Australian Guantanamo inmate to face court

CANBERRA, Mar 8 (Reuters) Australian Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks will have his first court appearance on March 20 charged with providing material support for terrorism, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said today.

''It is not before time. It has taken too long,'' Howard told Australian radio.

Hicks, 31, has been in U.S. custody at the Guantanamo military prison for five years after he was detained by US forces in Afghanistan in late 2001.

The charge against Hicks is the first brought against a suspected al Qaeda or Taliban member under the Military Commissions law passed by the US Congress last year.

Howard, facing a tough election in the second half of 2007, has pressed Washington for a speedy trial amid growing calls in Australia for Hicks to be brought home.

Howard said Hicks would be arraigned on March 20, clearing the way for his case to be heard before the new Military Commission system.

''It does indicate that we are nearing a point that I think all Australians have wanted for a long time, and that is that he is given a day in court,'' Howard said.

The US military accuses Hicks of supporting terrorism by attending al Qaeda training courses, conducting surveillance on the US Embassy in Kabul and briefly fighting US and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

A second charge of attempted murder was dropped.

The development comes as the Law Council of Australia, which represents the nation's legal profession, wrote to Australian lawmakers to call for ''urgent action'' to have Hicks released, saying the remaining charge against him was retrospective.

''US authorities have, after five years of military detention, essentially conceded that Mr Hicks' alleged activities in Afghanistan in 2001 were not illegal at the time,'' Law Council president Tim Bugg said.

''If Mr Hicks is not released within a month he will face an ad-hoc military tribunal designed to try non-US citizens according to an unacceptably low standard of justice.'' Reuters BDP DB0927