"Australia may seize David Hicks's Guantanamo book cash"

The only detainee of Guantanamo Bay to be convicted of terrorism, Australian David Hicks, could lose the income from his "tell-all" book.

The Australian director of public prosecutions has said that income constitutes the proceeds of crime.
Legal analysts said the government's lawsuit raised questions about whether the US military conviction should be recognised in Australia.
Hicks, captured in Afghanistan, was in Guantanamo for nearly six years.
The former farmer, dubbed the "Aussie Taliban", returned to Australia in 2007 and spent another nine months in prison to complete the US military commission's sentence.
Some have questioned whether such a conviction from a legal system widely criticised as unfair should apply in Australia.
On his release, Hicks was barred from giving interviews for a year. He published his book, "Guantanamo: My Journey", last year - it has reportedly sold 30,000 copies.
"The director of public prosecutions has applied for a restraining order and a literary proceeds order," a government spokeswoman said.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said Hicks was served a restraining order on Wednesday.
"I know (the public prosecutor) has been considering this matter for some time, ever since the announcement by Hicks of the writing of an autobiography," Mr O'Connor told ABC News.
'Twists and turns' The new order has re-opened the debate about Hicks's original conviction.

 

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"David Hicks has not been convicted of a crime in Australia," human rights campaigner John Dowd said.
"He has not been convicted of an offence under United States law. There is no basis for removing any profits from the sale of his book."
The case is scheduled to be heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales state on 3 August.
"It may well be that this takes twists and turns, and may even up possibilities for David Hicks to gain recognition that his offence was not one that should be recognised under Australian law," said constitutional lawyer George Williams.
"He may well [raise] issues going to the nature of his plea, whether duress was involved, whether it was a plea that should be recognised under the Australian legal system, and that could go to quite fundamental questions about the rule of law and the types of proceedings that can be properly recognised under Australian law," Mr Williams told ABC.
He added that it would not be surprising if the case went as far as Australia's High Court to decide "some quite important matters of principle".
In his book, Hicks wrote that he only admitted to a charge of providing material support to al-Qaeda to escape Guantanamo Bay.

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