( CNN ) He was the first detainee at Guantanamo to be convicted in a military commission , and now his conviction has been thrown out . A U.S. military appeals court on Wednesday vacated the conviction of David Hicks , an Australian who pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorism . The court found that the activity for which Hicks was convicted was not an offense triable by military commission at the time he was caught . `` We are very happy for David . Today 's decision is a powerful reminder that he committed no crime , he is innocent of any offense , '' said Wells Dixon , senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights . `` David Hicks can now be truly free of Guantanamo . '' Hicks was captured by U.S. troops in 2001 in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led attacks against the Taliban were launched . He was transferred to Guantanamo in 2002 as one of its original detainees . He was held there for five years before entering a guilty plea in 2007 . Under a pretrial agreement , Hicks was sentenced to seven years in prison . However , all but nine months of that was suspended . Because of a transfer agreement between the United States and Australia , Hicks was returned to Australia to serve that time . He was released from prison in late 2007 . `` I 'm looking forward to getting on with my life now that my name has been cleared , '' Hicks told reporters in Sydney . He spoke about the physical ailments he suffers as a result of his time at Guantanamo , and suggested the Australian government should be responsible for his medical expenses . `` They were aware of the conditions I was being held in at the time . I think they should at least pay my medical expenses . That 's not much to ask for , I think . '' He said he was kept in metal rooms in freezing conditions for years , and was n't able to move or exercise . `` The body deteriorates over five and a half years , even without the added torture , such as stress positions , being beaten , etc. , '' he said . `` I 'm in need of operation on my left knee , my right elbow , my back . My teeth keep getting pulled because I could n't brush them for five and a half years , '' he said . `` It 's becoming a very expensive exercise to fix myself from the years of torture . '' Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has ruled out issuing an apology to Hicks . `` I 'm not in the business of apologizing for the actions that Australian governments take to protect our country . Not now , not ever , '' he said , according to CNN affiliate SBS . In a statement , Australia 's Attorney-General George Brandis said the ruling was based on a question of law , not on whether Hicks had engaged in the alleged activities . He suggested he would have been convicted under Australia 's current anti-terror 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 . ' '' Hicks ' lawyer Stephen Kenny said his client had traveled to Afghanistan for military training , but that was n't what Wednesday 's ruling was about . `` What he was doing there was not at that time illegal . He was n't doing anything that was a breach of Australian , international or U.S. law . And that 's what this decision today confirms , '' Kenny said . When asked by a reporter whether he was angry , Hicks said no : `` I think I 'm too defeated to have any anger . I 'm just worn out . '' CNN 's Evan Perez and Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report .
David Hicks , an Australian , had pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorism . He was sentenced in the US and is now serving a life sentence for his role in planning terrorist attacks on American targets.