Guantanamo convict eligible for "movie night"

By Jane Sutton

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, CUBA (Reuters) - Guantanamo's only convict was moved to a prison wing all by himself hours after U.S. military jurors found him guilty of driving Osama bin Laden, his lawyers said.

But if convicted Yemeni captive Salim Hamdan behaves, he'll get to see as many as 10 movies before his 66-month sentence runs out on New Year's Eve.

Still, serving out his sentence does not mean he will walk free. "He'll still be retained as an enemy combatant," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

"But as an enemy combatant, he then becomes ... eligible for the annual review board process to determine whether he's eligible for release or transfer."

Hamdan's move to a wing by himself marked his change in status from "detainee" to "prisoner" on Wednesday, when he was convicted of a crime -- providing material support for terrorism by driving bin Laden around Afghanistan in a truck and occasionally acting as his bodyguard and weapons courier.

The U.S. military considers the other 264 or so suspected Taliban and al Qaeda captives held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba to be in detention to prevent them from returning to the global battlefield.

Another Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr. J.D. Gordon, said late on Thursday that Hamdan still would be allowed library books, outdoor recreation periods and access to the "movie night initiative."

Officials at the base recently began allowing captives in the maximum-security camps to watch one movie every two weeks, alone in a room with a small couch.

It is offered as a reward for good behavior and part of what the detention commander, Rear Adm. Dave Thomas, called an attempt to provide more intellectual stimulation for men who have been locked up for as many as 6-1/2 years.

He said they can view commercially available films but not videos from home.

Hamdan, a small man with a short, neat beard and curly black hair, wears the tan uniform of a compliant captive rather than one of the orange jumpsuits reserved for troublemakers.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Mohammad Zargham)