Australian Story (1996)

For the first time on television, David Hicks tells his story. On Tuesday 20th September at 8.30pm on ABC1, David Hicks speaks about his life and journey in David Hicks: Australian Story Special. Over several months, award winning Australian Story reporter/producer Helen Grasswill has explored the Hicks case, encouraging him to reflect on his past and the actions that resulted in six years detention at the controversial US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. In this revealing program, Hicks sheds light on his childhood and the steps that brought him to embrace Islam and become involved with fundamentalist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Grasswill also poses the difficult questions, pressing Hicks about his now infamous letters to his family after he spent time in a militant training camp in Pakistan and his differing explanations about why he returned to Afghanistan after the events of September 11, 2001. As well, the program features interviews with members of Hicks's family, key representatives of the Australian government of the day, and a number of experts who give their view on the veracity of Hicks's claims about his time in Guantanamo and the legal case against him.

Aug. 30, 2011, midnight