Ali Yahya Mahdi Al Raimi

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Ali Yahya Mahdi Al Raimi is a Yemeni who was captured and transferred to the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.[1] Al Raimi's detainee ID number is 167.[2] The Department of Defense estimates that Al Raimi was born in 1984 in Sana'a, Yemen.

Main article: minors detained in the global war on terror

Contents

[edit] Identity

The Yemen Times reported, on March 11, 2007, that a Yemeni named Mohammed Sa’eed Bin Salman, who was also born in Ta'iz, was on the list of Yemenis who had been cleared for release.[3] The official list does not include a captive named Mohammed Sa’eed Bin Salman.[2] Muhhammad Said Bin Salem's name is the closest match.

[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 his 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.
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 his 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.

Al Raimi chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[1]

[edit] allegations against Al Raimi

a The detainee is a member of Al Qaeda:
  1. The detainee admitted that he traveled from Yemen to Afghanistan to help fight in the war during the middle of 2001.
  2. The detainee stated that he attended the Al Farouq training camp during late August 2001.
  3. The detainee stated that he traveled to the Tora Bora Mountains during late 2001.
b The detainee participated in military operations against the United States or its coalition partners.
  1. The detainee stated that he was trained on and carried an AK-47 while at the Al Farouq training camp.
  2. The detainee stated that he was trained on and carried an AK-47 while at the Al Farouq training camp.
  3. The detainee stated that he had an AK-47 when he left the Al Farouq training camp.
  4. The detainee stated that he was arrested by the Pakistani Army and was sent to the Peshawar prison prior to being taken to the prison in Kandahar by the American forces.

[edit] In response to the allegations

  • In response to the allegation that he traveled to Afghanistan to help fight Al Raimi testified:
    "I did not want to leave Yemen for Afghanistan. My parents were already in Afghanistan and forced me to come there. I tried to bribe an official with $50.00 to not allow me through the customs at the airport. Something went wrong and I was not stopped. If I had been stopped by legal authorities, I could have told my parents that the government would not let me leave."
  • Al Raimi acknowledged attending the al Farouq training camp. He said it was part of a deal he struck with his parents:
    "My father said just stay for two months and attend this camp and then I will send you home to Yemen."
  • Al Raimi acknowledged that he traveled through the Tora Bora mountains. But he said it was the only possible route to escape to Pakistan.
  • Al Raimi acknowledged that he was trained to take apart and clean an AK-47 when he was at the al Farouq camp. He said he was only at the camp from September 7, 2001 to September 11, 2001. The camp was closed down on September 11, 2001.
  • Al Raimi disputed that he left al Farouq with an AK-47. They were only issued during training, and were collected when the training ended. He left the camp unarmed.
  • Al Raimi acknowledged being arrested by Pakistani authorities. He said he thought:
    "1 intended to turn myself over to the Pakistani authorities. With no money, friends or relatives they would be obligated to send me back to my home in Yemen. Instead they turned me over to the Americans."

[edit] In response to the Tribunals questions

  • Al Raimi was asked to reconcile a letter from his brother with his testimony.
    • His brother's letter said he disappeared. Al Raimi explained his brother meant that when Afghanistan dissolved into chaos as the Taliban fell he fell out of contact with his family.
  • Al Raimi acknowledged that when the Yemeni officials had visited Guantanamo, and interviewed the Yemeni captives. he had given them a different account of himself. But he said the second version was the true one.
  • Al Raimi said his parents paid for his travel and his other fees.
  • Al Raimi said he traveled across the Pakistan/Afghanistan on a motorbike.
  • Al Raimi repeated that he only learned how to take apart and clean the AK-47.
  • Al Raimi denied engaging in any hostilities.
  • Al Raimi denied knowing who al-Qaida was.
  • Al Raimi said he didn't know why his parents wanted to move to Afghanistan.
  • Al Raimi said he didn't know why his father wanted him to go for military training.
  • Al Raimi said he didn't know what his father's occupation was in Afghanistan.
  • When asked what his father's occupation in Yemen was Al Raimi responded:
    "He is a contractor, he does his own jobs, like construction, in Mosque, paints houses, he fixes things, he works in a bakery, what ever."

[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 Raimi were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3, 2006.[4]

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee is a member of al Qaeda.
  2. The detainee stated he traveled to Tora Bora Mountains in late 2001.
  3. The detainee stated he was arrested by Pakistani Army soldiers and was sent to Peshawar prison prior to being taken to prison in Kandahar by United States forces.
b. Training
  1. The detainee stated he attended the al Farouq training camp in late August 2001.
c. Intent
  • The detainee admitted he traveled from Yemen to Afghanistan to help fight in the war during the middle of 2001.
d. Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  • The CSRT concluded the detainee's intention to travel to Afghanistan was to participate in weapons training at al Farouq, a known al Qaida training facility.
e. Other Relevant Data

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

  • The detainee, in his oral statement, denied being a member of al Qaida and denied the veracity of most allegations made against him in the unclassified summary.
  • The detainee related he went to Afghanistan reluctantly.

[edit] Release

Mark Falkoff told the Yemeni Times that he had to threaten legal action to get the Pentagon to release a list of the Yemenis who had already been cleared for release.[3] The Yemeni Times reported that the Pentagon had cleared some of the captives for rrelease as early as June 2004 — which precedes the first Combatant Status Review Tribunal by over a month.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b documents (.pdf) from Ali Yahya Mahdi Al Raimi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - - mirror page 55
  2. ^ a b list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
  3. ^ a b Amel Al-Ariqi. "Yemeni detainees are the largest group at Guantánamo", Yemen Times, March 11, 2007. Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
  4. ^ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Ali Yahya Mahdi Al Raimi Administrative Review Board - page 88
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