who was lawyer for bin laden driver

by Ronny Hudson Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago 9 min read

Was a plea deal discovered for bin Laden's driver?

Aug 07, 2008 · Lawyer For Bin Laden's Driver Lays Out Next Steps A military jury has handed Salim Hamdan a 5 1/2-year sentence, but he is likely to serve less than six months. Neal Katyal, a …

How long did Guantanamo jury give bin Laden driver?

Feb 11, 2008 · Charles Swift, a prominent lawyer best known for defending Osama bin Laden’s driver before the U.S. Supreme Court, will speak at the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus at 6 p.m. on Thurs., Feb. 21. The talk, “U.S. Sovereignty and the War on Terror After Hamdan v. Rumsfeld,” will be held in the Barco Law Building’s Teplitz Moot Courtroom.

Who was Hamdan and why was he charged?

Swift is an award-winning lawyer who spent 13 years with the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and was on the team that defended bin Laden’s driver, …

Will bin Laden's driver be first test of Gitmo trials?

Nov 08, 2004 · His military-appointed attorney, Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Swift, has filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the military commissions set up by the Defense Department to try suspected terrorists are not legal and have no jurisdiction to try Hamdan. Swift and other defense attorneys have argued that there are many problems with the commissions, including vague rules, no …

Why did Hamdan's lawyers request access to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?

In February 2008, Hamdan's lawyers requested access to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the thirteen other high value detainees in order to gather more information for their defense, which Morris opposed . Allred postponed ruling on Hamdan's lawyer's request.

Who was the judge that tried Hamdan?

Why did Hamdan go to Afghanistan?

He married and had daughters with his wife. He went to Afghanistan to work, where he was recruited to al-Qaeda by Nasser al-Bahri, also a Yemeni. Hamdan had first worked on an agricultural project started by Osama bin Laden. He started working as his driver because he needed the money.

What did Hamdan's lawyers say about solitary confinement?

Hamdan's lawyers filed a request with Allred requesting the detainee be moved out of solitary confinement. They argued that prolonged solitary confinement was having such a negative effect on his mental stability that it was impairing his ability to assist in his own defense. The attorney Andrea Prasow wrote:

How long was Hamdan sentenced?

Sentencing. On August 7, 2008, Hamdan was sentenced by the military jury to five and a half years (66 months) imprisonment. Prosecutors had urged a sentence of 30 years-to-life, while Hamdan's defense had recommended less than 45 months.

What was Hamdan convicted of?

He was found guilty of "providing material support" to al Qaeda, but was acquitted by the jury of terrorism conspiracy charges.

Where was Salim Hamdan captured?

Capture in Afghanistan. Salim Hamdan was captured in southern Afghanistan on November 24, 2001. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, he was captured in a car with four other alleged al-Qaeda associates, including Osama bin Laden 's son-in-law. Three of the men were killed in a firefight with Afghan forces.

Overview

Salim Ahmed Hamdan (Arabic: سالم احمد حمدان) (born February 25, 1968) is a Yemeni man, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, declared by the United States government to be an illegal enemy combatant and held as a detainee at Guantanamo Bay from 2002 to November 2008. He admits to being Osama bin Laden's personal driver and said he needed the money.

Early life

Salim Hamdan was born in 1968 in Wadi Hadhramaut, Yemen. He was raised as a Muslim.
He married and had daughters with his wife. He went to Afghanistan to work, where he was recruited to al-Qaeda by Nasser al-Bahri, also a Yemeni. Hamdan had first worked on an agricultural project started by Osama bin Laden. He started working as his driver because he needed the money.

Capture in Afghanistan

Salim Hamdan was captured in southern Afghanistan on November 24, 2001. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, he was captured in a car with four other alleged al-Qaeda associates, including Osama bin Laden's son-in-law. Three of the men were killed in a firefight with Afghan forces. The Afghans turned over Hamdan and the other surviving associate in the car to U.S. forces. Initially held in Afghanistan, he was transferred to then newly opened Gu…

Trial timeline

On July 14, 2004, the Department of Defense formally charged Salim Ahmed Hamdan with conspiracy, for trial by military commission under the President's Executive Order of November 13, 2001. On October 22, 2004, General John D. Altenburg, the retired officer in overall charge of the commissions, removed three of the six original Military Commission members to avoid the potential of bias.

Supreme Court opinion

On June 29, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. It also considered whether the Supreme Court had the jurisdiction to enforce the articles of the 1949 Geneva convention and whether Congress had the power to prevent the Court from reviewing the case of an accused enemy combatant before it was tried by a military commission, as had happened in this case. It asserted it had that authority.

Charged under the Military Commissions Act

After having been detained for five years at the Guantanamo camp, Hamdan was charged under the new act on May 10, 2007, with conspiracy and "providing support for terrorism."
According to the Houston Chronicle, Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, Hamdan's lawyer, argued that conspiracy charges were inappropriate for such junior people as Hamdan. Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a DoD spokesman, disputed the assertion that Hamdan was a "low …

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Charges dismissed

In two separate military rulings, on June 4, 2007, the court dropped all charges against Hamdan and Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen. Army Judge Colonel Peter Brownback and US Navy Judge Captain Keith J. Allred ruled that the men's Combatant Status Review Tribunals had simply confirmed the men's status as enemy combatants status. While the Military Commissions Act authorized the Guantanamo Military Commissions the authority to try "unlawful enemy combata…

Deemed an "illegal enemy combatant"

On December 21, 2007, Judge Allred heard arguments, and ruled that Hamdan was an "illegal enemy combatant", who could thus be tried by a military commission. Lieutenant Brian Mizer, one of Hamdan's lawyers, said his team had introduced evidence:
... to suggest that, if the weapons at issue were in the car he was driving at the time he was apprehended, Mr. Hamdan was doing nothing more than transporting conventional weapons of …