Prosecutors seek 30 years for Bin Laden's driver
Thursday, 07 Aug 2008 18:24
Prosecution team demands 30-year sentence for Bin Laden's driver
The prosecution team at the first trial of a Guantanamo Bay have demanded a 30-year sentence for Osama Bin Laden's former driver.
Salim Hamdan was found guilty on Wednesday of five counts of material support for terrorism.
He was acquitted of more serious conspiracy charges, including murder, but the prosecutors are nonetheless pushing for a prison sentence of no less than 30 years.
Hamdan has been held at the Cuba-based detention camp since being picked up in Afghanistan in late 2001 and has already launched an appeal against his conviction.
The Yemeni admitted working for Bin Laden from 1997 to 2001 but said he only had a "relationship of respect" with the al-Qaida leader.
In a prepared statement he explained: "It's true there are work opportunities in Yemen, but not at the level I needed after I got married and not to the level of ambitions that I had in my future."
White House spokesman Tony Fratto defended the military commission system created specifically for the trial of Guantanamo detainee which has come under fire for allowing the use of evidence that would not normally be permitted in a civilian trial.
He said it was a "fair and appropriate legal process" and added: "We look forward to other cases moving forward to trial."
However, Britain's Reprieve denounced the trial, with its legal director likening the proceedings to "amateur hour".
"These trials need to be professional, clear and open. Instead, we've got a shambles that brings us no closer to justice," Zachary Katznelson said.
"These trials are not just about a few men and what they may have done – they are about the message the United States is sending to the world. And that message right now is flat wrong: convictions by any means necessary.
"The US needs to show it stands for openness and fairness – the very values we are fighting for. Instead, we get verdicts rammed down the gullet of justice. That's not going to bring anyone over to our side."