Detainee-trial judge bars coerced evidence
Prosecutors could appeal in case of bin Laden driver
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - The judge in the first American war crimes trial since World War II barred evidence yesterday that interrogators obtained from Osama bin Laden's driver, ruling he was subjected to "highly coercive" conditions in Afghanistan.
Prosecutors are considering whether to appeal the judge's ruling - a development that could halt the trial of Salim Hamdan that began yesterday after years of delays and legal setbacks.
"We need to evaluate . . . to what extent it has an impact on our ability to fully portray his criminality in this case, but also what it might set out for future cases," said Army Colonel Lawrence Morris, the tribunals' chief prosecutor.
Hamdan, who was captured at a roadblock in Afghanistan in November 2001, pleaded not guilty at the start of a trial that is the first full test of the Pentagon's system for prosecuting alleged terrorists. He faces a maximum life sentence if convicted of conspiracy and aiding terrorism.
The judge, Navy Captain Keith Allred, said the prosecution cannot use a series of interrogations at the Bagram air base and Panshir, Afghanistan, because of the "highly coercive environments and conditions under which they were made."
At Bagram, Hamdan says he was kept in isolation 24 hours a day with his hands and feet restrained, and armed soldiers prompted him to talk by kneeing him in the back. He says his captors at Panshir repeatedly tied him up, put a bag over his head and knocked him the ground
The judge did leave the door open for the prosecution to use other statements Hamdan gave at Guantanamo and in Afghanistan. Defense lawyers asked Allred to throw out all his interrogations, arguing he incriminated himself under the effects of alleged abuse - including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.
Michael Berrigan, the deputy chief defense counsel, described the ruling as a major blow to the tribunal system that allows hearsay and evidence obtained through coercion. "These prosecutions are built to make full advantage of statements obtained from detainees," he said.
A jury of six officers with one alternate was selected from a pool of 13 flown in from other bases.
The United States plans to prosecute about 80 Guantanamo prisoners, including the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and several of his alleged coconspirators.
A two-thirds majority is needed for conviction in a noncapital cases like Hamdan's. If the government seeks the death penalty, as it is in trying the alleged Sept. 11 conspirators, the verdict must be unanimous.
Hamdan, a Yemeni, has been held at Guantanamo since May 2002. A challenge filed by his lawyers resulted in a 2006 Supreme Court ruling striking down the original rules for the military tribunals. Congress and President Bush responded with new rules.
