David Hicks has been released from prison.
Wearing jeans and a green polo shirt, the 32-year-old walked from Adelaide's Yatala Prison at 8.17am (CDT) and was escorted to a waiting car, bypassing the waiting media pack that had been keeping a round-the-clock vigil.
A small crowd of mostly elderly supporters were outside the prison as Hicks left, many holding banners reading 'This could have been your son' and 'David Hicks is no threat'.
The supporters surrounded the car in which Terry Hicks and lawyer David McLeod left the prison, cheering as the car left the prison grounds.
Hicks glanced at waiting media as he was driven from the jail in a blue sedan, escorted by police.
His lawyer, David McLeod, later read a statement of Hicks's behalf.
In the statement read to the media by his lawyer, Hicks said he didn't want to risk breaking the gag order placed on him as he didn't want to risk going back to Guantanamo.
He also said he didn't feel that he could face the media at this point.
He thanked his lawyers, various politicians and organisations that had lobbied for his fair treatment.
In the statement, Hicks, captured among Taliban forces in Afghanistan in December 2001, did not apologise for his terrorist-related conduct.
"I had hoped to be able to speak to the media but I am just not strong enough at the moment, it's as simple as that,'' Hicks said through his lawyer.
"I am sorry for that.
"As part of my conditions of release from Guantanamo Bay, I agreed not to speak to the media on a range of issues before March 30, 2008.
"It's my intention to honour this agreement as I don't want to do anything that might result in my return there.
"So for now, I will limit what I have to say - I will say more at a later time.''
Hicks said he recognised "the huge debt of gratitude that I owe the Australian public for getting me home''.
"I will not forget or let you down,'' he said.
He also thanked his lawyers, various politicians and organisations that had lobbied for his fair treatment.
"Right now I am looking forward to some quiet time with my wonderful Dad, my family and friends,'' Hicks said.
"I ask that you will respect my privacy as I will need time to readjust to society and obtain medical care for the consequences of five and a half years at Guantanamo Bay.
"I have been told that my readjustment will be a slow process and should involve a gentle transition away from the media spotlight.''
Hicks, a father of two, was driven from jail to a secret location in Adelaide.
His father, Terry Hicks, said his son was "on a high''.
"It's now up to him,'' Mr Hicks told reporters.
"He now has got to get on with his life.
"He's on a high, he seems alright but I suppose in the quiet times everything will come back.''
Hicks has been in custody since being captured among Taliban forces in Afghanistan, in December 2001.
The father of two has completed a jail sentence, after pleading guilty before a US military commission in March this year to a charge of providing material support for terrorism.
Hicks will have to report to police within 24 hours.
- with AAP
Back of Yatala Labour Prison, Northfield, South Australia.
Australian David Hicks was released Saturday from Yatala Labour Prison in Adelaide, South Australia.

Hicks, who until May 2007 had been held for five years at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, was serving out his remaining sentence in an Australian jail. At a U.S. war crimes tribunal, Hicks pleaded guilty to providing material support to a listed terrorist organisation and was sentenced to seven years in prison. As part of the plea agreement, all but nine months of the sentence was suspended and in May of 2007, Hicks was transferred to Yatala.

A contentious part of his sentence was a ban placed on Hicks to prevent him from speaking with the media for a period of one year from the time he pleaded guilty, which was in March, 2007. On his release Saturday, Hicks indicated that he intended to comply with the suppression order.

"It's my intention to honour this agreement as I don't want to do anything that might result in my return there," said Hicks in a written statement read by his lawyer, David McLeod. "So for now, I will limit what I have to say - I will say more at a later time."

A small group of supporters waited outside of Yatala and cheered as his car drove away. In his statement, Hicks had thanked his supporters for "the huge debt of gratitude that I owe the Australian public for getting me home." He added, "I will not forget or let you down."

At his trial, Hicks admitted he attended training camps in Afghanistan, conducted surveillance of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and revealed that he had met Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda. He had participated in fighting against the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan in late 2001, and was caught while trying to flee the area.
David Hicks leaving Yatala Labour Prison. 
On his release from prison Saturday, Hicks was driven to an undisclosed location in Adelaide. His lawyer said that Hicks fears for the safety of himself and his family. "David is concerned about the safety of his family from people who hold views he was purported to share," said David McLeod. "There are also a number of far-right nationalist groups in Australia who have spoken out about David."

Terry Hicks, David's father, said his son was pleased to be free. "He's on a high, he seems alright but I suppose in the quiet times everything will come back."

"It's now up to him," said Terry Hicks. "He now has got to get on with his life."