WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the short and slight Yemeni who was once Osama bin Laden’s driver, must receive a trial with new, congressionally approved procedures.
Before the court’s ruling, President George W. Bush wanted to try Mr. Hamdan in three feet of frog-infested water because, according to Mr. Bush, “them al-Qaida isn’t covered by the Geneva Convention and them Taliban fighters, who we’ve vowed to smoke out in the war on terror, don’t qualify as real prisoners of war because they don’t wear uniforms.”
Mr. Hamdan, who was captured while double parked in front of a Starbucks in Kabul in November 2001, is charged with illegal parking in a war zone, driving at excessive speed in a clearly marked land mine zone, failure to yield, failure to signal a U-turn properly, operating a motor vehicle with its lights off at night, driving with an expired license, driving with an unconcealed automatic weapon in a vehicle, and numerous parking offenses.
Mr. Hamdan denies conspiring to engage in any of these acts. He also denies he was a member of al-Qaida. His lawyers claim he was not Mr. bin Laden’s only driver during the period—October 2000 to November 2001—when the alleged violations occurred. Indeed, Mr. Hamdan claims he was not even aware of Mr. bin Laden’s occupation.
According to Mr. Hamdan’s lead attorney, Sharouf bin Akmed, “My client simply wanted to earn enough money to return to Yemen, buy his own vehicle, and support his family and his sick mother as a driver of celebrities. He believed Mr. bin Laden was a wealthy regional sales manager for a land-mine detector manufacturer with headquarters in Kabul.
Before entering service with Osama bin Laden, Salim Ahmed Hamdan had worked for Discreet Rides, a celebrity chauffeuring company in Hollywood. Not surprisingly, when Mr. Hamdan’s trial began last August, it attracted considerable attention among Hollywood’s elite.
Brad Pitt, who was still mired in a childless marriage at the time, took out a full page ad in Variety urging that “justice not take a back seat to the president’s detention-camp mentality.”
Hundreds of celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Alba, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Johnny Depp, and Terrell Owens, signed a petition that was delivered by courier to the White House. In addition, Lindsay Lohan vowed to go on a hunger strike until Mr. Hamdan was guaranteed a fair trial.
As a result of this pressure, Mr. Hamdan’s trial was halted in November 2004 when a district court ruled that Mr. Hamdan could not be tried by a U.S. military commission unless a “competent tribunal” determined first that he was not a prisoner of war under the 1949 Geneva Motor Vehicle Convention rules. Thursday’s ruling in Washington confirmed that decision.
If Mr. Hamdan is convicted, he faces a one-year prison term and loss of driving privileges for one year following his release from prison. He will also be prevented from driving for hire anywhere in the United States outside of New York City.
In related news, Mr. Hamdan has charged that during his detainment at Guantanamo Bay he has routinely been subjected to harassment by prison guards who have forced him to use the Afghanistan driving manual for toilet paper.
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