NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The attorney for a Canadian-born detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, says the center's chief of military defense lawyers won't permit him to see his client.
U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Bill Kuebler says an order barring him from the facility was issued after he inquired about a possible conflict of interest involving his boss, U.S. Air Force Col. Peter Masciola, Canwest News Service reported Wednesday.
Kuebler told Canwest the conflict involves Masciola's suggestion that his client, Omar Khadr, should be prosecuted in a U.S. federal court.
"I believe Omar should be repatriated to Canada and not put through a (U.S.) federal court," says Kuebler.
Khadr was arrested in Afghanistan in July 2002 following a firefight with U.S. forces. He faces five war-crime charges, including homicide in connection with the death of a U.S. serviceman.
The cases of all charged Guantanamo detainees are under review at the direction of U.S. President Barack Obama.
