Former Guantanamo Bay concentration camp detainee David Hicks says if he wins the Queensland Premier's Literary Award he will donate the proceeds to torture victims. “If I win this award, every cent will go to victims of torture,” Hicks told Network Ten TV on August 24.
“I have never been a supporter of terrorism,” Hicks said. “I had no choice but to sign a piece of paper to get out of Guantanamo Bay,” the August 25 Courier-Mail reported.
Hicks’ book, Guantanamo: My Journey, was shortlisted in the non-fiction category this month. The book, which covers Hicks’ experience of detention and torture at the US-run jail between 2001 and 2007, could win a $15,000 prize if chosen from the six final nominations. The winner will be announced on September 6.
Asked to comment on the shortlisting, Hicks’ lawyer Steven Glass said: “They must think it’s a good book.”
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is currently pursuing a case to have the profits of the book seized as “proceeds of crime”.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh defended the shortlisting of Hicks’ book, saying the commonwealth court case was not an issue for the awards panel.
“The awards panel has made an assessment of the literary merit of this publication. It’s been shortlisted,” she said. “Ultimately, it’ll be determined on its literary merit and I think it’s important we not get in the way of that.”