Faiz Mohammed Ahmed Al Kandari

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Fayiz Mohammed Ahmed Al Kandari is a Kuwaiti citizen who has been detained without charge in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. ^[1] Al Kandari's Guantanamo detainee ID is 552. The US Department of Defense reports he was born on June 3, 1975 in Kuwait City.

1 Identity
2 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
- 2.1 Allegations
3 Administrative Review Board hearing
- 3.1 The following primary factors favor continued detention:
- 3.2 The following primary factors favor release of transfer:
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Identity

There is another Guantanamo captive named Al Kandari, Abdullah Kamel Al Kandari. Both men faced the allegation that their names were found on a suspicious list.

[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.

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 Kandari initially planned to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal but changed his mind when the President of his Tribunal disallowed his request for witnesses.^[2]

[edit] Allegations

The allegations against Al Kandari were:^[3]

a The detainee is a member of al Qaida:

The detainee traveled to Afghanistan and provided religious instruction at the al Farouq training camp in the September 2001 timeframe.
The detainee has family ties to an al Qaida cell that killed a U.S. soldier in Kuwait.
The detainee recruited personnel to participate in the Jihad in Afghanistan and arranged their travel, as well as his own, from the United Arab Emirates to Pakistan.
Once in Pakistan, the detainee and the others he had recruited resided at a guesthouse with known al Qaida operatives.
The detainee later traveled into Afghanistan and received wapons training at the Khaldan training camp. Usama Bin Laden ^[sic] personally provided religious instruction and trainee ^[sic] at this camp.
The detainee then recruited ^[sic] further training, including with explosives, at the al Farouq traing camp. Usama Bin Laden was also present at this camp, as were individuals who were involved with the 11 September 2001 attacks.
The detainee was in the Tora Bora mountain region in October or November 2001.

[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 Kandari 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

While attending an Islamic Institute in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the detainee recruited a fellow student and another friend to participate in the Jihad in Afghanistan and arranged their travel, as well as his own, from the United Arab Emirates to Pakistan.
The detainee worked strongly for funding Jihad through fliers, pamphlets and a senior Muslim cleric. The detainee also created and distributed videotapes to support Jihad and specifically encouraged people to go to Afghanistan and Tunisia to fight.
The detainee was both a religious and military leader within al Qaida and the Taliban. The detainee frequently gave speeches to the recruits at the al Qaida training camps in Afghanistan, and to al Qaida and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. The speeches were designed to encourage the students and the fighters in pursuing Jihad and to build their confidence and conviction in their mission.
The detainee provided religious instruction at al Farouq training camp in the September 2001 timeframe.

b. Training

The detainee traveled to the Khalden training camp in Afghanistan where he received weapons training on the Kalashnikov, Dusaka (AKA Docka), Grinov, BKC automatic rifles, and RPG’s, and anti-aircraft guns. Usama Bin Laden provided religious instruction and gave advice and encouragement to the Jihadists.
The detainee received further training with explosives at al Faruq training camp. The explosives training included instructions on production of bombs, setting of explosives, detonating a series of bombs, production of Molotov cocktails, and the use of grenades and petrol bombs. Usama Bin Laden used to visit the camp and supervise some of the training.

c. Connections/Associations

The detainee was with Usama Bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountain region when the U.S. bombing campaign began.
In Pakistan, the detainee and the others he had recruited resided at Al Shaykh Al-Libi’s guesthouse in Islamabad.
Al-Libi helped run the Khaldan camp and taught classes in topography and land and celestial navigation.
A senior al Qaida member arranged for the detainee to travel to Peshawar. The detainee then traveled from Peshawar to Afghanistan with Saudi Nationals involved in the planning of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.
The detainee spent most of his time in Afghanistan with Usama Bin Laden as a spiritual advisor and Islamic teacher.
The detainee is related to one of the al Qaida members responsible for the attack on U.S. Marines on Failak Island, Kuwait on 8 October 2002. This relative is considered by his peers as among the best al Qa’ida ^[sic] cadre. Additionally, the detainee, Salayman Abu Ghayth, and the detainee’s relative attended an airport training camp near Qandahar.
The detainee is associated with Abu Ghayth.
Salayman Abu Ghayth is an al Qaida spokesman.
The detainee’s name appeared on a list of captured mujahidin found on a hard drive with is associated with Khalid Shaykh Muhammad (KSM).
The detainee was the leader of a Mujahiden group, Tabligh, in Kuwait. The detainee conducted a lot of meetings with Usama Bin Laden (UBL). The detainee collected money for UBL through a Sheik at a local mosque. The detainee was described as the legal advisor and close friend to UBL.
The detainee was associated with the Al Wafa organization.
According to a foreign government service, as of early August 2002, the non-governmental organization “Wafa” officially named (Al Wafa Igatha Al Islamia) (Wafa Humanitarian Organization) and headquartered in Saudi Arabia, was believed to have had connections to Usama Bin Ladin and Afghan Mujahidin.

d. Other Relevant Data

A foreign government service considers the detainee to be a hardcore extremist, unlikely to respect either law or human life. They consider the detainee a threat to the US and its allies, and believe he has the potential to be a high-level terrorist planner.
The detainee’s overall behavior has been generally non-compliant. Assaults include spitting and throwing fluids on guards. A guard found a crude shank in the detainee’s possession. Detainee has been a regular leader of prayer, and continually physically trains in his cell. He teaches martial arts on occasion to other detainees.
The detainee has encouraged Muslims to cause problems for the guards at GTMO and conduct a strike. He also issued a Fatwa to not eat the chicken and meat at GTMO because Muslim law doesn’t permit it.
The detainee often complains about President Bush and the U.S. Government and stated that his “interrogator and her government are criminals”.

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

The detainee denied ever teaching Islam or providing religious instructions, but stated he mentored men in reading and reciting the Koran. The detainee also denied ever visiting a training camp in Afghanistan.
The detainee claims to have been in Afghanistan working for a charitable organization.