The US government has for years had secret evidence that could help a young Canadian prisoner defend himself in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals, a military defense lawyer said on Thursday.
Prosecutors notified prisoner Omar Khadr's military lawyer two days ago of the existence of "potentially exculpatory evidence" from a US government eyewitness to the battle in Afghanistan that had resulted in Khadr's capture in 2002, Navy Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler said.
"It's an eyewitness the government has always known about," Kuebler told reporters after Khadr was arraigned for the third time on charges of killing a US soldier. "This is something that was buried because nobody ever looked."
He said an unidentified US government employee's eyewitness account of the firefight in 2002 could prove Khadr is not an "unlawful enemy combatant," as is required if he is to face trial on the US Navy base. But the lawyer was clearly angry that prosecutors did not tell him about the classified information until Tuesday -- more than five years after Khadr's capture.
"How much other exculpatory evidence is out there behind the black curtain that we can't see?" Kuebler said.
It was unclear when military prosecutors learned about that witness and they declined to speak to reporters at the US naval base in southeastern Cuba.
The evidence is secret and Kuebler would not say which government entity employed the witness.
But he said the evidence could challenge the government's assertion that Khadr is an "unlawful enemy combatant" subject to trial by the special military tribunals the Bush administration set up to try foreign captives held as suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.
Khadr is the son of an alleged al-Qaeda financier and was 15 when he was captured after a firefight at a suspected al-Qaeda compound in Afghanistan in 2002. He is accused of throwing grenades that killed US Army Sergeant 1st Class Christopher Speer and wounded other coalition soldiers.
Khadr, now 21, appeared in court with a full, short beard and bushy sideburns. He wore a loose white tunic and pants, a uniform signifying he complies with camp rules. Those who misbehave wear orange.
He is charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiring with al-Qaeda, providing material support for terrorism and spying by conducting surveillance of US military convoys in Afghanistan. He faces life in prison if convicted.
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