U.S. must apologize for jailing son in Guantanamo: Aussie father

The father of former Australian Guantanamo detainee David Hicks called for the U.S. to officially apologize on Thursday after admitting his son was wrongfully jailed for being a terrorist.

The U.S. jailed David Hicks in its Guantanamo Bay facility for almost five years from January 2002 after he was found training with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.

He eventually pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorism in a plea bargain that suspended all but nine months of his sentence, allowing him to return to Australia.

But the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review set aside Hicks' guilty plea and sentence in the early hours of Thursday.

His father Terry who relentlessly fought for his son's release from the U.S. camp told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that an apology was needed

"Its been a long time, we've known the story for many, many years," Terry Hicks said.

"And now, at last the Americans have done the right thing. I think at the moment we just need an apology. The rulings they placed on David were all retrospective anyway, which is illegal.

"The American and the Australian governments in their wisdom decided to leave things as they were until now. At this point in time I myself believe there should be an apology.

"I doubt it will happen because it's just too embarrassing for them." Endi