By Jane Sutton
Lawyers for the driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, asked for the records to support their argument that prolonged isolation and harassment at the Guantanamo prison have mentally impaired him and compromised his ability to aid in his defence on war crimes charges.
He said the military was still looking for the records kept at the remote U.S. naval base in southeast Cuba, which he referred to by its nickname.
Hamdan, who is in his late 30s, was the prisoner whose lawsuit prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the initial Guantanamo war crimes system. The charges against him were twice dismissed and then refiled and the military hopes to begin his trial in May.
TRUSTED MEMBER OF AL QAEDA?
At a pretrial hearing on Thursday, Hamdan's lawyers asked the judge to drop the charges on grounds that their client's acts were not recognized as war crimes when committed.
A U.S. Justice Department lawyer argued that although no international law or treaty specifically listed conspiracy as a war crime, the Nuremberg war court set a precedent by prosecuting German SS members after World War Two. They were accused of membership in what had been declared a criminal organization, essentially the equivalent of conspiring with al Qaeda, said the attorney, Jordan Goldstein.
Hamdan's civilian lawyer, Joseph McMillan, said the law has since evolved and marauders may no longer be "hunted down like wolves" and summarily executed.
The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, asked, "This is what the president's saying, international law needs to evolve to (counter) terrorism?"
