Thaindian News

Washington, Aug 12 (ANI): Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s cook has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, making it the first Guantanamo secret conviction under President Barack Obama.

Ibrahim al-Qosi (50), a native of Sudan, who worked for bin Laden for years before the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy and material support for terrorism as part of a pre-trial agreement.

Only three detainees were convicted at Guantanamo under the Bush administration, and two of those have since been released. Qosi was among the first four detainees charged before a military commission in 2004.

However, the court’s decision may be overruled by a plea bargain that will limit the time al-Qosi spends in prison, CBS News reports.

The jury of 10 US military officers was not told about the sentence limit in the plea agreement.

It is not yet clear where he might be held: Judge Nancy Paul, an Air Force lieutenant colonel, said Wednesday that officials would have 60 days after sentencing to determine that.

She told jurors they could sentence al-Qosi to between 12 and 15 years in prison, a range that is reportedly well above the terms of the plea bargain. She said the detainee would not receive credit for the eight years and seven months he already has spent in confinement.

As part of the plea agreement, the 50-year-old detainee signed a statement declaring that he followed bin Laden after the al Qaeda leader’s expulsion from Sudan in 1996 and continued working for him in Afghanistan.

He was arrested in Pakistan after fleeing the al Qaeda hideout at Tora Bora, Afghanistan, during the US-led invasion. He was among the first prisoners taken to Guantanamo. (ANI)