GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA — A military jury 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 Sept. 11.
Salim Ahmed Hamdan drew the 66-month sentence from six senior U.S. officers impaneled for his trial on charges of conspiracy and material support for terrorism.
The jury convicted him 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 one month of time he has already served credited to his sentence, Hamdan should complete it by January. But that doesn't mean he then would be freed. The Bush administration has vowed to keep all "enemy combatants" in custody for the duration of the war on terrorism.
Hamdan, relieved to know his fate after nearly seven years in U.S. custody, thanked the jurors for "what you have done for me" and apologized for having worked for Bin Laden.
"I wish you Godspeed, Mr. Hamdan," said the military judge, Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred, who added that he hoped Hamdan could soon join his wife and two young daughters in Yemen.
"Inshallah," Hamdan replied, using the Arabic word for "God willing" or "I hope so."
The driver and bodyguard for the Al Qaeda leader was portrayed by the government as a trusted member of Bin Laden's inner circle. Justice Department lawyer John Murphy urged jurors to sentence Hamdan to at least 30 years and argued that life might be the more secure option.
Murphy asked the jurors to hold Hamdan accountable for the crimes of Al Qaeda, noting that he had 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 of terrorist attacks. "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 terrorist suspects.
It was expected to intensify pressure on the Bush administration to revise its enemy combatants policy. It is also likely to spur Hamdan's habeas corpus attorney to push the U.S. District Court in Washington to order Hamdan released once his sentence is completed.
