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Guantanamo Bay: Interrogators at Guantanamo Bay were told to destroy handwritten notes in case they were called to testify about potentially harsh treatment of detainees, a military defence lawyer alleged on Sunday.
The lawyer for Omar Khadr, Guantanamo Bay’s youngest detainee, said the instructions were included in an operations manual which he showed to prosecutors at the trial.
Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler, said the inclusion suggests the US deliberately thwarted evidence that could help terror suspects defend themselves at trial.
He added that he will use the document to seek dismissal of charges against Khadr.
The Pentagon said the matter was being reviewed.
The "standard operating procedures" (SOP) manual, made available to prosecutors during a pretrial review of the case, could support challenges by other detainees to suppress confessions at Guantanamo.
Kuebler said the interrogations are particularly relevant in Khadr's case because prosecutors are relying on evidence "extracted" from him.
"If handwritten notes were destroyed in accordance with the SOP, the government intentionally deprived Omar's lawyers of key evidence with which to challenge the reliability of his statements," Kuebler said in an email statement.
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