Military jurors have cleared Osama bin Laden's driver of conspiracy charges but found him guilty of helping al-Qaeda, a split decision that has failed to end the controversy over the fairness of the US ''war on terror'' tribunals.
In the first full trial by the special Guantanamo tribunals, the jury concluded yesterday that Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni, had provided ''material support'' to the terrorist network by driving bin Laden and ferrying weapons.
Critics of the special tribunals argued that the trial proved the system set up to try terrorism suspects was fatally flawed, while President George W.Bush's Administration said the result showed the process had been fair.
The White House praised the verdict and the Defence Department said it intended to press forward with the trials of at least 20 more detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, ''We're pleased that Salim Hamdan received a fair trial. The military commission system is a fair and appropriate legal process.''
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said, ''We respect that decision. We fully intend to move forward with additional prosecutions on the 20 other cases that are currently in the military commission system.''
The jury must now sentence Hamdan, who faces a possible maximum term of life in prison.
At sentencing hearings which began yesterday afternoon, the navy officer presiding over the case, Keith Allred, said Hamdan would receive more than five years' credit for time served behind bars at Guantanamo since he was initially charged.
The judge rejected a prosecution request to call an FBI agent to describe the effects of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
He said Hamdan had been ''such a small player'' that it would be unfair to have the jury hear the testimony since this would imply Hamdan had a role in the attacks.
Hamdan's case, the first US war crimes trial since World War II, was seen as an important test of the controversial military commission system which human rights groups have widely criticised as unfair.
Clad in a white turban and tan coat, Hamdan stood with a solemn expression and then bowed his head as the verdict was read out by the head of the jury in a makeshift courtroom at the remote US naval base at the eastern end of Cuba.
Hamdan was found guilty under the single charge of support for terrorism, in support of which the prosecution alleged that he had served as a driver and bodyguard for bin Laden, ferried weapons for al-Qaeda and been fully aware that the organisation engaged in terrorism.
Rejection of the conspiracy charge showed the inability of prosecutors to prove that Hamdan had helped plot al-Qaeda attacks on civilians or other targets.
Defence lawyers said they would appeal against the verdict after questioning the gravity of Hamdan's role as a driver. They also allege that dubious evidence from coercive interrogations was presented.
One of Hamdan's lawyers, Michael Berrigan, said to reporters afterwards, ''Is material support a war crime? The defence believes it is not. That issue will go forward ...''
Mr Berrigan said it was a ''travesty'' that Hamdan was convicted under a 2006 law, which established the military commissions, long after he was captured in 2001 in Afghanistan.
But a legal analyst, Jonathan Drimmer, termed it ''a good outcome for the Government in arguing that this was a fair trial''. AFP