GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) – An Australian who allegedly trained with Al Qaeda and fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan said in a courtroom Monday that he needed more lawyers to defend himself against a charge that he provided material support for terrorism.

David Hicks, wearing a khaki prison jumpsuit, was being arraigned Monday – the first suspect to face prosecution under revised military tribunals established after the Supreme Court last year found the Pentagon’s system for trying Guantanamo detainees was unconstitutional.

Before the hearing, the Muslim convert shaved his beard but kept the long hair he uses to block the constant light in his cell at the isolated prison.

The 31-year-old former kangaroo skinner and outback cowboy said he was satisfied with his defense team but would ask later for more defense lawyers.

He is accused of attending Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and briefly fighting alongside the Taliban following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He was among the first prisoners taken to the isolated military prison in January 2002 and has been awaiting trial since.

“I’m hoping to have more lawyers and paralegals to get equality with the prosecution,” Mr. Hicks told the military court’s presiding officer, Marine Corps Colonel Ralph Kohlmann.

Earlier, Mr. Hicks was considering a plea deal, said Australian attorney David McLeod, who met with his client a day before the hearing.

“All of the options obviously have to be discussed, from not guilty and tough it out, through to ‘How do I get out of here at the earliest opportunity,'” Mr. McLeod told reporters.

American and Australian officials have said Hicks could serve his sentence in Australia, where Prime Minister John Howard has pushed Washington to deal with his case more quickly.

“His support for the Al Qaeda organization is what we intend to prove,” said Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, the chief prosecutor for the tribunals.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys began discussing a plea deal in January, but both sides declined to reveal the terms of any proposals. If required to enter a plea to the charge of providing material support for terrorism, Mr. Hicks’ attorneys said they expect him to plead innocent.

Mr. Hicks would be eligible for life in prison if convicted, but Mr. Davis noted that similar cases – such as that of the American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh – have resulted in 20-year sentences.

A case against Mr. Hicks began in 2004 but was put on hold while the Supreme Court considered the legality of the military trial system devised by the Bush administration. The Australian was charged again under new rules established by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in October.

Mr. Hicks, a Muslim convert, is so far the detainee charged under the Military Commissions Act. Officials have said they plan to prosecute as many as 80 of the roughly 385 prisoners at Guantanamo, and some could face the death penalty.

A challenge of the reconstituted system is pending before the Supreme Court. Lawyers for detainees have asked the high court to step in again and guarantee that they can challenge their confinement in American courts.
MpThe military says the new rules address some concerns of defense lawyers by allowing detainees to see all the evidence against them and making other changes.

“I recognize that around the world, ‘Guantanamo,’ when you say the word, has a negative connotation,” Mr. Davis said. “One thing I hope is that in the way we conduct these proceedings, maybe we can change some of those attitudes.”

During their meeting on Sunday morning, Mr. McLeod said Mr. Hicks had sunken eyes and showed other signs of weariness from his ordeal of living alone in a small cell. While optimistic that he “has a life ahead of him,” he said Mr. Hicks was nervous about his first court appearance in nearly three years.

“He recognizes the process … is one that’s designed to achieve convictions,” Mr. McLeod said.

Terry Hicks, who last saw his son in August 2004, was scheduled to arrive in Guantanamo on Monday with his daughter, Stephanie, to see David.

“He’s not going to be the same person I saw three years ago,” Terry Hicks said. “We’ve got to brace ourselves for that bit.”