GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — The military avoided a possible mistrial Tuesday in the first Guantanamo war-crimes trial as prosecutors sparred with defense lawyers over instructions provided to jurors weighing the fate of Osama bin Laden’s former driver.
The six American military officers ended another day of deliberations without a verdict and will return again today.
Earlier Tuesday, military prosecutors said the judge improperly instructed jurors on a legal definition, a mistake that potentially makes it more difficult to convict Salim Hamdan in the first U.S. war-crimes trial since World War II.
The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said he in fact may have given an incorrect definition of a war crime but agreed it was too late to revise his instructions. The defense said redoing the instructions would prompt a mistrial.
Faced with that prospect, prosecutors said they would not seek new instructions.
Hamdan is charged with two counts of conspiracy and eight of aiding terrorism. A conviction on any one of the charges could bring a sentence of life in prison for the Yemeni.
The dispute centered on the charge that Hamdan conspired with al-Qaeda by transporting shoulder-launched missiles to kill U.S. service members. In his instructions, Allred said it was a war crime for “unlawful combatants” to kill civilians but did not mention soldiers.
Even if found not guilty, Hamdan might not be released because the military retains the right to hold “enemy combatants” considered a threat to the United States — even those cleared of charges by the tribunals.
