The US military tribunal that tried Osama bin Laden's driver ruled that he should be freed by the end of the year. The Pentagon has suggested that he may be in jail indefinitely. The final decision, according to the judge in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, could be in the hands of Allah.

Hamdan was sentenced by a jury of six military officers to 66 months in prison on Thursday for supporting terrorism — but was acquitted of being part of al-Qaeda's conspiracy to attack the United States. To the outrage of human rights groups, the Pentagon insists that it can continue to hold “enemy combatants” beyond the end of their sentence — a position it is under growing pressure to abandon.

“In the strange world of Guantanamo justice, even if Hamdan had been acquitted on all charges, he would have been detained indefinitely,” Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who observed the trial, said.

“Nowhere else in the US justice system can someone be held for life regardless of whether he is convicted or acquitted of a crime. The outcome represents nothing more than an illusion of justice.

“It is time to shut down these commissions and put an end to this shameful chapter in American history.”

The need for divine intervention was raised in a telling moment at the climax of Hamdan's trial — the first of a War on Terror suspect held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. With credit for 61 months and eight days of time already served, the Yemeni will be eligible for release just before New Year's Eve.

“I wish you God speed, Mr Hamdan,” the judge, Navy Captain Keith Allred, told him. “I hope the day comes that you return to your wife and daughters and your country, and you're able to be a provider, a father and a husband in the best sense of all those terms.”

The detainee replied: “Inshallah” — God willing.

“Inshallah,” the US military judge agreed.

But Hamdan will not have taken much comfort from Judge Allred's admission that even he could not say what would happen when the jail term came to an end. “After that, I don't know,” he said.

Hamdan's case was the first contested war crimes trial in America since the end of the Second World War. Congress had to rewrite the rules for the military commissions after he won an appeal to the US Supreme Court.

His conviction and unexpectedly short sentence has left the Bush Administration in a quandary about whether to release him at the end of his prison term.

President Bush will still be in the White House when the decision on Hamdan's fate has to be made. If he is held beyond his term, the case will become a political hot potato for the incoming Administration.

Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, and John McCain, his Republican rival, have promised to close Guantanamo but they have clashed over the use of military tribunals for detainees. After the verdict Mr Obama, who voted against legislation rewriting the rules for the tribunals, repeated his call for the abolition of the special courts. “It's time to better protect the American people and our values by bringing swift and sure justice to terrorists through our courts and our Uniform Code of Military Justice,” he said.

Mr McCain, who supported the legislation, said: “Unlike Senator Obama . . . I recognise that we cannot treat dangerous terrorists captured on the battlefield as we would common criminals.” The Pentagon has long argued that terror suspects in Guantanamo can be held as “enemy combatants” until the fight with al-Qaeda comes to an end. Its critics point to the case of David Hicks, an Australian who was sentenced to nine months in prison after striking a plea bargain before a US military commission. He was released last year.

Hamdan's sentence was a huge rebuff to military prosecutors, who sought a sentence of at least 30 years in prison. Facing the immediate problem of whether or not to free him, the Administration is now revisiting its policy on continued detention.

“We are working to assess the situation and I would not want to speculate [on the outcome],” Navy Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, said yesterday from Guantanamo. “A lot of people are very hard at work on this issue.”

Emily Keram, a defence psychiatrist who spent more than 100 hours with Hamdan in detention, testified that the father of two was unlikely to return to his job as bin Laden's driver or join a terrorist group. The US Government is unlikely to want a man with his past wandering the streets of the United States.

GUANTANAMO RECORD

First conviction David Hicks, Australian Islamic convert, captured in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty in March 2007 to providing material support for terrorism. Sentenced to nine months in prison in Australia before being released

First trial Salim Ahmed Hamdan was required to serve only another four months and 22 days after being sentenced on Thursday to 66 months

Future trials Another 20 Guantanamo inmates — including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks — have been brought before military commissions

Future cases Pentagon officials plan to charge 80 Guantanamo detainees with war crimes before military commissions

Other detainees 265 are held at Guantanamo. About 60 are to be repatriated to their native countries. The Pentagon wants a new law on how to handle others

Source: Times research

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