Lawyers ask judge to stop first Guantanamo trial

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorneys for Osama bin Laden's former driver said on Thursday a federal judge in Washington should stop his Guantanamo Bay trial from going forward while he challenges the military tribunal system.

Attorneys for Salim Hamdan, who was the driver for al Qaeda leader bin Laden in Afghanistan, asked for an order staying his trial, which is scheduled to begin on July 21 at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo, until the judge decides his legal challenge.

Hamdan, a Yemeni, would be the first prisoner tried in the U.S. war crimes court at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. There are about 265 detainees at Guantanamo, which was set up in January 2002 to hold terrorism suspects captured after the September 11 attacks.

Hamdan's attorneys said a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month made clear the detainees are entitled to fundamental constitutional rights.

"This case raises the question of whether the constitutional right to habeas corpus can be rendered illusory by subjecting an individual to an unconstitutional trial by military commission," they wrote in the 46-page court filing.

"Trying Hamdan under a dubious regime whose very legality has been called into question by the Supreme Court would reduce the legitimacy of the proceedings in this country and in the eyes of the world," the attorneys said.

Hamdan's lawyers challenged the initial military tribunal system that President George W. Bush created after the September 11 attacks. The Supreme Court ruled for Hamdan and struck down that system in 2006. Bush responded by getting the Republican-led Congress in 2006 to adopt legislation that established the current system.

Like his previous challenge, Hamdan contested the legality of the system to try him. His lawyers challenged the jurisdiction and constitutionality of the tribunals, as well as the rules and procedures.

They cited the use of evidence obtained through coercion and of hearsay evidence. They said the tribunal also denied Hamdan's motion to suppress statements he made without informing him of his right to remain silent.

Hamdan's attorneys proposed that the U.S. government file its brief in opposition on July 10, and asked that U.S. District Judge James Robertson rule by July 21.

The U.S. Justice Department has said challenges by detainees facing charges, like Hamdan, should be held until after their trials at Guantanamo have been completed.

(Editing by Eric Beech)

Terra/Reuters