to launch a one-man crusade to get justice. He follows David’s footsteps through Pakistan and the deserts of Afghanistan in an attempt to understand what led his son into the situation where he was captured by the Northern Alliance and handed over to the American military.
David Hicks' letters written to his father from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay provide real drama and poignant insight into what motivated this young Australian cowboy to become a freedom fighter for Islam.
In August 2004, six months after the completion of this film, Terry visited his son in Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. Supreme Court declared the Military Commissions there to be illegal; they were set up again.
After five years in Guantanamo Bay, Hicks was charged with providing material support for terrorism and sentenced to a seven year jail term. He will serve nine more months as the rest of his sentence was suspended under a plea deal and he has returned home to serve the remainder of his prison term in an Australian jail.
David Hicks was the first Guantanamo detainee to be convicted before a military tribunal. During the Military Commission hearings the judge, Colonel Kohlmann,
decided that Joshua Dratel, David Hicks' civilian defence counsel, did
not meet the criteria necessary to practice before the Military
Commission. Part of Hicks' plea bargain agreement is that he is not allowed to talk to the media for one year.
The President versus David Hicks picked up Australia’s two biggest entertainment prizes – two Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards for Best Documentary and Best Direction in a Documentary, and a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Documentary Series.
LEARN MORE:
For more information on this documentary visit Films Transit International.
To learn more about David Hicks and his case visit the New York Times.
More articles can also be found at the Sydney Morning Herald.
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About Spotlight
Spotlight is a Link TV weekly presentation of investigative reports from around the world. Commentary is provided by prominent authors and journalists. This episode is hosted by Lakshmi Chaudhry, who has been a reporter and editor for independent publications, including Mother Jones and AlterNet, for over six years. She is currently a senior editor at In These Times.
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