Bin Laden's driver can contact jailed Qaeda leaders

By Jane Sutton

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden's driver can send notes to top al Qaeda leaders imprisoned at Guantanamo asking them to describe the job he performed for the group in Afghanistan, a war crimes court judge ruled on Wednesday.

The driver, Salim Hamdan of Yemen, faces trial in the military court at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on charges of conspiring with al Qaeda and providing material support for terrorism.

His lawyers argued that driving for terrorists doesn't make him a terrorist. They said Hamdan was a poor laborer who joined bin Laden's motor pool in Afghanistan because he needed the salary, but never joined al Qaeda or knew in advance of its attacks.

They asked that he be allowed to send written questions to some of the "high-value" al Qaeda detainees sent to Guantanamo from secret CIA prisons in 2006, asking them to describe his work and what role, if any, he played in the organization.

The request for their testimony was granted despite strong objections from a prosecutor. He said Hamdan should not be allowed any communication with dangerous prisoners because they could send back coded messages, reveal secrets or hatch a plot to disrupt the trials.

The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Murphy, called them "the brain trust to some of the worst terrorists the world has seen in our lifetime."

"They shouldn't even know he's out there," he said.

The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, suggested possible wording for Hamdan's notes: "I think it would be nice if you would help me out by answering the questions."