Judge orders competency exam for USS Cole defendant but won't delay trial

A military judge has ordered a medical panel to evaluate whether Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is competent to stand trial in the USS Cole bombing case, but refused to pause proceedings while the panel does its work.

Al-Nashiri has been in U.S. custody since 2002. His first four years were spent in CIA prisons, where he was waterboarded and confined to a small box. A previous judge ruled that his torture disqualified the use of his confessions.

A defense psychiatrist who examined al-Nashiri in August found traumatic brain injury, neurocognitive disorder, PTSD, and major depressive disorder, and concluded he lacks the capacity to stand trial. The judge, Army Col. Matthew Fitzgerald, ruled on Sept. 16 that decades of evidence suggest al-Nashiri does possess that capacity, but ordered the exam "out of an abundance of caution." The panel is to report by Oct. 16, the day before jury selection is scheduled to begin.

The prosecutor opposed halting the case, citing a prison medical officer's disagreement with the defense findings. Defense lawyers are also seeking brain imaging that Guantanamo's hospital may not be equipped to perform.