Hicks fate hangs in the balance

The fate of David Hicks hung in the balance on Tuesday night after secret talks at the Guantanamo Bay military base.

The Australian terror detainee's legal team met with US prosecutors behind closed doors and were tight-lipped about any deal ahead of Hicks's sentencing, likely to be later this week.

Hicks entered a shock guilty plea on Monday to providing material support for terrorism, in an apparent move to secure the 31-year-old Adelaide man a reduced sentence, which will be served in an Australian jail.

Prosecutors have been seeking a 20-year sentence, while Australia says the five years Hicks has already spent in US custody should be taken into account in his final sentence.

On Tuesday, as part of the Military Commissions Act process, defence and prosecutors met to establish the specifics of Hicks's guilty plea - the results of which could influence his sentence.

Prime Minister John Howard said later those facts had been agreed on, but revealed no further details.

A gag order is preventing lawyers and prosecutors talking about the deal, which could see Hicks home within weeks.

"We are being very careful to ensure that David's rights are protected until he's finally dealt with in this process," said Hicks's Adelaide-based lawyer David McLeod.

McLeod, who is at Guantanamo Bay, also warned the Australian government not to rush to judgment about Hicks following the guilty plea.

"Until the sentencing process is complete people should withhold from making judgments about David Hicks," McLeod said.

The lawyer was responding to Justice Minister David Johnston, who said the guilty plea vindicated the government's hard line on Hicks.

Despite Hicks's decision to plead guilty, the military commission will still hear the allegations against him in detail.

"You'll see over the next few days Hicks will sign up to a full admission of what he did," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Macquarie Radio.

"It's not just a question of a guilty plea but in the military commission process the judge will go through, allegation by allegation, in relation to the facts of what he was doing."

But first, a hearing will be held in the next day or two at which military judge Colonel Ralph Kohlmann must be satisfied that Hicks's guilty plea is voluntary, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

Chief prosecutor Colonel Morris Davis said Hicks would have to detail just what he did to justify his guilty plea.

A military commission panel of at least five and up to 10 military officers will then assemble to determine Hicks's sentence.

"We are shooting for by the end of the week to have them here and be able to get to the sentencing phase of the trial," said Davis.

"Hopefully, we will be wrapped up here shortly."

Military commission spokeswoman Major Beth Kubala said the defence and prosecution would be able to challenge potential members of the panel.

Candidates who may have served in Afghanistan are likely to be put under the microscope, because that is where Hicks is accused of fighting with the Taliban and training with al-Qaeda.

"Both sides will be able to question the members about any kind of actions that might tend to show any kind of bias," Kubala said.

"There only needs to be five to move forward for sentencing."

The lack of firm detail about a schedule for Hicks's sentencing has frustrated the contingent of media, human rights and legal observers.

Australian lawyer Lex Lasry QC, an observer at Guantanamo Bay, is a critic of the military commissions and said the judge's banning of two defence judges on Monday was a bad look.

"It was a very poorly organised and unattractive look for a hearing room in which criminal justice was going to be dispensed," he told ABC radio.

"The plea by Mr Hicks does nothing to allay the fears that a lot of people, including me, have about the lack of independence of this process."

McLeod also revealed why a long-haired Hicks appeared in a pale green prison outfit and thongs, drawing a warning that he should dress better next time.

"David has been in Guantanamo Bay for five years and four months and he's determined to attend the hearing in the clothing he's wearing back at the camp," McLeod explained.

Hicks has been transferred from the Camp 6 maximum security block to Camp Echo, a special detention complex with meeting rooms where he can be close to his legal team.

He has pleaded guilty to providing support to a terror organisation involved in hostilities against the United States, but denied a second part of the overall charge alleging he supported terrorist acts.

He allegedly attended terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and reported to an al-Qaeda commander after the September 11 attacks, but is not accused of firing a shot against US or coalition forces.

<Imagine, if you can, that you're locked away for 5 years with no charge, no hope of ever even getting any part of due process. Would you not then take any plea regardless of it's truth in order to get out? A plea here proves nothing but that he was locked away for 5 years. It can NOT be construed as proof or evidence of wrong-doing on the part of David Hicks. Furthermore, aiding those who you believe to be in the right is your duty, regardless of the means they use to carry out their objectives.>