A special military trial at Guantanamo is due to open Monday as detainee Salim Hamdan, who worked as a driver for terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, faces the first US war-crimes tribunal since the end of World War II.
Hamdan, who is from Yemen, is the first "enemy combatant" from the US "war on terror" to face a full-scale trial since the prison camp at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was opened in late 2001.
And with a federal judge rebuffing the last-ditch attempt by Hamdan's lawyers to halt the trial, the landmark case is now set to open Monday after preliminary hearings over the past week.
Hamdan, whose trial is expected to last two weeks, faces charges of "conspiracy" and "material support for terrorism," and could receive life imprisonment if convicted.
Australian national David Hicks was to face a military trial in 2007 but pleaded guilty at a hearing before it began. After being held without trial for five years, Hicks admitted to providing material support to terrorism as part of a deal that allowed him to return to his country where he served the remainder of his sentence.
Hamdan's lawyers have already announced they would appeal. They argue that Hamdan, although he served as bin Laden's driver, is not implied in any terrorist activity. Last week they argued that he was mistreated while in US custody and was subjected to sleep deprivation, including being awakened every hour by guards during a 50-day period in 2003.
The Bush administration has faced heated criticism from human rights groups for detaining prisoners for years at Guantanamo without giving them the right to defend themselves in court. Hamdan's case will be an important test of the military commission system. Of the 260 detainees currently in Guantanamo, only around 20 have been charged with a crime and the government plans to put only 60 to 80 of them on trial.
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