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Hamdan Jurors Disappointed Convict Could Be Held
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - The military jurors who gave Osama bin Laden's driver a light sentence want him freed from Guantanamo once he completes it in December and were frustrated to learn the military can hold him indefinitely, one of the panelists said Wednesday.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the juror said the panel of six American military officers did not learn until the trial ended on Thursday that the Pentagon retains the right to hold Salim Hamdan as an "enemy combatant," even after he completes his sentence.
"After all the effort that we put in to get somebody a fair trial ... and then to say no matter what we did it didn't matter - I don't see that as a positive step," the juror said in the telephone interview. The juror cannot be identified because the judge at the first war-crimes trial since the end of World War II declared the panelists' identities must be kept secret.
The jury convicted Hamdan of supporting terrorism but acquitted him of conspiracy. His sentence of five and a half years, with credit for some of his time served, means he is eligible for release in December.
The Defense Department insists it has a right to hold "enemy combatants" who are considered to pose a threat to the United States - even those cleared of charges or given short sentences in the military tribunals at Guantanamo.
A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, declined to comment specifically on Hamdan's case. "The Defense Department continues to assess the situation," he said.
Military prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 30 years to life in prison, but the juror said the evidence did not support their portrayal of Hamdan as a hardened al-Qaida warrior.
Some of the most compelling evidence against that portrayal came in writing from confessed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, another Guantanamo inmate, who dismissed Hamdan as a "nuts and bolts guy ... not a key player," the juror said.
"I think it was generally our opinion that (Hamdan) made some bad mistakes in his life that led him down a path that turned out to be a bad one. Once he was in it, I don't see that it was that easy to get out," the juror said.
Hamdan, a Yemeni with a fourth-grade education, testified that he took the job before he knew bin Laden was involved in terrorism and stayed by his side because he needed the US$200-a-month salary to support his wife and two daughters.
In a closing statement, he also apologized for the lives lost in al-Qaida's attacks.
"The fact that he apologized, that didn't sound like al-Qaida to me," the juror said.
Hamdan was the first prisoner to face trial at Guantanamo.
"If the first guy is getting a 30-year sentence, what do you do for a real hard-core criminal?" the juror said. "He was just misled and the victim of circumstance."
Military prosecutors plan trials for about 80 inmates, including Mohammed and four other alleged plotters of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Pentagon has said that after Hamdan completes his sentence, he will be eligible for release through the same review process as other detainees at this U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba.
© 2008 Associated Press
14 Comments so far
Show All"the panel of six American military officers did not learn until the trial ended on Thursday that the Pentagon retains the right to hold Salim Hamdan as an "enemy combatant," even after he completes his sentence."
I guess US soldiers don't read the papers much, eh?
"After all the effort that we put in to get somebody a fair trial … and then to say no matter what we did it didn't matter - I don't see that as a positive step"
Oh poor, poor dear…there now. All you and your fellow soldiers did way lose a few days playing kangaroo courts. Your victims have been kidnapped, tortured and locked away for years. But they don't feel pain like humans, do they, Mr. GI Joe?
Jlocke,
Your statements are ignorant and offensive.
These officers showed their mettle in how they judged Mr. Hamdan...FAIRLY! Despite all of the pressure that was put on them and the judge, they still did what may well spell ruin for their careers - because even though the public does not know their names, you better bet the Pentagon does!
These men were brave and did their duty, they deserve credit for it.
Also, not every soldier is a murdering thug. I have known many career soldiers who were the epitomy of honor and professionalism. (I cannot speak for the young kids recruited under much changed programs in the last 10 years, but there are still the old-school people out there too.)
Jaguara
Jaguara: "These officers showed their mettle in how they judged Mr. Hamdan…FAIRLY!"
Yes, the next time you are kidnapped, spirited to another country, tortured, held incommunicado by foreign soldiers and put on trial for crimes that didn't exist at the time you were supposed to have committed them, I'm sure you will find that fair.
"These men were brave and did their duty, they deserve credit for it."
You are joking right? How brave is it to convict an innocent torture victim? These clueless soldiers, were just following orders, I guess, how could they be expected to know what the whole planet knows, America's network of torture prisons are an abomination.
