GUANTANAMO BAY, Aug 7: Salim Hamdan pleaded with a military jury to spare him from a life in prison, apologising on Thursday for the “innocent people” who died in the Sept 11 attacks and saying he worked as Osama bin Laden’s driver only because he needed a job.

Prosecutors asked for a sentence of no less than 30 years, asking the six Pentagon-appointed jurors to make an example of him.

The jury convicted Hamdan, a Yemeni man with a fourth-grade education, of aiding terrorism by chauffeuring Osama around Afghanistan at the time of the 2001 attacks. But Hamdan said he merely had a “relationship of respect” with Osama, as would any other employee.

“It’s true there are work opportunities in Yemen, but not at the level I needed after I got married and not to the level of ambitions that I had in my future,” he said, reading in Arabic from a prepared statement.

Hamdan expressed regret over the “innocent people” who died, according to a Pentagon transcript. His apology couldn’t be heard by reporters because the sound was turned off during part of the proceedings to protect classified information.

“I personally present my apologies to them if anything that I did has caused them pain,” Hamdan said.

The five-man and one-woman jury found Hamdan guilty of aiding terrorism but acquitted him of conspiracy on Wednesday at the first US war crimes trial since World War II.

Under tribunal rules, the jury imposes the sentence, not the judge. Their verdict does not have to be unanimous, and a review by a Pentagon legal official can reduce the sentence but not increase it.

The military judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, told jurors they could impose any sentence from life in prison to no punishment. He instructed jurors to take into account the nearly seven years Hamdan has spent in confinement and that he is the sole supporter of his wife and two children.

Allred, who has described Hamdan as a “small player,” previously ruled he should receive five years of credit for time served at Guantanamo Bay since the Pentagon decided to charge him.

The tribunals’ chief prosecutor, Army Col. Lawrence Morris, had said prosecutors would take the acquittal into account when recommending a sentence. But prosecutor John Murphy on Thursday urged the jury to make an example of Hamdan with a penalty of 30 years to life.“You have found him guilty of offenses that have made our world extremely unsafe and dangerous,” Murphy said. “The government asks you to deliver a sentence that will absolutely keep our society safe from him.”

Defence attorneys urged leniency, reminding jurors that Hamdan was not convicted of any role in Al Qaeda’s attacks. A psychiatrist hired by the defence told jurors that Hamdan has the potential to be rehabilitated.

“It is important the world recognise that this is justice and not revenge,” said Charles Swift, one of Hamdan’s civilian attorneys.

—AP