Former prime minister John Howard says David Hicks is not owed an apology by any government.
"The US verdict is about the legal process in that country," Mr Howard, who was prime minster when Mr Hicks was sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2002, said in a statement on Thursday.
"Nothing alters the fact that by his own admission, Hicks trained with Al Qaeda, met Osama bin Laden on several occasions - describing him as a brother.
"He revelled in jihad.
"He is not owed an apology by any Australian government."
Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said Mr Howard was trying to evade scrutiny.
"(Mr Howard) doesn't want the scrutiny of what he did when he was prime minister in failing to stand up to the Americans, to a wrong conviction and for the rights of an Australian citizen," she told reporters in Adelaide.
"We need an apology from the Australian government for failing to stand up for an Australian citizen, and for the fact that David Hicks suffered so badly as a result of a completely flawed legal process."
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