A jury began deliberations on Monday in the trial of Osama bin Laden's former driver, the first inmate at Guantanamo to face a full-scale trial before the special military tribunals created by President George W. Bush.

Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni national about 40 years old, is accused of conspiracy and material support to terrorism, and faces a possible sentence of life in prison if at least four military officers among a jury of six finds him guilty.

A verdict could be handed down as early as Monday afternoon in the trial, underway at the prison camp on a US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 21 July.

In its closing argument, the prosecution described Hamdan as a facilitator of al-Qaeda and an enthusiastic Bin Laden supporter.

A co-conspirator?

"What we have said to you is that he was a co-conspirator and he did his part. His driving, his bodyguarding, his protective service, his low-key movements, his shell game of moving Bin Laden around knowing that an operation was about to occur," said John Murphy, a Justice Department prosecutor.

"A plethora of facts that shows you how he committed overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy," Murphy said.

"Hamdan was al-Qaeda, every fact in this case points to that," said Murphy, describing Hamdan as an "al-Qaeda warrior."

Hamdan sat quietly, listening to the proceedings though a translation headset. He wore a white skullcap, white robe and a tan sports jacket and registered no reaction when Murphy pointed at him.

Lawyers for Hamdan, who has already spent six years behind bars at Guantanamo, have questioned the fairness of the proceedings and argued that Hamdan was an insignificant figure while employed by Bin Laden from 1998 to 2001.

Guilt by association

"This is a classic case of guilt by association," said Lieutenant Commander Brian Mizer, an assigned military defence lawyer for Hamdan. Mizer described Hamdan as a driver with a fourth-grade education, motivated by financial gain, not ideological passion.

"Mr. Hamdan is not an al-Qaeda warrior, he is not al-Qaeda's last line of defence," Mizer said. "He's not even an al-Qaeda member."

"You should not punish the general's driver today with the crimes of the general."

Joseph McMillan, a civilian defence lawyer for Hamdan, highlighted the "tremendous attention focused on the proceedings here today ... not only domestically but internationally" on the case, and the implication of the verdict on the US "war on terror."

"The general is a war criminal, and therefore the driver also is? It didn't work that way in World War II — Hitler's driver was never charged with a war crime — and it doesn't work that way today," McMillan said.

"There has been no evidence that Mr. Hamdan either planned or executed any terrorist acts," he added.

A series of witnesses

The closing arguments came after two weeks of evidence, including a series of prosecution witnesses — mostly FBI investigators — who testified that Hamdan co-operated extensively with al-Qaeda.

The defence submitted written testimony from top al-Qaeda leaders in detention, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who said Hamdan had no advance knowledge of attacks orchestrated by Bin Laden against US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000 or the attacks of 11 September 2001 against the United States.

"He was not fit to plan or execute," Mohammed, who is also due to be tried by the tribunals, said in written testimony. "He is fit to change trucks' tires, change oil filters, wash and clean cars."

But FBI agents and other federal investigators told the tribunal that interrogations showed Hamdan had spent time at al-Qaeda training camps, was part of Bin Laden's loyal inner circle and had helped transport weapons including surface-to-air missiles.

The interrogations were conducted after Hamdan's capture in November 2001 in Afghanistan following the US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime there.

Human rights groups predict that Hamdan will be found guilty on at least some of the charges.

The Bush administration hopes the first war crimes trial since World War II will show critics at home and abroad that the Guantanamo tribunals, which operate under different rules than regular civilian or military courts, offer the accused a fair process.

Five inmates at Guantanamo accused of participating in the 11 September attacks, including Mohammed, are scheduled to be tried in coming months.

AFP