Military court upholds Gitmo war crimes conviction

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A military court has upheld the conviction of the first Guantanamo Bay prisoner to be tried for war crimes at the U.S. base in Cuba.

The U.S. Court of Military Commission Review refused to overturn the August 2008 conviction of Salim Hamdan. The court rejected a claim that the charge of providing material support to terrorism is not a war crime that can be prosecuted by a military tribunal.Hamdan was charged with the offense because he had been a driver for Osama bin Laden. Hamdan was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison but has been released and returned to his native Yemen.

The Pentagon released the ruling Friday.

The military is preparing to resume trials at Guantanamo.