A salute to US Marine, Major Michael Mori

Major Michael Mori, the US marine and military lawyer assigned by the Pentagon to defend accused terrorist David Hicks, has been a faultless defender of justice in his Guantanamo Bay assignment.

The Australian detainee is reportedly not the most sympathetic of characters. His fellow Muslim detainees think he’s a waste of real estate and a sad joke, certainly not the stuff of terrorist paradise.

Mori has taken his assignment very seriously, and has stood by a belief that Hick’s detention is a breach of justice.

Abandoned by his Australian government, Hicks turned to his birth place Britain who have consistently refused the US the right to hold their citizens at Guantanamo Bay

Following Britain's reluctant acceptance of Hicks' right to citizenship, the US authorities have hindered the process to administer oaths that would see Hicks swear loyalty to Britain and the Queen.

Major Mori, with access to the detainee, has now volunteered to administer the oath.

"David could be sworn in in the next week — that's what should happen," said Major Mori, who saw Hicks at the military base in Cuba a week ago.

"But will the (US) Department of Defence do it? That's the real question."

Major Mori is pessimistic that Hicks' future will be resolved quickly. "I just think the US is trying to delay Hicks becoming a Brit because they know Britain's position on the (military) commissions," he said.

Under an agreement that has resulted in the release of nine British nationals from the Guantanamo Bay prison, Hicks could be released and would gain immediate British consular access and protection. Major Mori said the US would be reluctant to see that happen.

Holiday camp from hell

Mori also give an inside picture of this holiday camp from hell:

Major Mori sticks by his assessment of the punitive conditions in which Hicks is being held. He said Hicks, a convert to Islam, was a well-behaved prisoner who had been doing well until his sudden return to isolation. Hicks is in a concrete room with a steel door for 22 hours a day. In the two hours outside his cell he can shower and use a recreation area.

Major Mori scoffed at the suggestion Hicks, who is studying year 11 subjects with the assistance of the Australian consul, benefited from a reading room.

"There's nothing there, it's a joke," he said. "There is a little desk and a chair that you are chained to."

Hicks was at his lowest point, Major Mori said. The small table and plastic chair obtained for him by the Australian consul had been confiscated.

"They are saying it's like a US maximum-security prison and that is absolutely true, and it is used in the US for death-row inmates," he said.

You can bet Tony Blair won’t have this guy on his Queens Honours list, but he sure as hell deserves the salute more than any of the others named lately.