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Ex-bin Laden driver awaits military verdict

A Pentagon jury was weighing a verdict for a former driver and alleged bodyguard for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden yesterday as the US neared completion of its first “war crimes” trial since World War II.

The panel of six US military officers, hand-picked by the Department of Defense, was beginning its second day of deliberations at this US Navy base in the case against Salim Hamdan.

A conviction on charges of conspiracy and supporting terrorism could keep Hamdan, a Yemeni, in prison for the rest of his life.

In closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors said Hamdan’s service to the al-Qaeda chief over five years in Afghanistan helped his boss execute terrorist plots including the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

“He is an al-Qaeda warrior,” Justice Department prosecutor John Murphy said, pointing to the detainee who wore a white robe and a tan sports coat.

Defense attorneys say Hamdan was low-level bin Laden employee who stayed with him only for the US$200-a-month salary. In an effort to prove he was no hardened terrorist, they described Hamdan’s cooperation in the hunt for the al-Qaeda chief following his capture in Afghanistan in November 2001.

His Pentagon-appointed attorney, Navy Lieutenant Commander Brian Mizer, said in his closing argument that Hamdan offered to provide “critical details” under an undisclosed arrangement described in secret testimony on Thursday.

“You know what happened, how we squandered that opportunity,” Mizer said in reference to the testimony of two US special forces officers who encountered Hamdan at Bagram air base in late 2001.

In other testimony at the two-week trial, Hamdan’s former interrogators said he led them to al-Qaeda safehouses in Afghanistan, provided information about the movement of key terrorists and even offered to testify against a suspected mastermind of the 2000 USS Cole bombing.

The judge, Navy Captain Keith Allred, told the jurors that four of the six must find Hamdan guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” to convict him.

Even if they find him innocent, Hamdan may not be released. The military retains the right to hold “enemy combatants” considered a threat to the US — even those cleared of charges by the tribunals.

A guilty verdict would be followed immediately by a sentencing hearing at Guantanamo. The sentence would have to be approved by the Pentagon official who oversees the tribunal system, Susan Crawford, and the verdict would be reviewed automatically by a special military appeals court in Washington.

The military has charged 21 of the roughly 265 men held at Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Military prosecutors say they plan trials for about 80 inmates.
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