Defense in Sept. 11 case seeks ‘black site’ access

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Lawyers for an alleged Sept. 11 plotter held at Guantanamo want to inspect secret CIA overseas prisons, saying in court papers Monday the conditions in the so-called black sites may yield insight into a mental disorder that has raised questions about whether he is competent to stand trial.

The lawyers for Ramzi Binalshibh, one of five Guantanamo prisoners facing a possible death sentence for allegedly taking part in the 2001 terror attack on the U.S., also seek to see “any instruments that may have been employed” to restrain or coerce him in the four years before he was taken to the U.S. Navy base in Cuba.

Attorneys for a former Guantanamo detainee facing trial in New York on terrorism charges made a similar request last week to examine the clandestine jails.

Navy Cmdr. Suzanne Lachelier, a military lawyer appointed to represent Binalshibh, said the defense needs to assess the conditions of his previous confinement if the U.S. decides to resume his war crimes trial.

“It is essential to assess his current mental competency,” Lachelier told The Associated Press.

Neither his lawyers nor the prosecution have disclosed Binalshibh’s exact illness, but Department of Defense doctors have diagnosed him with a “psychiatric disorder” and he has been treated with a drug for schizophrenia, according to court papers.

His trial has been on hold since January, when President Barack Obama requested a suspension of all war crimes proceedings at Guantanamo until his administration could review the system of prosecuting terrorism suspects created by his predecessor and Congress.

The review is expected to be finished July 21, but the military has scheduled a series of hearings at Guantanamo next week to deal with pretrial legal issues, including the request to visit the black sites. A judge is expected to rule later on the larger question of whether Binalshibh is competent to stand trial.

Prosecutors oppose the request to visit the now-shuttered secret prisons, but a spokesman for the Office of Military Commissions said he could not provide a copy of their court filing because the court had not yet cleared it for release. Lachelier said prosecutors contend past conditions are irrelevant.

On Thursday in New York, a federal prosecutor agreed not to dismantle overseas sites where a former Guantanamo prisoner, Ahmed Ghailani, claims he was interrogated by the CIA. His lawyers said they needed to inspect the sites to gather evidence of harsh conditions and interrogation techniques. The prosecutor said the government didn’t plan to use any evidence gathered at the secret prisons, whose location has never been publicly revealed.

Binalshibh’s request is different in that his lawyers argue the conditions at the secret jails might have been so horrific that they could have contributed to, or perhaps even caused, his mental problems.

In November, a judge granted Binalshibh’s lawyers access for the first time to “Camp 7″ and “Camp Platinum,” the secret section of Guantanamo where he is held, to evaluate his conditions. The lawyers said in court documents that he was so unstable that he believes his bed shakes and noxious odors are pumped into his cell.

“Mental status does not arise from a vacuum: present and past experiences affect one’s perceptions, understandings and general mental competency,” his lawyers wrote in seeking access to the overseas prisons.

The case against Binalshibh includes conspiracy and murder charges for purportedly helping find flight schools for the Sept. 11 hijackers, and allegedly providing other assistance. He allegedly was selected to be a hijacker and made a “martyr video” in preparation for the operation, but was unable to get a U.S. visa.

Binalshibh, who has said he wants to serve as his own attorney and plead guilty, said at a January hearing that he was proud of his role in the Sept. 11 attack.