Guantanamo Judge Allows Testimony About Torture
FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) -- Lawyers for the Guantanamo Bay prisoner accused of orchestrating the deadly attack on the USS Cole are presenting expert testimony at a pretrial hearing on how to conduct a mental examination of a torture victim.
Dr. Vincent Iacopino will testify Tuesday at the military tribunal in Cuba of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.
The judge, Army Col. James Pohl, agreed to hear the testimony before he orders an examination to determine whether al-Nashiri is competent to stand trial.
Defense lawyers say it should be done with sensitivity to Al-Nashiri's history of being waterboarded and threatened with weapons while he was being held by the CIA in a series of secret prisons.
The 2000 bombing of the Navy destroyer in Yemen killed 17 crew members and wounded 37.
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