SYDNEY, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock said he is frustrated at the continued detention without trial of countryman David Hicks at Guantanamo Bay.
Hicks, an Australian citizen, has been held for more than five years since he was captured by U.S. forces while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Ruddock told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Canberra has been unsuccessful in lobbying the United States to speed up the process and "the fact a trial has not yet occurred frustrates us."
Ruddock was commenting on concerns raised by the new Australian director of military prosecutions, Brig. Lynette McDade, over the delay in bringing Hicks to trial and whether any trial would be fair.
Ruddock denied there was any split with McDade on the question of Hicks and said, "We have been arguing very strongly with the United States that these issues need to be resolved quickly.'
