Salim Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden, on Thursday received a 66-month prison sentence following his conviction on charges of supporting terrorism in the first complete military commission at Guantanamo Bay.

The 66-month sentence was much shorter than the 30 years sought by the prosecution in the first US war crimes trial since the second world war. Prosecution lawyers had argued that Mr Hamdan was part of Mr bin Laden’s inner circle, while his defence lawyers said he was an illiterate man simply trying to earn a living to support his family.