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OneWorld.net note: A Guantanamo detainee preparing to stand trial before a U.S. military commission may gain access to evidence indicating he was tortured thanks to a Thursday ruling by a UK court.

• Supreme Court protest to close down Guantanamo Bay prison camp, Jan. 11, 2008. © Center for Global DevelopmentOn Jun. 12, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp must be given the chance to challenge their indefinite detention in U.S. courts, drawing cheers from human rights activists that have been arguing the point for over six years.

• On Aug. 6, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, became the first Guantanamo detainee to stand trial before a U.S. military tribunal. Human rights groups, however, denounced his conviction, calling his trial "flawed," "a betrayal of American values," and "contrary to international law."

• Roughly 270 prisoners are imprisoned at Guantanamo. Click here for a detailed report by Human Rights Watch about the conditions under which they are held.

Guantanamo Detainee Wins Crucial Battle in UK Court

From: Human Rights Watch

August 21, 2008

On August 21, 2008, Binyam Mohamed, a Guantanamo detainee slated for trial before the military commissions, won the first stage in a battle for access to evidence showing he was tortured. The British government, which previously refused to turn over evidence that may back up his claims, was today given one week by a UK court to reconsider its refusal.

Mohamed, an Ethiopian national with UK residency, was arrested in Pakistan in April 2002, reportedly rendered to Morocco, and then to Afghanistan before ultimately being transferred to Guantanamo in September 2004. He has long claimed that confessions he made were the product of torture and abuse during his two-plus years of incommunicado detention. His lawyers - who have been unable to get information about his treatment during this time - have been seeking to force the UK government to disclose any evidence it might have.

"It is outrageous that Binyam Mohamed, who is being held and charged by the United States, has to go to a British court to get potentially exculpatory information about his treatment," said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch. "The British foreign secretary should immediately disclose to Mohamed's lawyers any and all evidence it has about his interrogation and detention."

Mohamed's lawyers have been provided security clearances by US authorities to review classified information related to their client's case.

The UK High Court in London found that British authorities visited Mohamed when he was detained in Pakistan, and continued to exchange information with the United States about Mohamed until February 2003. The court said that Mohamed wouldn't be able to have a fair trial unless he is provided with the evidence he needs to back up his claims that his confessions were the product of torture and abuse.

Mohamed, who is being held in a maximum security facility at Guantanamo, is accused but not yet formally charged of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism. The military commission's convening authority, Susan Crawford, must review and sign off on the charges before any case against Mohamed goes forward.

To read more about Guantanamo Bay detainees and their human and civil rights, visit Human Rights Watch.