GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, 8 December 2007 — Osama Bin Laden’s former driver and bodyguard was a trusted member of Al-Qaeda who helped his boss elude US forces after the Sept. 11 attacks and should face a war crimes trial before a special military tribunal, prosecutors said on Thursday.
But defense lawyers argued Salim Ahmed Hamdan was a civilian support person who should be treated as a prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions and not tried by tribunals set up to judge prisoners in President George W. Bush’s war on terrorism.
The comments came in closing arguments after a judge heard the first witnesses in a US military war crimes proceeding since the end of World War II. The Guantanamo war crimes tribunals first convened in August 2004 but no witnesses were called in any previous hearings.
The testimony, in a marathon session lasting nearly 15 hours, was part of a pretrial hearing to determine whether Hamdan, a Yemeni who is about 37 years old, is an unlawful enemy combatant who can be tried on war crimes charges in a US military tribunal established by Congress in 2006.
Hamdan “was a member of the club,” said Army Lt. Col. William Britt, the prosecutor, in his closing arguments. “He was a member of the team. Not a peripheral member. He was right there with Osama Bin Laden.” Hamdan drove Bin Laden and his son Othman when they evacuated their compound near Kandahar in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks, US federal investigators testified.
Although not initially with Bin Laden on Sept. 11, Hamdan returned to Bin Laden’s side and continued to drive him for weeks as he moved from city to city and house to house to avoid US efforts to retaliate, said Robert McFadden, a Defense Department special agent who interviewed him.
McFadden said Hamdan told him he had pledged an ongoing oath of allegiance or “bayat” to Bin Laden. Army Maj. Henry Smith told the court that Hamdan was wearing civilian clothes with no military markings when he was captured on Nov. 24, 2001, at a checkpoint near Kandahar while driving a car carrying two anti-aircraft rockets without the launching mechanism. Hamdan is accused of acting as Osama Bin Laden’s driver and bodyguard and transporting weapons for Al-Qaeda. He is charged with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism.
He has acknowledged working as Bin Laden’s driver but denies taking part in any attacks.
The judge was expected to issue a ruling on Hamdan’s status after attorneys for both sides resolved several issues still outstanding at the close of the pretrial hearing.
Defense lawyers for Hamdan said he was a civilian driver and support worker who should be considered a prisoner of war and handled according to the Geneva Conventions, which would require a court martial if the military wants to try him for war crimes.
“At best Mr. Hamdan has been linked to the Ansars,” said civilian attorney Joseph McMillan in closing arguments for the defense.
“The Ansars were a lawful combat unit and Mr. Hamdan would be entitled to prisoner of war status.”
This is the military’s third attempt to prosecute Hamdan on war crimes charges and comes six months after the judge in the case, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, dropped the previous charges against him.
