Ex-Gitmo prosecutor to testify for defense

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The former chief U.S. prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay plans to testify in the case of Osama bin Laden's driver about political interference in detainee trials.

Air Force Col. Morris "Mo" Davis told ABC News he believes the defendant, Salid Ahmed Hamdan, is guilty.

"I am satisfied that there is a strong case against Mr. Hamdan," Davis said. "He should be held accountable, but the process should be fair."

Davis says that Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England wanted terrorism suspects convicted in the months immediately before the 2006 midterm elections. William Haynes, former general counsel to the Pentagon, later told him that acquittals would not be acceptable after Davis said that acquittals in cases where the evidence is weak would "validate the process," the former prosecutor alleged.

"His eyes got big and he said, 'We can't have acquittals. We've been holding these guys for some time and we can't have acquittals,'" Davis said.

Davis said he is also suspicious of the timing of the release of David Hicks, an Australian held at Guantanamo. He was freed when Prime Minister John Howard was heading into a difficult election, which he ended up losing.