Evidence Barred in Guantanamo Bay Trial
By Mike Melia
Associated Press Writer
July 22, 2008
CBNNews.com - A federal judge has barred evidence that interrogators obtained from Osama bin Laden's driver for use in the first of a series of war crimes trials at Guantanamo Bay.
Judge Keith Allred ruled that Salim Hamdan had been subjected to "highly coercive" conditions in Afghanistan, leading him to bar any statements he made there. The Yemen native pled not guilty Monday as the trial opened.
Click the play button for more from CBN News Terror Analyst Erick Stakelbeck.
Hamdan, a former driver and suspected bodyguard for Osama bin Laden, entered the plea at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba.
The defense had claimed that any of Hamdan's statements were tainted by alleged abuse including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement. Allred, however, did allow the use of statements Hamdan made at Guantanamo.
Hamdan was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, reportedly with two surface-to-air missiles in the car. His lawyers say he had no role in al-Qaeda's plots against America.
Thirteen uniformed U.S. military officers are now being selected as potential jurors.
Hamdan is the first prisoner to face such a trial since World War II. If convicted on charges of conspiracy and supporting terrorism, he could face life in prison.
Source: The Associated Press
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