A military panel has sentenced Salim Ahmed Hamdan of Yemen to 66 months of confinement for providing material support to terrorism by a military commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The sentence includes a 61 month and eight day credit ordered by the military judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred. Hamdan will serve his sentence to confinement separate from the other detainees at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Hamdan's conviction and sentencing at trial is one step in the military commission process. Now that the trial is complete his case will receive an automatic review by the convening authority, who will evaluate the legal sufficiency of the findings and appropriateness of the sentence. Hamdan will still be represented by counsel and have the opportunity to submit matters for consideration on his behalf. Then his case will receive an automatic review by the Court of Military Commission Review. Thereafter, he could appeal to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court.
Trials by military commission demonstrate that the United States is committed to holding dangerous terror suspects accountable for their actions. Military commissions provide a mechanism to serve justice to those accused of law of war violations while keeping the United States, friends and allies safe from those determined on carrying out attacks on civilian populations and coalition forces.
Military commissions are constituted courts, affording all the necessary judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples for purposes of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.
A link to Hamdan's list of charges can be viewed on the Military Commission Web site at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2007/Hamdan_Charges.pdf.
