Gitmo lawyer seeks protection of evidence

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Lawyers for a detainee at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay have asked for a court to bar the government from destroying evidence in his case.

Attorneys for Majid Khan claim the CIA subjected him to "state-sanctioned torture" during his detention at secret CIA prisons and asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to bar the government from destroying evidence of his treatment, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Khan's lawyers allege he "was subjected to an aggressive CIA detention and interrogation program notable for its elaborate planning and ruthless application of torture" to several detainees.

A spokesman for the CIA, Mark Mansfield, said "the United States does not conduct or condone torture," but added that some "hardened terrorists" required "special methods of questioning," the Times said.

Pentagon officials believe Khan collaborated with Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed to explore attacking U.S. gas stations and poisoning water reservoirs, but the government filed no charges.

Attorneys for Khan made the request prior to the CIA admitting to destroying videotapes showing harsh interrogation techniques used against suspected al-Qaida operatives.