Wasim (Guantanamo detainee 338)

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Wazim or Wasim is an Saudi held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.[1] Wasim's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 338. The Department of Defense reports that Wasim was born on November 18, 1963, in Al Jauf, Saudi Arabia.

Contents

[edit] Identity

[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
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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.

Wazim chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[2]

[edit] allegations

The allegations against Wazim were:[2]

  1. The detainee traveled to Afghanistan from Saudi Arabia in late September 2001 via Jordan, Syria, and Iran.
  2. The detainee reportedly traveled with an individual identified as another detainee.
  3. The individual’s name or alias is included on a list of Al Qaeda Mujahidin found on files recovered during a raid of Al Qaeda safehouses.
  4. The detainee is associated with Al Haramain.
  5. Al Haramain is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with ties to Islamic terrorism.
  6. The detainee is associated with Al Ighatha.
  7. Al Ighatha is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with ties to Islamic terrorism.
  8. The detainee is associated with Al Qaeda.

[edit] Witness requests

Wasim requested three witnesses.

  • The witness who was a detainee was called.
  • Two un-named off-island witnesses, who would have testified about Wasim's travels, were deemed "not relevant" by the Tribunal's President

Wasim questioned deeming his witnesses irrelevant. His Tribunal's President's explanation was that those witnesses only showed intent, and the Tribunal was going to make its determination on his actual actions.

[edit] testimony

Wasim responded to each of the allegations, as they were read out to him:

  • Wasim denied traveling to Afghanistan. He said he and his associates planned to travel to Iran. to address the needs of refugees crossing that border.
  • Wasim said that they drove from Jordan to Syria, and then flew to Iran. He said they expected to be able to address refugee's needs once they had crossed the border into Iran, but learned that the refuggess were all remained just the other side of the Iran/Afghan border. So, after coming all that way, they made the last minute decision to enter Afghanistan. They spent three or four days helping refugees, but when they tried to cross back into Iran, they were not permitted. He attributed this to prejudice on the part of the border guards against Sunnis. After spending a month and a half waiting for permission to re-enter Iran Wasim and his associates gave up and crossed Afghanistan to the Pakistani border.
    The border police were telling us to go in an unofficial way, by bribing them. Also. a lot of smugglers offered us the same thing, a way to cross the border in an unofficial way for a bribe, for money. We strongly refused because we entered officially and we wanted to leave officially. We refused because we never worked that way beffore.
  • Wasim confirmed that one of his travel companions was also detained in Guantanamo.
  • Wasim questioned whether his companion was really named in the captured documents, Arabic names being so similar, it required extra information, like the place of birth, and the individual's mother's name, to be sure that the correct individual was being identified.
  • Wasim denied working for Al Haramain. He pointed out that Al Haramain was considered a completely legitimate charity by his government, the Saudi government. His main, ongoing association with Al Haramain was, through the charity, he sponsored two orphans in an orphanage in Bangla Desh. Wasim said he had heard that the US government had apologized to the Saudi government for leveling false allegations against Al Haramain.
  • Wasim denied any association with al-Igatha. He said he knew nothing about it.
  • Wasim reported something many other detainees had reported. The allegations against him included new allegations on new topics that none of his interrogators had ever asked him about. In particular Wasim told his Tribunal that the al-Igatha allegations were new to him; none of his interrogators had ever asked him about the al-Igatha organization.
  • Wasim denied any knowledge of, or association with, al Qaeda. He asked how he could have participate in al Qaeda when he had a full time job as a school teacher. This trip had been his first trip to the Iran/Afghanistan/Pakistan area. He had never been questioned or the subject of an investigation at any point in Saudi Arabia.

Wasim added some additional points:

  • Wasim pointed out that Saudi Arabia did not have compulsory military service, and he had not served in the military, and had never received any military training.
  • Wasim repeated that he and his companions had done their best to exit Afghanistan legally, rather than try to sneak across the border.
  • Wasim said he believed he and his companions were turned in to the Americans in return for a bounty, rather than because there was any really reason to suspect they were tied to terrorism.
  • Wasim said that he had been told by a visiting delegation of Saudi security officials that he was supposed to have been part of a contingent of Saudis returned a year and a half earlier. He told his Tribunal the Saudi security officials said that his name was listed in newspaper accounts of the release.

[edit] References

  1. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
  2. ^ a b Summarized transcript (.pdf) from Wazim's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 18-35