"I'm not in the business of apologising for the actions that Australian governments take to protect our country. Not now, not ever." David Hicks gives a press conference in Sydney. Credit:ABC Asked if Australia had done enough to help Mr Hicks, Mr Abbott said: "We did what was needed." And former prime minister John Howard brushed aside the US court's decision to invalidate the terrorism charge, saying no government owed an apology to a man who "revelled in jihad" and called Osama bin Laden a "brother". Mr Howard faced increasing pressure in the twilight of his prime ministership to use his close friendship with former US president George W. Bush to secure Mr Hicks' release from Guantanamo Bay.

Mr Hicks pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorism in 2007 in a plea bargain deal but has successfully challenged his conviction. David Hicks waves to his supporters as he leaves Yatala Prison in Adelaide in 2007. Credit:Shannon Morris His father Terry Hicks has asked for an apology to his son but Mr Howard said none was forthcoming. However, Mr Howard said through a spokesman: "The US verdict is about the legal process in that country. Nothing alters the fact that by his own admission, Hicks trained with al-Qaeda, met Osama bin Laden on several occasions - describing him as a brother. He revelled in jihad. A young David Hicks in an undated file photo. Credit:Reuters

"He is not owed an apology by any Australian government," the spokesman said. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten believes the government has questions to answer about Mr Hicks' treatment. "There is no doubt on one hand David Hicks was probably foolish to get caught up in that Afghanistan conflict, but clearly there has been an injustice done to him," Mr Shorten said on Thursday. Attorney-General George Brandis said the Australian government's dealings with Mr Hicks have at all times "been in accordance with Australian laws". "Mr Hicks has made a number of admissions regarding his activities, including in letters to his family and in his book, for example that he undertook training with militia and terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama bin Laden on many occasions and considered him a 'brother'," Senator Brandis said in a statement.



"Those particular activities were carried out before the 2002 and subsequent counter-terrorism laws. The type of activities that Mr Hicks has admitted to, including training with al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations in Afghanistan, would likely now fall within the scope of Australian terrorism laws."

Mr Hicks said he was still half asleep when he heard the news from his lawyer Stephen Kenny, of Camatta Lempens, early on Thursday. He told a hastily convened media conference in Sydney that, although he was happy with the result, he was also exhausted from the long fight to clear his name. He said he did not expect an apology from the Australian government but he said someone should be responsible for his medical expenses. "I am in a lot of trouble physically at the moment," he said. "It is affecting my ability to do any day job, which is my only income. I am in need of an operation on my left knee, my right elbow and my back, and my teeth keep getting pulled because I couldn't brush them for 5½ years. It is becoming an expensive exercise to fix myself from torture."

Mr Hicks said he had not discussed seeking compensation as yet but as the Australian government was aware of the conditions in which he was being held, they should at least pay for his medical expenses. Mr Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 and turned over to the US, before being taken to Guantanamo Bay in the first batch of prisoners to be incarcerated there. He was held for 5½ years before being convinced to give an Alford plea, which is not recognised in Australia. The plea deal was that he would be convicted in the US of providing material support for terrorism but he would be allowed to return to Australia and serve a seven-month prison sentence. He was also gagged from speaking for one year and subject to a control order.

Earlier this year, the US military courts admitted that the conviction against Mr Hicks was invalid. It had previously set aside other similar convictions because they were not correct in fact or law and the offence he had been charged with was an "Invented" crime. Mr Hicks has always maintained that he was coerced into the plea deal and saw it as the only way out of Guantanamo Bay where he was being held in terrible conditions. Mr Hicks said on Thursday his ongoing physical problems stemmed from his torture and mistreatment, which included being kept in freezing conditions and small rooms for years. "Not being able to move or exercise. The body deteriorates over 5½ years, even without the added torture.", such as stress positions, being beaten etc," he said. It was the only way out of Guantanamo Bay where he was being held in terrible conditions, he said.

Mr Hicks thanked those instrumental in securing his release from Guantanamo and the US military court ruling. "I would like to give special mention to [his lawyer] Stephen Kenny," he said. "He was there at the beginning and now he is here today at the end." Mr Hicks thanked the Australian public and acknowledged Gilbert and Tobin Lawyers' assistance in defeating the federal government's attempt to seize the sales proceeds from his book Guantanamo: My Journey. Mr Hicks said he was looking forward to getting on with his life now his name had been cleared.

Mr Hicks said he did not care that Mr Abbott would not apologise. "It's all over with," he said. In a tense exchange with reporters at the end of the press conference, Mr Hicks hit out at his critics. "I think they're supporters of torture," Mr Hicks said. "The only thing that matters is what the US government has said."

Asked what he was doing when he was picked up in Afghanistan, Mr Hicks replied: "Having a holiday." He said he wanted "to live a normal life and be a normal person". - with Latika Bourke, AAP