GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - A U.S. military judge has denied a request by Omar Khadr's lawyers for an independent psychological evaluation of a young Canadian detainee.
The army judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, said the services of two experts requested by Khadr's defence lawyers will only be accepted if prosecutors cannot find government specialists with similar qualifications.
Khadr is scheduled to face trial in October at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on charges that he lobbed a grenade that killed a U.S. Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.
At a pretrial hearing this week, defence lawyers requested funding for two doctors with expertise in juvenile issues to examine Khadr, who was captured at age 15 following a firefight with U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Details of the ruling were released to reporters by Khadr's Pentagon-appointed lawyer, U.S. navy Lt.- Cmdr. William Kuebler.
Parrish also rejected a bid to dismiss the charges against Khadr over claims that another judge was removed from the case because of rulings favourable to the defence.
