Hicks to explain terror conviction appeal FORMER Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks will face media on Wednesday and outline his reasons for lodging an appeal against his conviction in the US for supporting terrorism. Lawyers for Mr Hicks lodged the appeal papers in the US Court of Military Commission Review on Tuesday, Fairfax Media reported on Wednesday. They are seeking a summary dismissal of the conviction because the offence was not a war crime at the time Mr Hicks was detained and his guilty plea was made under duress. "A guilty plea induced by the unholy trinity of violence, threats and improper promises cannot be allowed to stand," the appeal document said. Mr Hicks and his lawyer, Stephen Kenny, will hold a press conference in Sydney to explain the appeal. "He (Hicks) will give a statement, and Stephen Kenny will give a statement explaining process, what steps need to go through," a Justice Campaign spokeswoman told AAP. She would not provide details about the statement, but said Hicks "obviously ... would be talking about the appeal and what it means to him." Hicks' US lawyer Wells Dixon says his client was held for years under horrific conditions and in no sense could his guilty plea be considered voluntary. Mr Dixon said the basis of the appeal was that the purported offence to which Hicks was convicted wasn't in fact a crime. Mr Dixon said the plea was orchestrated by the US government and then prime minister John Howard who was facing re-election in 2007, as Hicks' detention was emerging as a campaign issue. He's able to challenge the sentence because the seven year prison term doesn't expire until next April. As part of the plea agreement, Hicks signed a document waiving his appeal rights. Although Hicks has admitted serving with the Taliban, he disputes that camps were actually run by terror group al-Qaeda.