Jury at Guantanamo convicts Osama’s driver for aiding terror

Conviction on all of the allegations could have led to a life sentence. The jurors, all senior officers, will convene later on Wednesday to begin determination of a sentence for the first person convicted in the war-crimes tribunal.

The jurors are expected to hear from several prosecution witnesses who will argue that Hamdan should get a lengthy sentence for his aid to bin Laden and the al-Qaeda, mostly provided in the form of driving and occasional bodyguard duties.

Defence witnesses will include a psychologist, who has diagnosed the defendant as suffering mental disorders from nearly seven years of imprisonment here and in Afghanistan, where he was captured at a roadblock on November 24, 2001.

Hamdan is also expected to testify, but tribunal authorities said that portion of the penalty phase will be closed to the public out of concern that he might disclose classified information.

Two defence witnesses were forced to testify in secret last week because of “protective orders” issued by the court that forbid any mention of certain federal agencies, including the CIA.

Their testimony apparently spelled out for the jury — but not the public — an “opportunity” Hamdan offered US Special Forces during his captivity in Afghanistan that defence lawyers say was “squandered” by the US. Speculation centred on presumed knowledge of bin Laden’s whereabouts or the secret bunker to which he fled shortly after the September 11 terror attacks in order to escape US retribution.

Military judge, Navy Capt Keith J Allred, is also considering crediting Hamdan with time served here against any sentence imposed by the jurors.

Pentagon officials have said, however, that Hamdan and any other tribunal defendants, whether guilty or acquitted, will remain incarcerated as “enemy combatants” for the duration of the proclaimed global war on terror.