Split verdict in first Guantanamo war-crimes trial

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-07 11:16

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE - The conviction of Osama bin Laden's driver by a US military court after a 10-day trial provides an indication of what to expect as dozens more Guantanamo prisoners go to court: shifting charges, secret testimony - and quick verdicts.

In this photograph of a sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the U.S. Military, defendant Salim Hamdan (R) watches a video of himself under interrogation, shown as part of his trial, inside the courthouse at Camp Justice, the legal complex of the U.S. Military Commissions, at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba July 23, 2008. [Agenceis]

Salim Hamdan held his head in his hands and wept Wednesday as the six-member military jury declared the Yemeni guilty of aiding terrorism, which could bring a maximum life sentence. But in a split decision, the jury in America's first war-crimes trial since the aftermath of World War II cleared Hamdan of two charges of conspiracy.

Deputy White House spokesman Tony Fratto applauded what he called "a fair trial" and said prosecutors will now proceed with other war crimes trials at the isolated US military base in southeast Cuba. Prosecutors intend to try about 80 Guantanamo detainees for war crimes, including 19 already charged.

But defense lawyers said their client's rights were denied by an unfair process, hastily patched together after the Supreme Court rulings that previous tribunal systems violated US and international law.

Under the military commission, Hamdan did not have all the rights normally accorded either by US civilian or military courts. The judge allowed secret testimony and hearsay evidence. Hamdan was not judged by a jury of his peers and he received no Miranda warning about his rights.

Hamdan's attorneys said interrogations at the center of the government's case were tainted by coercive tactics, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.

All that is in contrast to the courts-martial used to prosecute American troops in Iraq and Vietnam, which accorded defendants more rights.

"This outcome was predetermined - not by the court, but by the government - well before the trial even began," said Sahr MuhammedAlly of Human Rights First, who has observed hearings in the hilltop courtroom.

The five-man, one-woman jury convicted Hamdan on five counts of supporting terrorism, accepting the prosecution argument that Hamdan aided terrorism by becoming a member of al-Qaida in Afghanistan and serving as bin Laden's armed bodyguard and driver while knowing that the al-Qaida leader was plotting attacks against the US.

But he was found not guilty on three other counts alleging he knew that his work would be used for terrorism and that he provided surface-to-air missiles to al-Qaida.

He also was cleared of two charges of conspiracy alleging he was part of the al-Qaida effort to attack the United States - the most serious charges, according to deputy chief defense counsel Michael Berrigan.

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