"Also, not every soldier is a murdering thug"
Yes and I hear Mr. Bush is kind to his dog. Your expression of indignation at my comments would ring less hollow if I saw any signs of Bush and those that said "Yes sir, we'll commit war crimes right away, sir!" going on trial.
And the kangeroo hops .....
US soldiers, like those who fought for the Nazi regime in Germany, can't be held responsible for the actions of their government. It's impressive when a few have the sophistication to refuse unethical orders, but this can't be expected.
I think we owe the kangaroos an apology.
How about piranha courts?
pax4all: "like those who fought for the Nazi regime"
Good points …but we're not talking "fighting" here, are we? We are talking kidnapping across state borders, torture, indefinite detention without trial(no REAL trial has yet occurred), show trial, violation of the laws of war, war crimes, crimes against humanity, Etc. Are you sure you want to say that soldiers should be held to your low standards?
"It's impressive when a few have the sophistication to refuse unethical orders, but this can't be expected."
These weren't illiterate bumpkins; these were officers in the most highly developed army in the world, and you expect so little of them?
as i recall the nuremburg trials ruled that soldiers 'following' orders are to be held accountable for following rules that are crimes against humanity!
this military trial gave a sentence to save face for this criminal administration. they may have been naive enough to believe that their military rank carried some weight. i would like to see what decisions they make for the future now that they see how little power and credibility they carry.
This whole trial is based around the idea that grunts following orders are still responsible for their actions. Scratch that, this whole trial is based around the idea that grunts are responsible for much more than their actual actions. Hamdan was convicted of supporting terrorists. He didn't even commit a crime directly, he merely undertook some wholly legal actions that helped other people who committed crimes. By the logic of this trial, every American solder should locked up. Not that I disagree with that, but when even soldiers who rape, murder and steal on their own, in addition that that required by military directives are seemingly immune, and the ones who ordered the atrocities we've committed escape all censure, I think our priorities are a little whacked.
So now anywhere in the world others now have the right to treat Amerikans as we treat them? Thank you Bush/Cheney and associatesfor shitting on America -
Somebody should have stopped bush the instant he first invented this new class of human he calls "enemy combatant". I think it was very clear to everyone that this was a cheap semantic trick meant to do an end run around any international laws that applied to prisoners of war. Why, how could we let him get away with this? And it was also clear from the beginning he claimed he could hold these people he had basically pronounced notpeople as long as he wanted to and do with them whatever he wanted. Then they started declaring them super awful worst, captured in "battlefield conditions". But in fact they were nothing like that. They were Afghans turned in by whoever for the handsome bounties the military was handing out. Now the show trials are on and they have brought forth the very worst of these terrors and who do we get? Two child soldiers and a guy picked up for driving while Muslim. also as someone pointed out,they have always said everyone's guilty, so if there's any acquittals, it's back in he slammer anyway.
Maybe this time the public will finally notice how crazy it all is and stop it. It is encouraging that even some military types have been able to recognize injustice, and speak up too. Stay tuned.
In his defence, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, another Guantanamo inmate, said:
" Splash, splash, Gargle, gargle, gargle, gargle, splash, GASP! PLEASE I'll SAY WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT, JUST PLEASE STOP TORTURING ME!!! OH PLEASE GOD HELP ME! GASP!, splash, gargel, gargle, gargle"
jlocke123,
Jaguara: "These officers showed their mettle in how they judged Mr. Hamdan…FAIRLY!"
Yes that is true. They found him not guilty (even though they were under enormous pressure not to) of any serious crime and made sure he was given credit for time already served. No one will argue that the renditions and torture up to that point weren't fair, but we're talking about the TRIAL coming up with a fair verdict, even though it was a military trial and the military jury was under enormous pressure to lock him up for 30 years. Instead they said "release him in five months". The only way to be more fair would be to immediately release him.
"These men were brave and did their duty, they deserve credit for it."
"You are joking right? How brave is it to convict an innocent torture victim?"
They found him innocent of the serious charges, and made sure the time he already served would count so that he would be out in five months. They gave him as lenient a conviction as possible instead of locking him up for 30 years. I don't think you understand the enormous pressure from the military for them to find him guilty of all counts. I also don't think you understand how important following orders is in the military. They stood up and said no to the military and that this guy is not a threat to the US and we want him released.
Give credit where credit is due.
abuelito said what I would have said.