Two Army officers testify for Hamdan, in secret

He was the last witness for the prosecution.

The trial began nearly two weeks ago.

Observers cast the day's secrecy as illustrative of the Guantanamo court's shortcomings.

"They talk about holding full, fair and transparent proceedings, yet a page from the 9/11 [Commission] Report can be classified as well as the entire testimony of two important witnesses," said Sahr MuhammedAlly, a lawyer with Human Rights First.

A counter-terrorism advisor for Human Rights Watch, Stacy Sullivan, said: "The reason closed sessions are so troubling at Guantanamo is because the government has so frequently claimed things have had to be classified to cover up abuse and torture.

"In addition, trials of this magnitude should have a public record. If a significant amount of evidence and witness testimony is classified, it will be very hard to trust any verdict."

Ben Wizner, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, pointed to Allred's ruling as an example of excessive secrecy.

"This is Guantanamo in black and white -- mostly black," he said, holding up the heavily redacted decision.

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carol.williams@latimes.com