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Australian Attorney General George Brandis has hit back following David Hicks'heckling at a public ceremony in Sydney, labeling the former Guantanamo Bay detainee as a"terrorist."
Hicks had interrupted Brandis'speech at a Human Rights Awards function on Wednesday evening, saying"Hey, my name is David Hicks.. I was tortured for five-and-a-half years in Guantanamo Bay in the full knowledge of your party. What do you have to say?"
At that point, Brandis left the stage, to which Hicks said"He' s run away.. It's too late -- he's gone."
However, Brandis returned fire on Thursday, telling a senate committee hearing that "you don't expect to run into a terrorist at a human rights awards event".
Brandis continued, saying he was not aware the heckler was Hicks at the time he left the stage. "There was a random individual, who turned out to be a terrorist, yelling at the side of a room for about three seconds,"he continued. "The closest I came to the man who was shouting, who turned out to be David Hicks, was at least 10 or 15 meters away."
Earlier on Thursday morning, Hicks'lawyer, Stephen Kenny, moved to deny speculation that the outburst was premeditated, admitting both he and his client were surprised Brandis attended the function in the first place. "I think David was surprised to find Minister Brandis there, talking about human rights, when he was a member of the (John) Howard government who had so completely ignored David's human rights,"Kenny told The ABC on Thursday. "We didn't even know the attorney general was going to be speaking there, there was no premeditation. It was quite a spontaneous thought by David."
Hicks was detained in Guantanamo Bay between 2001 and 2007 when he pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism.
He has since claimed he was beaten, sexually abused and drugged while in the U.S.-run jail and has stated that the Australian Prime Minister at the time, John Howard, was aware of his mistreatment.
Brandis served in Howard's cabinet throughout his 11 years in office.
Hicks'remarks came following the release of a U.S. Senate report around CIA torture, which reveals"brutal"tactics were used to interrogate suspects in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Kenny went on to say that although the U.S. report does not fully disclose events at Guantanamo Bay, it does go some way to justify Hicks'claims of mistreatment. "This is a vindication of David,"he said. "It confirms everything that we know, that this was just frankly routine and carried out in quite a brutal manner and David still carries the scars of it today."
