First Gitmo conviction under Obama shrouded in secrecy: Judge seals sentence

US military judge seals sentence for Guantanamo detainee who struck plea deal with prosecutors

A U.S. military judge on Monday ordered that a plea agreement capping the sentence of an Osama bin Laden aide be sealed, shrouding in secrecy the first Guantanamo conviction under President Barack Obama.

The judge, Air Force Lt. Col. Nancy Paul, said the deal limiting how much more time detainee Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi spends in confinement will not be revealed until after his release. She said that condition of the plea bargain was requested by the government and agreed to by the detainee's lawyers.

The sealing of the sentence is a first for the military commissions system, which the Obama administration has pledged to make more transparent.

A spokesman for prosecutors, Navy Capt. David Iglesias, said he could not comment on the reasons for the secrecy. But he said it was consistent with federal courts' handling of matters involving national security and claimed it was also in al-Qosi's best interest.

"We don't want to create a disincentive for a detainee to plead guilty," Iglesias said, without elaborating.

A jury of American military officers is expected to begin deliberating a sentence Tuesday, but officials overseeing the tribunals will reject their decision if it exceeds the terms of the plea bargain, Iglesias said. A longer sentence could be applied, however, if al-Qosi did something to break the terms of the plea agreement, Iglesias added.

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