FACTBOX-Facts about the Guantanamo war crimes trial

July 21 (Reuters) - The first trial at the U.S. military war crimes court in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, started on Monday.

Here are some facts about the court that is trying Yemeni Salim Ahmed Hamdan on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists:

-- The jurors, who in the war crimes tribunals are called commission members, will be selected from 13 U.S. military officers called to Guantanamo from posts around the world. The final panel will be at least five but could be as many as 13.

-- A verdict on Hamdan's guilt or innocence will take a two-thirds vote of the panel. A two-thirds vote will also decide his sentence if convicted, but if the sentence is longer than 10 years, a three-fourths majority will be needed.

-- Unlike civilian U.S. criminal trials, those set up by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 allow some hearsay evidence and some coerced evidence. These rules have prompted criticism from defense lawyers and legal rights advocates.

-- Under commission rules the judge and jurors, as well as the lawyers, are allowed to question witnesses.

-- Hamdan's trial will be held in the less secure of the two military commissions courthouses at Guantanamo. But if alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed testifies, it will be moved to the high-security courthouse, which military officials say is impervious to eavesdropping devices and therefore safe for classified secrets.

Source: U.S. military. (Reporting by Jim Loney, editing by Michael Christie and Patricia Zengerle)