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GUANTANAMO BAY, 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 them said yesterday.
The juror told The Associated Press the panel of six American military officers did not learn until the trial ended last Thursday that the Pentagon retains the right to hold Salim Hamdan of Yemen 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," said the juror, who cannot be identified.
The jury convicted Hamdan of supporting terrorism but acquitted him of conspiracy. His sentence of 5 1/2 years, with credit for some of his time served, means he is eligible for release in December.
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 Qaeda warrior. "If the first guy is getting a 30-year sentence, what do you do for a real hard-core criminal?"
Associated Press
