Fort Hood shooter's attorney calls for fair trial

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The lawyer for the army psychiatrist accused of killing 12 fellow soldiers and a civilian at Fort Hood last week called for a fair trial Wednesday, as investigators pored over the case.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan's civilian attorney, retired army colonel John Galligan, said the suspected gunman remained hospitalized at an intensive care unit in what he described as "guarded" condition.

"My biggest concern now is to ensure that this military defendant still cloaked with the presumption of innocence and entitled, as all of us as Americans are, to a fair and impartial trial actually receives that," Galligan told CNN.

Hasan has emerged from a coma after being wounded by police gunfire, but has declined to speak to investigators and asked for his lawyer. Officials said he would likely be tried in a military court where, if convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Dozens of investigators are examining evidence in Thursday's shooting that left 13 people dead and 42 wounded at a sprawling military base in Texas.

US lawmakers have vowed to press intelligence and law enforcement officials over what information they had gleaned on the alleged shooter before and after the rampage.

But Galligan said that despite the flying allegations about his client -- a devout Muslim who was said to harbor misgivings about the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- he has yet to receive formal charges in the case.

"I have seen a lot of statements about other allegations, other investigations. None of which have been furnished to me. I have received no formal charge sheet in this case," Galligan said.

Galligan said he received his first official communication from the US Army late Tuesday, which advised him that Hasan's leave and pass privileges had been suspended.

"I have received no formal notice from government officials, prosecutors, military or civilian about their intent," he added.

The attorney's comments came amid reports that Hasan, who counseled soldiers with severe physical and mental ailments after returning from the warzones, had links to radical imam Anwar al-Awlaqi.

Awlaqi, a former spiritual leader at a mosque Hasan attended in a Washington suburb, has reportedly met Al-Qaeda associates, including two September 11, 2001 hijackers, and is believed to be a supporter of the group.