A letter from Guantanamo

Australian terror suspect David Hicks, who has been held in Guantanamo Bay since 2001, says he is on the brink of madness because of his iso...

Australian terror suspect David Hicks, who has been held in Guantanamo Bay since 2001, says he is on the brink of madness because of his isolation and treatment.

8216;8216;I feel as though I8217;m teetering on the edge of losing my sanity after such a long ordeal, the last year of it being in isolation,8217;8217; Hicks wrote in a recent letter to his father, released to Reuters on Tuesday. 8216;8216;I8217;ve reached the point where I8217;m highly confused and lost, overwhelmed if you like. I suffer extreme mood swings every half hour, going from one extreme to another,8217;8217; said Hicks in the August letter, received by his father Terry Hicks last month.

8216;8216;The decisions I8217;m making, which are no doubt important, are often done without thought or sometimes care. All decisions are made in chains, including being chained to the floor,8217;8217; he said.

Hicks, a 29-year-old convert to Islam arrested in late 2001 during the US-led war in Afghanistan, was among the first group of four Al Qaeda suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval base in Cuba to face a military tribunal.

Hicks pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, aiding the enemy and conspiracy to commit war crimes and was set for trial on January 10. In his letter, Hicks said US authorities had deliberately sought to lower his morale and disadvantage his defence, conducting all interviews like interrogations.

8216;8216;Depression seems to be their preferred order of the day,8217;8217; said Hicks. 8216;8216;I spend an average of 350 hours by myself between brief visits. No doubt this situation has negative psychological effects which will also permanently scar me.8217;8217;

Hicks ends his letter with a plea that he no longer wants to make decisions without his father8217;s advice. 8216;8216;I need to hear your opinions and know that this situation is real, Love David Hicks.8217;8217;

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Terry Hicks said on Tuesday that he saw his son8217;s deteriorating mental state first-hand when he visited him in mid-August, when he first appeared before the US tribunal. He added that his son looked physically well and fit, but his mental state was so fragile that he feared he might have said things in interrogations that would be used against him. 8216;8216;He is telling them what they want to hear,8217;8217; he said.

Terry Hicks said he was surprised to receive the uncensored letter because other correspondence from his son had been heavily censored.

Australian Mamdouh Habib is also being held in Guantanamo Bay.

Australia has reached an agreement with the US that if Hicks or Habib are convicted, they will be exempt from the death penalty, which Australia opposes, and will serve any jail term in Australia.

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Hicks and Habib are among about 595 prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. The US classified them enemy combatants rather than prisoners of war, which would have given them legal rights under international law. 8212;Reuters