Bin Laden driver to face tribunal

Mr Hamdan says he was just a driver and not an al-Qaeda member

A US military judge has ruled that Osama Bin Laden's former driver, a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, can be prosecuted by a military tribunal.

US Navy Capt Keith Allred said there was credible evidence that Salim Ahmed Hamdan had also served occasionally as a bodyguard and delivered weapons.

He faces life in prison if convicted as an "unlawful enemy combatant" of conspiracy and supporting terrorism.

The Yemeni has denied being a member of al-Qaeda or taking part in any attacks.

On Wednesday, Capt Allred ruled that Mr Salim was entitled to a hearing to decide whether he had been captured as a prisoner of war as defined by the Geneva Convention or as an "unlawful enemy combatant".

Legal status queried

After hearing testimony from lawyers representing both parties, Capt Allred decided that Mr Hamdan could face trial on terrorism charges under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 at the US naval base in Cuba.

The accused is an alien unlawful enemy combatant Capt Keith Allred US Military Commission Judge Q&A: Military tribunals

"The accused is an alien unlawful enemy combatant," he wrote in a decision released by US military authorities on Thursday.

The judge said there was credible evidence that Mr Hamdan had not only been the al-Qaeda leader's personal driver in Afghanistan from 1997 to 2001, but had also served as his bodyguard and sometimes picked up and delivered weapons.

On 4 June, military judges dismissed similar charges against Mr Hamdan and another prisoner because they had been described years earlier as "enemy combatants" rather than "unlawful enemy combatants", as required by the Military Commissions Act.

However, the judges left open the possibility that Mr Hamdan could be re-charged if he appeared before an official review panel and was formally designated an "unlawful enemy combatant".

If a prisoner was described as a "lawful combatant", they would have to be treated as a prisoner of war and be protected by international law. They could not be tried, other than by court martial for war crimes.