The admission by prosecutors that evidence from Guantanamo probably would not pass muster in an Australian court is the closest we have come to a formal acknowledgment by any Australian authority that Hicks' military trial was defective by ordinary standards of justice, writes Professor Ben Saul.

In an opinion piece published in Fairfax media, Professor Saul says that since prosecutors dropped their court case aimed at seizing the profits from his book, of David Hicks have been eerily quiet.

"It is extraordinary that it took prosecutors so long to recognise what a world of lawyers, and much of the Australian public, have long understood - that evidence from Guantanamo was dodgy and Hicks' trial was unfair.

"The withdrawal of that case brings to an end the official harassment of Hicks under Australian law.

"It is not, however, the end of the story.

"While Hicks is now free to get on with his life, there remain lingering questions about his treatment by the United States and Australia."
View the entire article - The persecution of David Hicks is a dark stain on the nation's soul - Sydney Morning Herald