Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Marine Defends Guantánamo Detainee, and Surprises Australians

What you see is not necessarily what you get.

That was the common reaction here to Maj. Michael Mori, an intense, energetic, 38-year-old American who became a near celebrity in Australia when he was here earlier this month.

He is an officer in the United States Marine Corps and looks it -- powerful physique, chiseled features, military haircut.

But when he speaks, he sometimes sounds like a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, sharply criticizing the Bush administration's policy toward the detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, calling the military tribunals before which some will be tried ''kangaroo courts.''

''We can't work it out,'' said Minna Muhlen-Schulte, an art student at the University of New South Wales, referring to the disconnect between Major Mori's image and his views. Having seen him on the news, she had come to hear him in person.

Major Mori sees no contradiction. He is an American, and he is a marine. But he is also a lawyer for David Hicks, 28, an Australian who was captured in Afghanistan more than two years ago and has been held at Guantánamo since. Major Mori was in Australia to investigate the case, and has been besieged by television, radio and print journalists.

''What I'm saying about the system isn't leftist,'' he said one recent morning here, speaking of the tribunals. ''It offends my understanding of what justice is that's been ingrained in me by the Marine Corps and by my legal training.''

Major Mori describes himself as apolitical -- he says it does not matter to him if there are four more years of President Bush, ''followed by eight years of Jeb,'' or if Senator John Kerry is the next president. He says his objections to the military commissions are the same as those the Bush administration has to the International Criminal Court. Both have unchecked power, and both can be misused for politically motivated prosecutions, he said.

One recent evening, Major Mori, in full uniform, was roundly applauded by the left-leaning crowd that gathered at the sandstone New South Wales Parliament House for the world premiere of ''The President Versus David Hicks,'' a documentary about Mr. Hicks's life.

It depicts Mr. Hicks's journey from high school dropout to Taliban warrior, with stops along the way training horses in Japan, fighting with the Kosovo Liberation Army and in Kashmir with a group linked to Pakistan's intelligence service.

Major Mori volunteered to represent the Guantánamo detainees and was appointed in November. Mr. Hicks is one of only a handful of the several hundred detainees who have been assigned a lawyer.

The lawyer contends, however, that Mr. Hicks should be tried by international legal standards, or returned to Australia. If he were returned, he would have to be released, because as an Australian citizen, he violated no laws in fighting with the Taliban, Australian officials said.

Mr. Hicks is likely to be charged by the tribunals with conspiracy to commit treason. The evidence against him will include his training at camps run by Al Qaeda, which Western intelligence officials say was more extensive than has been publicly reported.

Major Mori said he was not allowed to discuss any of the facts of his client's case.

Mr. Hicks's parents say his lawyers and the government are discussing a possible plea bargain in exchange for a limited sentence, but neither side would discuss details of the negotiations.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section 1, Page 13 of the National edition with the headline: Marine Defends Guantánamo Detainee, and Surprises Australians. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT