Guantanamo Hearing Delayed Over Cole Bomber's Attendance

Prosecutors want to force him to show up

A military judge at Guantanamo has been forced to put in the USS Cole bombing case on hold because of a dispute over whether the accused has to be in court.

Prosecutors want the judge to require that Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri attend all sessions of court, including this week's pretrial hearing in the case. They at least want al-Nashiri questioned in open court to make sure there are no questions raised later about his absence from court.

The defense in the case say that forcing al-Nashiri out of his cell and into court would traumatize him because he has been subjected to torture while in U.S. custody in the past.