Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh Al Bedani

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Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh Al Bedani is a Saudi Arabian captured by local Afghanis during the 2001 Invasion of Afghanistan.^[1] He was handed over to American custody, and subsequently transferred to extrajudicial detention in the US Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in small trailer, the same width, but shorter, than a mobile home. The Tribunal's President sat in the big chair. The detainee sat with their hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor in the white, plastic garden chair. A one way mirror behind the Tribunal President allowed observers to observe clandestinely. In theory the open sessions of the Tribunals were open to the press. Three chairs were reserved for them. In practice the Tribunal only intermittently told the press that Tribunals were being held. And when they did they kept the detainee's identities secret. In practice almost all Tribunals went unobserved.

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct a competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

In September 2004 camp authorities convened a Combatant Status Review Tribunal to determine whether Al Bedani had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant".

Al Bedani's case is noteworthy because his dossier was one of the few released in 2005 and made available for public download. The Associated Press acquired copies of the proceedings of some of the detainees, and made them available to the public.

Al Bedani chose not to participate in his Tribunal.^[2] Declining to participate seems to have been the legal advice to all the Guantanamo detainees who have lawyers.

[edit] allegations

The allegations that Al Bedani would have faced during his Tribunal were:

a. The detainee is associated with al Qaida.

1. The detainee is a Saudi who traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, in early 2001. He traveled to Kabul through Quetta, Pakistan and Kandahar, Afghanistan.
2. The detainee was recruited by a known Taliban/Al Qaida recruiter to travel to Afghanistan for training for participatin in Jihad.
3. The detainee states that he went to Afghanistan to receive military training.
4. The detainee was in a guesthouse in Kabul awaiting training when he heard of attacks on America [sic], and possibility of retaliation [sic] and decided to leave Afghanistan immediately.
5. The detainee stayed in various bunkers during the bombing of the Tora Bora region. During his stay in these bunkers the detainee was in the presence of personnel armed with rifles and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). Some of these other men engaged in fighting against the Northern Alliance.
6. The detainee was wounded during the bombing in Tora Bora [sic] and was then picked up by local Afghans who turned him over to the Northern Alliance.

b. The detainee participated in hostilities against the coalition.

1. Although he denies using any weapons, the detainee admits that he was provided with a rifle while in the Tora Bora region.

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearing

Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".

They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat -- or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.

The factors for and against continuing to detain Al Bedani were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3, 2006.^[3] The "factors" presented to Al Bedani's Board were largely a superset of the allegations contained within Al Bedani's Tribunal:

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. The detainee is a Saudi who traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan in early 2001. He traveled to Kabul via Quetta, Pakistan and Kandahar, Afghanistan.
2. The detainee was recruited by a known al Qaida/Taliban recruiter to travel to Afghanistan for training and participation in Jihad.
3. The detainee states that he went to Afghanistan to receive military training.
4. The detainee admitted saying that he wanted to commit Jihad against the United States.

b. Connections

1. The detainee stayed in a Taliban guesthouse in Quetta, Pakistan.
2. The detainee was in a guesthouse in Kabul awaiting training when he heard of the attacks on America and possibility of retaliation and decided to leave Afghanistan immediately.

c. Intent

1. Though he denies using any weapons, the detainee admits that he was provided with a rifle while he was in the Tora Bora region.
2. The detainee stayed in various bunkers during the bombing of the Tora Bora region. While in these bunkers, the detainee was in the presence of personnel armed with rifles and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). Some of these other men engaged in fighting against the Northern Alliance.
3. The detainee was wounded during the bombing in Tora Bora and was then picked up by local Afghans who turned him over to the Northern Alliance.

[edit] The following primary factors favor release or transfer:

1. The detainee was sent to Pakistan to purchase merchandise by his employer.
2. The detainee stated that he went for training to fulfill his religious obligations.

[edit] References

1. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
2. ^ documents (.pdf) from Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh Al Bedani's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
3. ^ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh Al Bedani Administrative Review Board - page 12