Guantanamo witnesses to be kept secret

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. military prosecutors reportedly have convinced a judge to keep secret the identity of witnesses against a detainee held at Guantanamo.

"It is conceivable, if not likely, that al-Qaida members or sympathizers could attempt to target witnesses," Marine Maj. Jeffrey D. Groharing wrote to the judge, Army Col. Peter E. Brownback III, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Brownback has ordered defense lawyers preparing for the war crimes trial of Omar Ahmed Khadra, 21, not to tell anyone, including Khadra, the identity of the witnesses, the Times reported.

Khadra may be the first Guantanamo detainee to go to trial, perhaps as soon as May, the Times reported.

Brownback's Oct. 15 order illustrates the gap between military procedures and civilian rules that the accused has a right to a public trial and to confront the witnesses against him.

Khadra's lawyers say the order prevents them from adequately defending Khadra because they can't ask him, or anyone else, about prosecution witnesses, making it difficult to test the credibility of testimony, the Times reported.