The US military announced Friday it has drafted new charges against three high-profile Guantanamo Bay detainees. Col. Morris Davis (USAF), chief prosecutor for the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions, said that the new charges against Australian David Hicks, Canadian Omar Khadr, and Yemeni Salim Ahmed Hamdan included murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and providing material support for terrorists under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA). The original charges against the three had to be dropped after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system established by President Bush unconstitutional without Congressional authorization.

The new charges will not be considered formal until they are approved, which Davis said is expected to take an additional two weeks. With regard to Hicks, who faces charges for attempted murder, Davis told the Melbourne Age that he did not intend to "argue for the maximum penalty of a life sentence". AP has more. The Age has local coverage from Australia on the Hicks charges. The Toronto Globe & Mail has local coverage on the charges against Omar Khadr.