A Guantanamo war court judge has threatened to halt the case of a Canadian terrorism suspect captured at age 15 if the US government fails to turn over records of his detention.
The judge, Army Colonel Peter Brownback, ordered prosecutors to give a classified daily prison-camp log to the military attorney for Omar Khadr, who is now 21 and facing trial on charges of throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.
Khadr and his lawyer say he was mistreated by his US captors and coerced into making incriminating statements. Brownback set a May 22 deadline today for the prosecutors to obtain and hand over the log, referred to as "Binder 2," kept by the Guantanamo prison commanders.
He called it an essential hour-by-hour record of Khadr's treatment.
Halting pretrial proceedings in the case, which is being followed intensely in Canada, would embarrass the US government.
Washington is fighting criticism about years-long delays in establishing a workable and fair trial system for prisoners captured in the war on terrorism launched by the United States after the September 11 attacks.
A halt could also lead to dismissal of one or more charges against Khadr, in a case seen as a test run for later trials against accused September 11 conspirators.