Australian Al Qaeda Fighter to Be Handed Over to U.S. Military

David Hicks, an Australian captured among Al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, was expected to be handed over soon to the U.S. military by the Northern Alliance, but his future was undecided, the Australian government said Friday.

Atty. Gen. Daryl Williams said the hand-over would ensure that Hicks, 26, was held in a safe location. In addition, Australian authorities would have access to interview the captive, Williams said.

Hicks, a convert to Islam who was born in Adelaide, was caught about five days ago--the second Westerner arrested by the Northern Alliance among Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters after American John Walker Lindh, 20, was discovered two weeks ago.

But the government and Australian lawyers were still struggling Friday to decide whether Hicks had done anything illegal under Australian law by joining a foreign army.

“Investigations are ongoing. If Mr. Hicks has committed a crime against Australian law, the Australian government will do whatever is necessary to bring him to justice,” Williams said in a statement.

“The government is holding ongoing discussions with the U.S. government in regard to these matters.”

U.S. officials have yet to announce what action will be taken against Lindh, who was in custody at a U.S. Marine base in southern Afghanistan and has been moved to the amphibious assault ship Peleliu in the Arabian Sea.

Details and the location of Hicks’ arrest remain undisclosed, but Williams said the detainee reportedly was in good health.

Hicks, who had no criminal record, was unknown to security agencies until he was captured in Afghanistan.

Unlike Lindh, who converted from Catholicism at age 16, Hicks appeared to have stumbled into his newfound faith while looking for a cause.

Terry Hicks described his son as an adventure seeker, nicknamed Indiana Jones by his family, who dropped out of school at 14 and moved from job to job before converting to Islam two years ago and joining various Islamic militant groups.

Williams said David Hicks spent time with the Kosovo Liberation Army in Yugoslavia and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group in 1999 before moving to Afghanistan in 2000 to train with Al Qaeda.

It remained unclear whether Hicks would be brought back to Australia or dealt with under U.S. law.

President Bush is setting up military tribunals for foreigners linked to the Sept. 11 attacks, believed to have been masterminded by Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network.

Australian lawyers were struggling to pin a crime on Hicks.

“Potentially he has committed no offense at all,” Australian National University law professor John McMillan said. “If he just left Australia and joined the armed forces of the Taliban, this is no different from an Australian who answers a call-up in Israel or Greece [for national service].”