13 February 2004	Friday	21 Zilhaj 1424

WASHINGTON, Feb 12: Osama bin Laden's former chauffeur is a prisoner at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the driver's US military lawyer said on Wednesday.

Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a 34-year-old Yemeni, worked in Afghanistan for the head of the Al Qaeda network from 1997 until the US-led invasion of the country in Oct 2001, his military attorney, Navy Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, said.

Hamdan is being held at Guantanamo with about 600 other Taliban and Al Qaeda suspects captured in Afghanistan. He has been in detention for almost two years. Mr Hamdan - one of the first detainees to be appointed a military lawyer - could be among the first to face a military trial if his lawyer fails to strike a plea agreement with military prosecutors.

"He was (Osama) bin Laden's driver," Commander Swift said, adding, "no date is set (for a trial) and he is still pending charges, no charges have been filed." Salim Hamdan says he is not a terrorist and is not a member of Al Qaeda, Commander Swift said. -AFP