DRIVER AT 9/11 MEET: FED

AP

Last updated: 7:51 am
July 24, 2008
Posted: 3:46 am
July 24, 2008

GUANTANAMO BAY - A Guantanamo prisoner on trial for war crimes was so close to Osama bin Laden that he attended a meeting of top al Qaeda aides the day of the Sept. 11 attacks, a former FBI agent testified yesterday.

Defendant Salim Hamdan heard bin Laden praise the attacks and the hijackers at the meeting in Afghanistan, former agent Ali Soufan said as prosecutors sought to build their case in the first US military war-crimes trial since World War II.

Bin Laden even gave Hamdan marriage advice and held a feast for him after his wedding, Soufan said, recounting interrogations of the prisoner at Guantanamo to counter defense claims that the defendant was a lowly driver with no significant link to terrorism.

"It shows a close relationship and the affinity that Mr. bin Laden has for him," said Soufan, addressing the Pentagon-selected jury of US military officers, referring to the wedding celebration.

Hamdan, a Yemeni who has been held at Guantanamo since May 2002, is charged with conspiracy and aiding terrorism. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.