Medical records show an accused terrorist now held at Guantanamo Bay sustained a head injury while he was in CIA custody and has suffered lasting health problems as a result, his lawyer said Wednesday.

The injury occurred between 2003 and September 2006, when al-Baluchi was held in the CIA's network of overseas prisons and subjected to a special interrogation program for suspected terrorists that his lawyers say amounted to torture. The records do not indicate how or where the injury occurred.

Lawyer arguing torture motion says Guantanamo prisoner suffered head injury in CIA custody.

He was captured in Pakistan in April 2003 and held for three years by the CIA under its rendition, detention and interrogation program, which included the use of such methods as being repeatedly smashed into a flexible wall, confined in a small space, deprived of sleep and the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding, according to previously released government documents.

The hearing was called to determine whether the 9/11 defendants are able to appropriately report claims of mistreatment, a right guaranteed under the UN Convention against Torture, during the three years that followed their 2003 arrest.

They were held in the CIA's network of overseas prisons during that period and subjected to special interrogation techniques their lawyers call torture.

The newly released medical report, dated September 2006, described "mistreatment" that took place "several years earlier," Connell said. He did not confirm how the head injury happened.

Connell said the government took no action after Ali made his claim of mistreatment.

Lawyers for the accused also complain about the military commission's highly restrictive rules for handling classified evidence.

"The irony is that Mr Al-Baluchi cannot describe his clinical history, how he got his injuries... because everything he says would be treated as classified," Connell said.

But prosecutor Clay Trivett stressed that "the accused is currently in control of the US government. He's been exposed to secrets of the US government."

A "gag order" from the tribunal's judge violates the United Nations Convention Against Torture, the attorneys say.

The five suspected al Qaeda conspirators claim the maltreatment consisted of beatings, sleep deprivation, being subjected to temperature extremes, stress positions and waterboarding, a technique that simulates drowning.

During the administration of George W. Bush, the CIA was authorized to use what were called "enhanced interrogation techniques." When President Barack Obama took office, he forbade use of the techniques, referring to them as torture.

"If you really want to have a fair trial, you have to ungag them," Bormann said.

Torture Treaty Rights Sought in Guantanamo Trial

The five men facing trial by military commission were subjected to treatment that their lawyers say amounted to torture before they were taken to Guantanamo in September 2006. They may want to pursue some form of international complaint against the U.S. government, but can't do so because they and their lawyers aren't allowed to even discuss with anyone what happened to them in CIA custody.

Army Maj. Jason Wright, a military-appointed lawyer for lead defendant Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, said the judge should either provide a mechanism to pursue a claim — either through his native Pakistan, the United Nations or another country — or dismiss the charges.

"You cannot use state secrets to classify the observations and secrets of someone who was subjected to torture," he said.