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Gitmo jury: Life sentence for bin Laden videomaker
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-04 10:45 Al-Bahlul called the military tribunal a "legal farce" and refused to mount a defense. His lawyer stayed silent during the trial, refusing to even answer questions from the judge.
Witnesses at his sentencing hearing included the father of a sailor killed in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, which was featured in a video the military says al-Bahlul produced to train and inspire al-Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan. Gary Swenchonis Sr., whose son Gary was killed in the attack, said he was devastated that al-Bahlul's video has been widely available on the Internet. "It's pervasive," said Swenchonis, of Rockport, Texas, his voice thick with emotion. "That's what's so bad. That's what's so wrong." Al-Bahlul, who was brought to Guantanamo in 2002, is the second prisoner to go through a war crimes trial under the special military commissions system. Former bin Laden driver Salim Hamdan was convicted in August and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison. He is still at Guantanamo and will have completed his sentence by January year with credit for time served. A third prisoner, Australian David Hicks, reached a plea agreement that sent him home to serve a nine-month prison sentence. The military has not yet decided where al-Bahlul will serve his sentence but for now will be kept from the general population at Guantanamo. US officials have said they plan to prosecute about 80 of the 255 prisoners still held at Guantanamo, but critics of the tribunals say they doubt there will be any more trials. Both Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama have said they want to close Guantanamo. "I suspect that's the last of the military commissions," said retired Air Force Col. Morris Davis, who resigned as chief prosecutor for the trials in October 2007 after clashing with his superiors over his alleged political interference. "With the Bush administration in its final 80 days I'm hopeful the next administration will put an end to this regrettable chapter in our nation's history and begin the process of restoring the nation's reputation."
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