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A Guantanamo judge has rejected an argument that the war crimes trial of Canadian Omar Khadr is too secretive and violates his right to have a public trial.
But exactly what U.S. Army Col. Patrick Parrish ruled yesterday is a secret too – since his decision wasn't released publicly.
In fact, since Parrish took over Khadr's case in May, not one of the dozens of written pre-trial motions and decisions filed in the case has been released.
That means journalists are left to rely on Khadr's lawyers to report on the outcome of the rulings since the Pentagon's Office of the Military Commissions, which oversees the Guantanamo trials, can only confirm a ruling has been rendered.
"The military judge has the sole authority to determine whether or not any given filings can be released," commissions spokesperson Gail Crawford explained this week.
According to Khadr's military lawyers, Parrish issued rulings on five motions yesterday, including one that turned down an application to have the 21-year-old detainee from Toronto undergo an independent psychiatric evaluation.
Parrish instead ordered the prosecution to provide "comparably qualified" military doctors to conduct the evaluation.
Khadr's lawyers had argued against this option because physicians at Guantanamo once helped develop interrogation programs – a controversial position condemned by the medical community and a violation of the doctors' medical and ethical obligations.
Since Khadr was 15 when he was shot and captured in Afghanistan in July 2002, his lawyers also argued he needed specialists with experience in juvenile and combat issues.
An independent assessment of Khadr was one of the few circumstances that could have delayed the start of the October trial. Military doctors are now expected to meet Khadr in the coming weeks. Khadr is accused of five war crimes, including murder in death of U.S. soldier Christopher Speer.
