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Salmi Hamdan Found Guilty in First U.S. War Crimes Tribunal Since WWII
Thursday, August 7, 2008 :In the first U.S. war crimes tribunal since World War II, a jury of six senior military officers has convicted Osama Bin Laden's former driver of two charges of material support for terrorism but acquitted him of the most serious charges. Salim Hamdan is the first prisoner held at Guantananamo to be tried before a tribunal. He has been in custody since November 2001. We speak with Sahr MuhammedAlly, an attorney with Human Rights First. She was at Guantanamo last week observing part of the Hamdan war crimes tribunal.
He has been in custody since November 2001.
Human rights groups condemned the military tribunal system, in part because it allowed the military to base its case on secret evidence and evidence obtained through torture.
Sahr MuhammedAlly joins us here in the Firehouse. She is an attorney with Human Rights First. She was at Guantanamo last week observing part of the Hamdan war crimes tribunal.
Sahr MuhammedAlly, attorney with Human Rights First. She observed part of the war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo.
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For more information:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/8/7/salmi...
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Gitmo jury gives bin Laden driver 5 1/2 years
Thursday, August 7, 2008
(08-07) 14:12 PDT GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) --
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/05/international/i000649D42.DTL&tsp=1
A military jury gave Osama bin Laden's driver a stunningly lenient sentence on Thursday, making him eligible for release in just five months despite the prosecutors' request for a sentence tough enough to frighten terrorists around the globe.
Salim Hamdan's sentence of 5 1/2 years, including five years and a month already served at Guantanamo Bay, fell far short of the 30 years to life that prosecutors wanted. It now goes for mandatory review to a Pentagon official who can shorten the sentence but not extend it.
It remains unclear what will happen to Hamdan once his sentence is served, since the U.S. military has said it won't release anyone who still represents a threat. The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said Hamdan would likely be eligible for the same administrative review process as other prisoners.
Hamdan thanked the jurors for the sentence and repeated his apology for having served bin Laden.
"I would like to apologize one more time to all the members and I would like to thank you for what you have done for me," Hamdan told the panel of six U.S. military officers, hand-picked by the Pentagon for the first U.S. war crimes trial in a half century.
The military has not said where Hamdan will serve his sentence, but the commander of the detention center, Navy Rear Adm. David Thomas, said last week that convicted prisoners will be held apart from the general detainee population at the isolated U.S. military base in southeast Cuba.
"I hope the day comes that you return to your wife and daughters and your country, and you're able to be a provider, a father, and a husband in the best sense of all those terms," the judge told Hamdan.
Hamdan, dressed in a charcoal sports coat and white robe, responded: "God willing."
Thursday, August 7, 2008
(08-07) 14:12 PDT GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) --
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/05/international/i000649D42.DTL&tsp=1
A military jury gave Osama bin Laden's driver a stunningly lenient sentence on Thursday, making him eligible for release in just five months despite the prosecutors' request for a sentence tough enough to frighten terrorists around the globe.
Salim Hamdan's sentence of 5 1/2 years, including five years and a month already served at Guantanamo Bay, fell far short of the 30 years to life that prosecutors wanted. It now goes for mandatory review to a Pentagon official who can shorten the sentence but not extend it.
It remains unclear what will happen to Hamdan once his sentence is served, since the U.S. military has said it won't release anyone who still represents a threat. The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said Hamdan would likely be eligible for the same administrative review process as other prisoners.
Hamdan thanked the jurors for the sentence and repeated his apology for having served bin Laden.
"I would like to apologize one more time to all the members and I would like to thank you for what you have done for me," Hamdan told the panel of six U.S. military officers, hand-picked by the Pentagon for the first U.S. war crimes trial in a half century.
The military has not said where Hamdan will serve his sentence, but the commander of the detention center, Navy Rear Adm. David Thomas, said last week that convicted prisoners will be held apart from the general detainee population at the isolated U.S. military base in southeast Cuba.
"I hope the day comes that you return to your wife and daughters and your country, and you're able to be a provider, a father, and a husband in the best sense of all those terms," the judge told Hamdan.
Hamdan, dressed in a charcoal sports coat and white robe, responded: "God willing."
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