Bin Laden's driver convicted

Osama bin Laden's driver has been convicted of terror offences in the first Guantanamo Bay trial.

Yemeni Salim Hamdan was convicted by a jury of American military officers following a two-week trial at the prison camp for terror suspects in Cuba.

He was accused of transporting missiles for al-Qaeda and helping bin Laden escape US retribution following the September 11 terror attacks by driving him around Afghanistan.

Hamdan was found guilty of providing material support for terrorism but acquitted of providing material support for al-Qaeda in the first US war crimes trial since World War Two. He faces life in prison.

The case is the first full test of the Guantanamo tribunal authorised by US President George W Bush's administration to try non-US captives on terrorism charges outside the regular civilian and military courts.

Hamdan was captured at a roadblock in southern Afghanistan in November 2001 with two surface-to-air missiles in his car, and taken to Guantanamo Bay in May 2002.

US prosecutors told the jury Hamdan was a loyal supporter of bin Laden and played a "vital role" in the conspiracy behind the September 11 attacks.

Hamdan admitted working for bin Laden in Afghanistan from 1997 to 2001 for £100 a month, but denied being part of al-Qaeda or taking part in any attacks.

His lawyers said the judge allowed evidence that would not have been admitted by any civilian or military US court.

And interrogations at the centre of the US government's case were tainted by coercive tactics including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement, it was alleged.

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