Guantanamo prosecutor steps down

A US military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay has resigned in what defence lawyers describe as a row over ethics.

Lt Col Darrel Vandeveld had quit because his office suppressed evidence that could have cleared a client, defence lawyer Major David Frakt said.

The chief prosecutor has confirmed the resignation, but he denied withholding any evidence.

The case involves an Afghan detainee accused of throwing a grenade at a US military jeep, injuring three people. The prosecution is said to have withheld evidence that others had confessed to carrying out the attack.

Col Vendeveld is the fourth Guantanamo military prosecutor to quit. Col Lawrence Morris, the Guantanamo military commissions chief prosecutor, told reporters that there were no grounds for Col Vandeveld's "ethical qualms"...

... He also expressed concerns over Mr Jawad's treatment.

"As a juvenile at the time of his capture, Jawad should have been segregated from the adult detainees, and some serious attempt made to rehabilitate him," Col Vandeveld wrote in his declaration... BBC