The first trials of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay are expected to begin as early as September, an official overseeing the US military commission hearings said yesterday.
Four Guantanamo Bay detainees, including Australian national David Hicks, will face preliminary hearings at the US enclave in Cuba in the last week of this month.
Hicks' lawyers say they will not be ready this month to defend him in a trial.
Retired military lawyer John Altenberg, who is responsible for appointing commission members and approving charges, expects the trials to begin soon after the preliminary hearings.
"I think that there's the expectation that there'll be a trial sometime in September or October," he told ABC radio. "I don't know that [the US] government has a position on when they want to see it happen other than we need to move these along."
He added, "There have been extensive delays and now it's time to finally, you know, move to the commission stage itself."
Altenberg said he was confident the commission president would grant more time if defense lawyers were not prepared to proceed.
"Nobody wants to have the whole case busted just because we can't give someone another week or another month to prepare," he said.
The trials will not be telecast, but media will be able to follow proceedings, he said.
Hicks, 29, has been in custody since he was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 allegedly fighting alongside the Taliban.
He is charged with war crimes conspiracy, aiding the enemy, and attempted murder for being an "illegal combatant."
Those facing the first trials along with Hicks are Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan, Salim Ahmed Hamdan and Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul, both of Yemen. None is accused of killing Americans.
Another 11 of the 590 detainees at Guantanamo Bay have been identified as potential defendants for military commissions, but they have not been charged.
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