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Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: A military jury on Thursday sentenced a Yemeni prisoner to 5 1/2 years in prison for having worked for Osama Bin Laden, a surprising end to a case the government had touted as justice for the victims of September 11.
Driver and bodyguard Salim Hamdan drew the 66-month sentence from six senior US officers impaneled to hear his case on conspiracy and material support for terrorism.
The jury convicted him on Wednesday on some of the elements of the material support charge but acquitted him of the more serious conspiracy charge.
With at least five years and a month of time he has already served credited to his sentence, Hamdan should complete it by January. But the Bush administration has vowed to keep all "enemy combatants" in custody for the duration of the so-called war on terror.
Hamdan, relieved to know his fate after nearly seven years in US custody, thanked the jurors for "what you have done for me" and apologised for having worked for Bin Laden.
"I wish you godspeed, Mr Hamdan," said the military judge, Navy Captain Keith J. Allred, who added he hoped he could soon join his wife and two young daughters in Yemen. "Inshallah," Hamdan replied, the all-purpose Arabic word for "God willing" or "I hope so".
The driver and bodyguard for the Al Qaida leader had been portrayed by the government as a trusted member of Bin Laden's inner circle. Justice Department lawyer John Murphy had urged the jurors to sentence Hamdan to at least 30 years and argued that life might be a more secure option.
Murphy had urged the jurors to hold Hamdan accountable for the crimes of Al Qaida, noting he served the terror empire during some of its most heinous crimes. "Take one second to think of the victims of Mr Hamdan's support of terrorism," Murphy said in a closing argument that cast Hamdan as a committed extremist and included graphic images. "Your sentence will be their justice. Your work is our justice and you shouldn't flinch from it."
The unexpectedly short sentence appeared to be a rebuke by the jurors of the much-maligned tribunal for trying terrorism suspects. And it was expected to intensify pressure on the Bush administration. It is also likely to spur Hamdan's habeas corpus attorney to push the US District Court in Washington to order Hamdan released once his sentence is completed.
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