Salim Hamdan

Salim Hamdan, originally from Yemen, admitted that he worked as the personal driver for Osama Bin Laden. Hamdan was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and was detained at Guantanamo Bay.¹

On August 6, 2008, a jury found Hamdan not guilty of conspiracy to aid terror but guilty of material support of terrorism. Hamdan was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison.² In November 2008, reports said Hamdan would be released from Guantanamo Bay and transferred to Yemen to serve the remainder of his sentence.³

Fast Facts

1. Originally from Yemen
2. Arrested in Afghanistan in November 2001
3. Has admitted to working as a driver and bodyguard for Osama Bin Laden¹
4. Charged with criminal conspiracy and supporting terrorism⁴
5. Claimed he was paid $200 per week¹
6. Was detained in Guantanamo Bay
7. In 2006, Hamdan's lawyers contested the constitutionality of the military tribunal system¹
8. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo Bay prisoners can challenge their cases in civil court⁵
9. Hamdan appealed to have his trial postponed⁶
10. Hamdan's was the first war crimes trial held at Guantanamo Bay⁶
11. Jury consisted of military officers⁷
12. Hamdan was the first "enemy combatant" to face a full trial since Guantanamo Bay opened in 2001⁸
13. Hamdan sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison, but judge applied 61 of those months to time served³
14. Will be sent to Yemen to serve out rest of sentence³

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006)

1. Case before the U.S. Supreme Court
2. Tested the validity of the military commissions President Bush advocated when trying "enemy combatants" like Hamdan
3. Bush administration changed the definition of "enemy combatant" after September 11 and the launch of the "War on Terror"
4. Bush administration distinguished between "lawful combatants" (protected by the Geneva Conventions) and "unlawful combatants" (not protected)
5. If that definition stood, Hamdan would be tried before a Bush-style military commission
6. Hamdan's defense: Commissions violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva conventions
7. The case tested whether the commissions violated basic military justice protections granted by the above codes
8. The Court agreed with Hamdan's defense that the commissions violated existing statutes
9. 2007: Charges against Hamdan dropped
10. Charges later reinstated
11. Hamdan's case assessed by a panel of six military officers in 2008

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