CANBERRA, Australia -- (AP) -- A former Guantánamo Bay detainee who became the first person convicted by a military commission at the U.S. prison camp is fielding lucrative media offers for his story, his lawyer said Friday.

David Hicks, 32, spent 5 ½ years at Guantánamo and has claimed to have met al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at least 20 times while training in terrorist camps in Afghanistan, describing him as a ''lovely brother'' in letters home.

He is bound by a plea bargain not to speak to news media before March 30 and has not yet decided whether to speak out afterward, his lawyer, David McLeod, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Hicks would be barred under Australian law from profiting from any media deal, but his father has suggested the money could go to charity.

Hicks was freed in December after serving a nine-month prison sentence in his southern Australian hometown of Adelaide on a charge of providing material support to al Qaeda, part of a plea deal for his release from Guantánamo.

McLeod said 30 media organizations from Australia, the United States and Europe were competing for Hicks' story, though Hicks has shunned reporters since his release to comply with the plea deal.

''There is a high level of interest in hearing what David has to say,'' McLeod told ABC radio.

''David has not made up his mind one way or another whether he will tell his story or not, and to whom,'' he added.

The former cowboy and kangaroo skinner turned Taliban foot soldier spent 5 ½ years without trial at Guantánamo after his capture in Afghanistan in 2001. He also claimed in court documents that he was tortured at the hands of U.S. troops after his capture but recanted allegations of mistreatment as part of a plea bargain struck at Guantánamo in March.

He was repatriated from Cuba in April.

State and federal laws prevent criminals who break Australian law from profiting from their crimes by selling their stories. The Australian government added legislation in 2002 to prevent people from selling their stories if they have committed offenses that can be tried by a U.S. military commission.

Hicks' father, Terry Hicks, said any profits from the story should be given to charities supported by his son.

''Probably the memories David has are in his head at the moment,'' Terry Hicks told the ABC. ``As far as I know, he hasn't put anything together on paper or anything like that for publication.''

Australian celebrity agent Harry M. Miller has estimated that Hicks' story could sell for four million Australian dollars -- about $3.6 million in U.S. dollars.

McLeod and Terry Hicks could not be immediately contacted Friday.

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