GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA — A military jury Wednesday convicted Osama bin Laden's driver of supporting terrorism in the first trial conducted by an American war crimes tribunal since World War II, but his acquittal on other charges gave both defenders and critics of the controversial process reason to declare victory.
In the culmination of nearly seven years of Bush administration efforts to prosecute suspects in the war it has declared on terrorism, Salim Ahmed Hamdan was found guilty of providing material support for terrorism through his work as a driver and occasional bodyguard for the Al Qaeda leader.
But the jury acquitted Hamdan of the more serious charges of conspiracy, apparently rejecting the government's argument that the Yemeni had intended to aid terrorist attacks by providing his services.
Hamdan quietly collapsed in tears at the defense table as the Navy captain heading the jury of six senior officers read its decisions on 10 counts of alleged conspiracy and material support. "He was upset about a finding of guilty on any of these charges," defense lawyer Joseph McMillan said.
Hamdan was acquitted of two counts of conspiracy, as well as three of the eight material-support counts.
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'A fair trial'
The White House issued a statement Wednesday saying that Hamdan had received "a fair trial." Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said the split verdict proved that the tribunal was balanced.
"The fact that the jury did not find Hamdan guilty of all of the charges brought against him demonstrates that the jury weighed the evidence carefully," McCain said.
His Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, praised the jurors for diligent service despite what he called a flawed process but said such cases should be tried in established U.S. courts.
"While it is important to convict anyone who provides material support for terrorism, it is long past time to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and the terrorists who murdered nearly 3,000 Americans," Obama said.
The trial judge, Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred, consolidated the five guilty verdicts into a single count and instructed the jurors to determine a sentence accordingly. He also said he would credit Hamdan with at least five years' time served toward any sentence.
But Allred withheld a decision on a defense request to award three to five times credit for time Hamdan served in solitary confinement or other harsh conditions. That could credit him with more than seven years.
