Guantanamo prisoner seeks UK citizenship, asylum

Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks has made application to gain British citizenship. All nine British citizens that had previously been held in Guantanamo Bay have been released following lobbying by the British government.

The decision to make an application was made after Hicks made a chance comment about his mother's British citizenship when talking about the recent "Ashes" cricket series with his lawyer Major Michael Mori.

The ABC reported that a spokesperson from the British High Commission in Canberra has said that the application could take up to a year to process.

The Law Council of Australia issued a press release on September 21, 2005 asserting that if the proposed military trial of David Hicks goes ahead in its current format then it is shaping up to be a "true travesty of justice".

David Hicks has been held without trial for nearly four years and for much of that time he was held without any charges having been made. He is currently scheduled to face a military commission and is the only Guantanamo Bay detainee facing a commission hearing.

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