User:Geo Swan/working/Boudella el Hajj

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Contents

[edit] Boudella's dossier and other URLs

[edit] Excerpts from Boudella's dossier

Boudella’s dossier was 66 page long. Page 9 was of the dossier was the beginning of a 5 page document entitled: "Unclassified summary of basis for tribunal decision: (Enclosure (1) to Combatant Status Review Tribunal Decision Report)"

This document provided a brief synopsis of the proceedings, then listed and summarized the various exhibits presented to the Tribunal.

Boudella requested five witnesses: three of the other members of the “Algerian Six”,

Boudella requested an unclassified document be introduced in his defense. Although there was no question that the document did exist the Tribunal’s Recorder (ie. Prosecutor) said he couldn’t find it.

The Exhibits were numbered D-a and D-b, and R-1 through R-33.

Exhibit D-b was the Tribunal President’s approval of the requests for three of Boudella’s five witnesses. The names of Boudella’s witnesses were redacted, but from the later context it was clear that they were three of his fellow Bosnians.

Boudella had requested that the Tribunal review copies of two documents that the Tribunal’s President ruled that this were “not reasonably available”. One of these documents was the Bosnian Supreme Court’s decision that he should be acquitted of all charges of plotting to attack the Americans in Bosnia. The other was a Bosnian document about his detention in Cuba. Boudella insisted that he had been shown both documents since his arrival in Cuba.

[edit] R-1

Unclassified Summary of Evidence – containing the allegations against Boudella

[edit] R-2

not described, beyond stating it “provided no usable evidence”.

[edit] R-3

Exhibit R-3 of Boudella’s dossier is 12 page article from the November 12, 2001 issue of Time magazine – that is two months after the attack of 9-11, and one month after the arrest of the “Algerian Six”.

His dossier states:

"The Suspects, a Bosnian subplot,’ by Andrew Purvis, Sarajevo, page 10 (excerpt from Time Magazine, November 12, 2001). This exhibit appears to be a news article of book excerpt. As an account of the ‘Algerian Six” individuals accused of plotting to attack the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is quite interesting and appears to support paragraph 3a2 of Exhibit R-1, the unclassified summary of evidence. Yet it does not identify the Detainee by name. The only way the Tribunal knows that the Detainee is involved in this because his place of employment is identified (the Tribunal made the connection between the Detainee and his place of employment from other exhibits). However, on page 4 of 12, the article notes that Al-Qaeda “acts as an umbrella group, financing and subcontracting operations to local networks like Algeria’s Armed Islamic Group (GIA).” This exhibit provides information concerning a direct connection between Al-Qaeda and the GIA; therefore this exhibit was quite persuasive to the Tribunal that the GIA qualified as a force associated with Al-Qaeda."

[edit] R-4

A :”Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation Supreme Court Document, 11 January 2001", apparently an “investigation order”. The dossier describes this as “helpful to the tribunal in ascertaining which offenses the Detainee and the other individuals were charged with.” It goes on to say “However it provides no evidence as to whether the Detainee himself committed any of the offenses with which he was charged.” even though the Bosnian Supreme Court acquitted him of all charges.

[edit] R-5

Counterterrorism Analysis Team document of April 2 2002, which “announces the arrest of the ‘Algerian Six’ individuals ‘on suspicion of being linked with international terrorism.

[edit] R-6

Affidavit from Boudella’s wife “paragraphs 6, 7 an 8 was of particular interest.”

[edit] Exhibits R-7 through R-33

Exhibits R-7 through R-33 were classified, and were not presented to Boudella, for his rebutal, nor described in the unclassified version of the dossier.

[edit] Conclusions

The Tribunal concluded Boudella had been properly classified as an “enemy combatant” because he is considered as being part of or supporting, forces associated with Al-Qaeda, which is engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.

The concluding comments also noted that Boudella “was particularly respectful, appeared sincere, and apologized to the Tribunal for some of the responses given, and attitudes displayed, by his witnesses. He asked the Tribunal to consider his record of cooperative behavior while detained in Guantanamo Bay. He claims he does not consider the United States as an enemy and offered that he had had numerous opportunities to engage in terrorist activities against the United States (which he claims he has not done) or to elude custody while in B-H (which he claims he could have done but did not do). The Tribunal recommends that any Administrative Review Board convened in the future concerning this Detainee consider these matters, and, should the Board conclude that he no longer represents a danger to the United States or its allies that he be considered for release to his home country.

[edit] Summarized transcripts

The summarized transcripts extend from page 14 of the dossier to page 39.

[edit] Summary of Evidence

A memorandum entitled Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal: AL HAJJ, Boudella

[edit] 3a

a. The detainee is associated with al Qaida:

  1. The detainee was arrested with XXXXXXXXXXX, a known al Qaida associate, for International Terrorism by the Bosnia-Herzegovina authorities.
  2. XXXXXXXXXX had phone conversations with Abu Zubaydah, a senior aide to Usama Bin Laden, who was in charge of screening recruits for al Qaida training camps in Afghanistan..
  3. The detainee and others acted as an organized terrorist group and they were in contact with known al Qaida member, Abu Zubaydah.
  4. Detainee was arrested by Bosnian authorities in connection with a planned attack on the American embassy.
  5. Detainee is a member of the Mujahadin network. Also, detainee is likely a member of Armed Islamic Group of Algeria, a militant organization.
  6. Armed Islamic Group of Algeria is on the list of sympathizers and helpers of Usama Bin Laden’s al Qaida.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/e/o/User%7EGeo_Swan_working_Boudella_el_Hajj_8a31.html"