Morris Davis called to serve as defense witness for Osama bin Laden’s driver
(posted by Paige)
In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, Morris Davis, former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, criticized the military commissions for clinging to archaic policies regarding the torture of detainees. He argued that permitting the use of evidence obtained by waterboarding would be “not only an affront to American justice, it will potentially put prosecutors at risk for using illegally obtained evidence.” While waterboarding has recently been declared illegal by Congress, Davis pointed out that at a “Senate hearing in December, the legal adviser for the military commissions, Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, refused to rule out using evidence [previously] obtained by waterboarding.”
Today, an article for the AP by Ben Fox announced that Davis will serve as a defense witness for Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden’s driver, who has been charged with “conspiracy and supporting terrorism.” Davis described being called as a witness as “an opportunity to tell the truth.” Here is an excerpt from the article:
Hamdan’s defense team plans to argue at an April pretrial hearing that the alleged political interference cited by Davis violates the Military Commissions Act, said Hamdan’s military attorney, Navy Lt. Brian Mizer.
Davis alleged, among other things, that Pentagon general counsel William J. Haynes II said in August 2005 that any acquittals of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo would make the United States look bad.