Washington: Osama bin Laden's former cook, who played a key role in the al-Qaeda chief's escape from Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks in the US, has been sentenced to 14 years in jail by military jurors.
However, he could be released much sooner under a plea bargain.
The hearing of the Sudan-based 51-year-old Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi took place in a military commission courtroom at the US naval station in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, on Wednesday.
It followed his guilty plea in July during which he admitted that he was engaged in hostilities against the United States in violation of the laws of war.
Details of al-Qosi's plea deal remained a secret, raising the possibility that he could serve a much shorter sentence or be repatriated to Sudan.
He is only the fourth Guantanamo detainee to be convicted since the prison was opened in 2002.
At the hearing, the prosecutors presented evidence that proved he provided key logistics support to bin Laden at various al-Qaeda compounds in Afghanistan.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, he helped bin Laden and other al-Qaeda elements escape from Afghanistan in anticipation of a US invasion.
Al-Qosi was captured from Pakistan after he fled the al-Qaeda hideout at Tora Bora in Afghanistan during the US-led invasion in December 2001.
The military trials were established by the Bush administration after the 9/11 attacks.
Bin Laden's driver Salim Hamdan and Australian David Hicks, who were convicted by the military jurors, have already served their sentences.
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