When they're finished torturing people, they make the victims sign statements saying they weren't tortured.
Even through our wrongdoing they have still treated us well and humanely, which I am and always will be eternally grateful for.
Under his plea deal, Hicks stipulated that he has "never been illegally treated by a person or persons while in the custody of the U.S. government,'' Kohlmann said. In the statement read by Mori, Hicks thanked U.S. service members for their professionalism during his imprisonment.
Furthermore, the judge said, the agreement bars Hicks from suing the U.S. government for alleged abuse, forfeits any right to appeal his conviction and imposes a gag order that prevents him speaking with news media for a year from his sentencing date.
Hicks previously reported being beaten and deprived of sleep during his more than five years at the prison erected for terrorism suspects held at this U.S. Navy base.
Hicks' father, Terry Hicks, welcomed the leniency of a nine-month prison sentence but vowed Saturday to continue complaining about his son's treatment, even though his the younger Hicks is barred from doing so by the plea deal.
"I believe one of provisos was that he had to sign a form to say he wasn't badly treated,'' Terry Hicks told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in Australia. ``We know for a fact that he was, and I'm going to push that issue.''
Shayana Kadidal, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents hundred of Guantanamo detainees, said the provisions appeared aimed at preventing abuse allegations from emerging and politically damaging the Bush administration.
U.S. officials have been accused by human rights groups of permitting torture of detainees in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.
Feh.
Footnote Note that in return for recanting his allegations of torture, Hicks is being let off with a nine-month sentence (on top of the five years he has already been confined), and will be allowed to serve that sentence in Australia. What does that say about his alleged status as a dangerous terrorist?