An ex-driver for Al-Qaida's head Osama bin Laden was transferred from Guantanamo Bay to his homeland of Yemen to serve out the remaining 32 days of his sentence, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Salim Hamdan, the first man to go before a U.S. war crimes trial since the end of World War II, was flown from the U.S. Navy base in Cuba to Yemen.
Hamdan was convicted on Aug. 6 of providing material support to terrorism, and the military said it could keep him locked up indefinitely if it considered him to be a continued threat. Instead, he was sent home early. A Pentagon official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter, said the decision was made by the White House.
Hamdan was sentenced at the war-crimes trial to 5 1/2 years in prison. Being credited with five years and one month for time already served means his sentence ends on Dec. 27, according to the Pentagon. "As part of a transfer agreement with the United States, the remainder of Hamdan's sentence will be served in Yemen," the Defense Department said in a statement.
Hamdan's Pentagon-appointed attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer, told The Associated Press that he was surprised to learn the U.S. was transferring Hamdan to Yemen so soon. Read exact news here
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