"On any rational analysis this is a loss for the prosecution.
Note the prosecution asked for at least thirty years and with time served he should finish his sentence in FIVE MONTHS (now he may not be released then, having served his sentence, because he remains an 'enemy combatant' which makes one wonder as to the point of the trial -- the sentence is notional because serving it doesn't lead to release and it certainly isn't a helpful show trial politically).
Perhaps more to the point, even if he served the full 66 months now that hardly sounds like a sentence for a serious terrorist. The sentence suggests the jurors (army officers, so not bleeding hearts by any stretch) didn't see the case as all that serious. A blow for the prosecution for sure"
This was the first US war crimes trial since World War II Osama Bin Laden's former driver has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison at the first US military trial in Guantanamo Bay.
Salim Hamdan was convicted on Wednesday of supporting terrorism, but acquitted of conspiracy to murder. Prosecutors had demanded a sentence of not less than 30 years.
On time served Hamdan could be released in five months but the Pentagon has said he will still be retained as an "enemy combatant". The US has always argued it can detain such people indefinitely, as long as its so-called war on terror continues. The Pentagon said Hamdan would serve his sentence and then be eligible for review.
Regret
The BBC's Kim Ghattas at the trial says the sentence is a dramatic snub to the Bush administration and came after just one-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
The jury of six US military officers, not the judge, imposed the sentence under the tribunal rules. "It is my duty as president [of the jury] to inform you that this military commission sentences you to be confined for 66 months," a juror told Hamdan.
Full story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7547261.stm
5 comments:
You seem to sympathize with this guy. But imagine him driving around your neighborhood. Showing Ben Laden your restuarants and schools!
This isn't a snub to President Bush.
This is a snub to all the loons out there that said this "kangaroo court" was unjust.
Clearly, the court worked.
I wonder what all the human rights lovers are going to say now.
Jonathan,
That's a good point. It does seem that the army officers considered the case and decided for themselves.
james
Not commenting on the case itself because I'm not really quite sure how I feel about it.
But I did find the 66 month sentence interesting. Since he will get credit for the 5 years already detained, he essentially could have served the time in 6 months. It seems they consciously gave him a slightly higher sentence. Imagine if the sentence had essentially been "time already served."
Now that would have seemed like a slam, and it would have put the administration in the awkward position of either having to free him or hold him again indefinitely still as an enemy combatant. The latter is problematic because the court seemed to be saying that status could no longer apply.
I think that is where the next battle will come, though the sentencing puts this past the presidential election. That's good in a way. I think it would be best to keep this out of the political campaign in a direct way, thought it will certainly be raised (and should be).
remeber, hitlers driver was never brought to court...this guy was small potatoes and they should of concentrated on the big fish, now they look silly..,.
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