A US military jury at Guantanamo Bay sentenced an al Qaeda cook to 14 years in prison on Wednesday, the Miami Herald reported. Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, a 50-year-old Sudanese man, pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy and supporting al Qaeda in the first Guantanamo conviction since President Barack Obama took office. The sentenced handed down by the jury is not final.
The plea deal worked out with prosecutors could call for less time behind bars. The terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed. Prosectors alleged al Qosi has been affiliated with al Qaeda since 1996, providing logistical support, including serving as bin Laden's bodyguard, driver and cook. The trials are a key aspect of Obama's plan to close the prison facility at Guantanamo, which currently holds 176 prisoners. Meanwhile, Canadian media reported the jury selection has been completed in the case of Omar Khadr, a Toronto-born prisoner at Guantanamo facing charges for murdering a US soldier in Afghanistan in 2002 with a hand grenade.
Khadr was 15 when he was captured and his case has drawn world-wide attention. The prosecution and defence attorneys have agreed to a jury of seven individuals after narrowing it down from a pool of 15, Canadian reports said. The jury includes four men and three women. Opening arguments are expected to begin this year. Khadr faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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