U.S. military tribunal sentences bin Laden cook to 14 years imprisonment

A military commission jury at U. S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay on Wednesday sentenced a Sudanese man accused of being al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden's cook and driver to 14 years in prison.

The man, 50-year-old Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, pleaded guilty last month to two charges for his support to al-Qaida and for conspiring to commit terrorism from August 1996 until his capture in December 2001.

According to the terms of his plea deal, Qosi agreed to a prison term that was kept secret. If the 14-year sentence was heavier than what was agreed upon, it would only be applicable should he broke the terms of his deal.

Qosi's actual sentence would remain a secret until Pentagon finished reviewing it, a process that could take weeks.

Qosi, who served as cook, bodyguard and driver for bin Laden from 1996 to 2001, was captured in December 2001 in Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan. He has been held ever since.

U.S. President Barack Obama has promised to close the infamous Guantanamo prison facility, but has so far failed to deliver. Qosi is only the fourth person prosecuted under the military commissions. He is the second to plead guilty, and two others were convicted in trials.

Source: Xinhua