U.S. War Crimes Trial Begins

Scales of JusticeOn July 21, Salim Ahmed Hamdan went on trial at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Hamdan is the former driver of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He is charged with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism. Hamdan has pleaded not guilty.

This is the first trial of the military tribunal that was set up over six years ago when the U.S. opened the Guantánamo Bay prison camp for terrorism suspects. The prison has been surrounded by controversy for the alleged torture of suspects and for the original ruling of Congress that suspects could be held indefinitely without a trial. On June 12, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Guantánamo prisoners have the right to appeal their detention in court.

The judge in the case has ruled that some of the confessions that Hamdan made during the six years he has been held are not admissible as evidence, because they were made under duress. The judge also ruled, however, that interrogators had not made a “sinister attempt at coercion,” and so some statements could be used as evidence. If convicted, Hamdan could face a life sentence.

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