"Mr. al-Baluchi reported maltreatment and nothing happened," the lawyer told the judge in the military commission where the five detainees face charges that include terrorism, hijacking and murder for their alleged roles in the attack. "These records just moldered away with no follow-up."
Al-Baluchi is the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the lead defendant who has previously told military authorities that he was the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack. Al-Baluchi, born in Pakistan, is alleged to have sent money to the hijackers for expenses.
He was captured in Pakistan in April 2003 and held for three years by the CIA under its rendition, detention and interrogation program, which included the use of such methods as being repeatedly smashed into a flexible wall, confined in a small space, deprived of sleep and the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding, according to previously released government documents.
Lawyers for the five men charged in the attack have been arguing this week that the rules for handling classified evidence in the death penalty trial by a military commission are so restrictive that they are hobbling their defense efforts.
CIA spokesman Dean Boyd declined to comment on the allegation that al-Baluchi was injured in the agency's custody, citing the ongoing legal proceedings. Prosecutors have repeatedly said the evidence rules are necessary to protect national security, denying that they violate the Convention on Torture and portraying the issue of the men's alleged mistreatment as irrelevant.
Prosecutor Clay Trivett told the court that the focus of the case should remain on the Sept. 11 attack rather than the men's allegations of torture. "It's about the summary execution of 2,976 people," he said.
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