U.S. military loses records for bin Laden's driver

By Jane Sutton

GANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - The U.S. military has lost a year's worth of records describing the Guantanamo confinement of Osama bin Laden's driver, a prosecutor said at the Yemeni captive's war court hearing on Thursday.

Lawyers for the driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, asked for the records to support their argument that prolonged isolation and harassment at the Guantanamo prison have mentally impaired him and could affect his ability to aid in his defense against war crimes charges.

"All known records have been produced with the exception of the 2002 Gitmo records," one of the prosecutors, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Stone, told the court. "They can't find it."

He said the military was still looking for the records kept at the remote U.S. naval base in southeast Cuba, which he referred to by its nickname.

The chief prosecutor, Army Col. Larry Morris, said all of Hamdan's interrogation records were given to the defense at least a year ago and that the missing 2002 documents are "local detention records that deal with issues of confinement such as diet, exercise, hygiene and the location of the detainee" within the camp.

Defense lawyers contend there are still records missing, including some that would show Hamdan was coerced into making some statements that could be used as evidence against him.

U.S. President George W. Bush authorized the Guantanamo court to prosecute suspected al Qaeda members on terrorism charges, arguing that existing civilian and military courts were not designed to try war captives who are not part of any national army.

Hamdan, who is in his late 30s, was the prisoner whose lawsuit prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the initial Guantanamo war crimes system. The charges against him were twice dismissed and then refiled and the military hopes to begin his trial in May.