The first US war crimes trial since the second World War began today at the US navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, nearly seven years after the September 11th attacks prompted President George Bush to declare war on terrorism.
Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, faces charges of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism and could face life in prison if convicted by a jury of US military officers.
"This military commission is assembled," judge Keith Allred said after the potential jurors were sworn in.
"You must make your determination whether or not he is guilty based solely on the evidence presented here in court and the instructions I will give you," Judge Allred instructed jurors. "You must impartially hear the evidence."
The defendant (37) today pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
The first trial in the controversial war crimes court got underway 6-1/2 years after the United States opened the prison camp in Cuba to jail suspected al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
Prosecutors contend Hamdan, a Yemeni in his late 30s, was close to al Qaeda's inner circle and was on the way to a battle zone with two surface-to-air missiles in his car when he was captured in November 2001, shortly after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Hamdan's lawyers say he is not a member of al Qaeda, and was merely a driver and mechanic in bin Laden's motor pool who needed the $200 monthly salary.
Hamdan is being tried in a hilltop courthouse overlooking Guantanamo Bay by a jury selected from a pool of 13 US military officers flown in from around the world. The panel must be comprised of at least five members.
Reuters