" Closing arguments began Monday in the trial of Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, the first inmate at the Guantanamo jail to face a full-scale trial before the special tribunals created by President George W. Bush.
Hamdan, a Yemeni national about 40 years old, is accused of conspiracy and material support to terrorism, and faces a possible sentence of life in prison if a jury of six military officers finds him guilty.
A verdict could be handed down as early as Monday afternoon in the trial, underway at the prison camp on a US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since July 21.
"He was an Al-Qaeda warrior," said John Murphy, a Justice Department prosecutor. "He pledged bayat to Osama bin Laden," Murphy said, using the Arabic word for a pledge of allegiance.
Lawyers for Hamdan, who has already spent six years behind bars at Guantanamo, have questioned the fairness of the proceedings and argued that Hamdan was an insignificant figure while employed by bin Laden from 1998 to 2001, saying he was not involved in any way in Al-Qaeda operations.
"This is a classic case of guilt by association," said Lieutenant Commander Brian Mizer, an assigned military defense lawyer for Hamdan. Mizer described Hamdan as a driver with a fourth-grade education, motivated by financial gain not ideological passion.
"Mr Hamdan is not an Al-Qaeda warrior, he is not Al-Qaeda's last line of defense," Mizer said. "He's not even an Al-Qaeda member."
"You should not punish the general's driver today with the crimes of the general."
Once closing arguments wrap up, military jurors will immediately begin their deliberations amid predictions from human rights groups that Hamdan will likely be found guilty on at least some of the charges. "
Hamdan, a Yemeni national about 40 years old, is accused of conspiracy and material support to terrorism, and faces a possible sentence of life in prison if a jury of six military officers finds him guilty.
A verdict could be handed down as early as Monday afternoon in the trial, underway at the prison camp on a US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since July 21.
"He was an Al-Qaeda warrior," said John Murphy, a Justice Department prosecutor. "He pledged bayat to Osama bin Laden," Murphy said, using the Arabic word for a pledge of allegiance.
Lawyers for Hamdan, who has already spent six years behind bars at Guantanamo, have questioned the fairness of the proceedings and argued that Hamdan was an insignificant figure while employed by bin Laden from 1998 to 2001, saying he was not involved in any way in Al-Qaeda operations.
"This is a classic case of guilt by association," said Lieutenant Commander Brian Mizer, an assigned military defense lawyer for Hamdan. Mizer described Hamdan as a driver with a fourth-grade education, motivated by financial gain not ideological passion.
"Mr Hamdan is not an Al-Qaeda warrior, he is not Al-Qaeda's last line of defense," Mizer said. "He's not even an Al-Qaeda member."
"You should not punish the general's driver today with the crimes of the general."
Once closing arguments wrap up, military jurors will immediately begin their deliberations amid predictions from human rights groups that Hamdan will likely be found guilty on at least some of the charges. "
topics:
Guantanamo Bay,
Osama bin Laden,
Trial,
Al-Qaeda,
Al-Qaida,
Gitmo,
Bin Laden,
Osama,
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- Peewong
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