FORT HOOD, Texas — A military officer has rejected a defense attorney's request to close next month's hearing of the Fort Hood shooting suspect.

The officer ruled Thursday that the media and others can hear testimony from those who survived last year's shooting rampage at Fort Hood. He said keeping the hearing open would preserve the integrity of the military justice system.

Defense attorney John Galligan asked that next month's Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding, be closed to the public.

Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 shootings at the Texas Army post.

Galligan said testimony from nearly three dozen witnesses would create so much pretrial publicity that Hasan could not get a fair trial.