Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah

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Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah is a citizen of Bosnia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] Al Sawah's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 535.

1 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
2 References

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 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's 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. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Christopher Mobley

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.

Al Sawah chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[2]

[edit] translation errors

Al Sawah’s open session began with a dispute over whether he had been told that he could request witnesses and expulcatory documents. Al Sawah said he was not told this. His Personal Representative told the Tribunal he read that part of the framing documents to him. The conclusion was that Al Sawah's meeting with his Personal Representative was beset by translation errors.

Al Sawah reported translation discrepancies between the documents his Personal Representative had presented to him earlier and the versions read out at his Tribunal.

After a brief recess the Tribunal’s President ruled that the version that the translator had been given was an erroneous copy and that the version given to Al Sawah’s Personal Representative was the correct version, so there would be no need for a further delay.

The rest of his open session was beset with ongoing translation problems.

[edit] allegations

a. Detainee is a member of Al Qaida.

Detainee admits being a member of Al Qaida.
Detainee traveled to Afghanistan and joined Al Qaida to fight against the United States and the Northern Alliance.
Detainee admits that he attended explosives training at Al Farouq training camp and went on to be a trainer on IED components at Tarnak Farms.
Detainee met Usama bin Ladin.

b. Detainee engaged in hostilities against the United States.

Detainee fled Jalalabad, AF on 18 November 2001, after the area fell to allied forces. Detainee traveled with fighters armed with Kalashnikovs, RPGss, ammunition and hand grenades.
Detainee was injured by shrapnel, captured, and turned over to Northern Alliance forces.

[edit] testimony

As the allegations against him were read out, one by one, Al Sawah responded to each, in turn:

Al Sawah denied being a member of Al Qaida. He acknowledged being in Afghanistan and with Arabic fighters in Kabul.
Al Sawah said he traveled to Afghanistan planning to immigrate there, from Bosnia. He had been told he had to leave Bosnia. He couldn’t go back to Egypt, other more pleasant choices were closed to him, so he chose Afghanistan.
Al Sawah pointed out that if he had wanted to fight Americans he would not have had to leave Bosnia, as there were plenty of Americans stationed in Bosnia.
Al Sawah said he left Bosnia before 9/11.
Al Sawah acknowledged provided training. But said that it was during the civil war with Massoud and Dostum. He challenged whether this was against any American laws. He asserted any efforts he made in opposition to Massoud and Dostum was prior to 9/11, and thus prior to their alliance with the USA.
Al Sawah acknowledged that he was present when Osama bin Laden addressed a big meeting, of approximately 250 people. But he never talked with bin Laden. The meeting occurred at the end of July 2001.
Al Sawah said that he tried to escape Afghanistan because the Americans were offering a bounty of $5,000 to anyone who captured a foreigner. But there was no fighting Americans, because there were no American soldiers on the ground.
Al Sawah acknowledged some of those he traveled with engaged Dostum’s forces as he fled. He said he was traveling with wounded men, women and children. He said he himself was not armed during the retreat.
Al Sawah acknowledged being injured by shrapnel - from the American aerial bombardment.

Al Sawah reported a discrepancy between the translation of the definition of "enemy combatant" that he had been given when he met with his Personal Representative and the one being given to him during his Tribunal.

It was also determined that the "Summary of Evidence" was in error after all. It said he had provided training at the al Farouq training camp, when, in fact, he had provided training at the Abu Abaida training camp.