Reprieve hails “moderate” sentence for Salim Hamdan, but deplores US Administration’s claim that it can continue to hold him as an “enemy combatant”
08.08.08
Following the sentence of five and a half years handed down by a military jury in the trial by military commission of Salim Hamdan, Reprieve, the legal action charity, is pleased to note that Mr. Hamdan did not receive a 30-year sentence, as requested by the prosecution. However, Reprieve remains appalled by the US Administration’s long-standing claim that, regardless of the outcome of the trials, prisoners at Guantánamo can continue to be held indefinitely as “enemy combatants.”
Zachary Katznelson, Reprieve’s Legal Director, said:
“The sentence exposes the military commissions as a true farce. Salim Hamdan will serve four months and 22 days more for the supposed crime that brought him to Guantánamo, but then, instead of going free, as any other convicted criminal would, he will end up right back in indefinite detention. Millions of dollars and thousands of hours have been spent for a trial that makes not a bit of difference. We desperately need a return to American justice, not this masquerade.”
Andy Worthington, Reprieve’s Communications Manager, added:
“Emboldened, rather then chastised by this farce, the Administration will no doubt rush forward with more trials, hopeful that it can justify the wholesale flight from justice that has characterized the so-called ‘War on Terror.’ Reprieve’s client Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who was tortured by or on behalf of US forces, is one of the men scheduled to face a trial by Military Commission, but as the example of Salim Hamdan shows, he will not find justice at Guantánamo, only a show trial to punctuate his endless detention.”
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For further information, please contact Andy Worthington at Reprieve’s Press Office on 020 7427 1099 or email Andy@reprieve.org.uk. |
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