Tariqe Shallah Hassan Al Harbi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tariqe Shallah Hassan Al Harbi is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] His detainee ID number is 265. The Department of Defense estimates that Al Harbi was born in 1983, in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Main article: minors detained in the global war on terror

1 Identity
2 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
3 Transfer to Saudi Arabia
4 References

[edit] Identity

The official documents from the US Department of Defense, and from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington DC transliterate Al Qaid's name differntly:

His name was transliterated as Tariqe Shallah Hassan Al Harbi on the official lists of names released by the US Department of Defense.^[2]
His name was transliterated as Tareq Shallah Hassan Al-Harbi on the press releases from Saudi officials, when he was repatriated on February 21, 2007.^[3]

[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 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 Harbi chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[4]

[edit] Allegations

The allegations Tariqe faced, during his Tribunal, were:

a. -- The general summary of the allegations that establish an association with terrorism were missing from the transcript. --

In June 2001, the Detainee voluntarily traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan for the purpose of fighting the Northern Alliance.
After arriving in Afghanistan, the Detainee trained at Al Farouq training camp.
At the Al Farouq training camp, the detainee received training on the Kalashnikov and pistols.
In Kandahar, Afghanistan, the detainee sought to become a member of the Taliban.
The detainee was apprehended by Pakistani police when he attempted to cross the Pakistani border. He was then transferred to U.S. custody.

[edit] Response to the allegations

Tariqe's Personal Representative read from his notes Tariqe's reponse to the allegations. According to Tariqe's Personal Representative:

"Tariqe went to Afghanistan for religious reasons, to help the poor and needy. The Islamic religious leaders (Sheiks) told him that he had to go to Afghanistan to help the poor and needy or God would punish him. He did not go there voluntarily, he went there to avoid punishment by God. He did not go to fight against the Northern Alliance."
Tariqe acknowledged going to the al Farouq training camp. When he arrived in Afghanistan he went to an "Arabic guesthouse" because he couldn't speack any of the local languages. He said he was told there that it was mandatory for all visiting foreigners to get military training.
Tariqe grew disenchanted after two weeks at al Farouq: "...Tariqe did not go to Afghanistan to learn how to fight and shoot weapons. Tariqe went to Afghanistan to help poor and needy Afghanis. Thus, Tariqe decided to escape the Al Farouq training camp and go to Kandahar."
Tariqe denied going to Kandahar to join the Taliban. He said he went there to ask whether it was necessary for him to receive military training before he could engage in offering humanitarian aid.
Tariqe said that the Taliban told him he could get permission to offer humanitarian aid if he joined the Taliban first. However, all Taliban needed to have a beard, and Tariqe was too young to have a beard. So this option was closed to him. The Taliban told him he had three choices: he could return to al Farouq; he could wait until he grew a beard; or he could simply go home.
Tariqe said he chose to go home. But the border to Pakistan was closed because of the attacks of 9-11 before he was able to leave Afghanistan.
Tariqe said he sought out the Pakistani authorities, at the border, because he thought they would help him return to Saidi Arabia.

[edit] Response to Tribunal questioning

Tariqe said all the military training he had received before he ledt the camp had been theoretical. He hadn't handled any weapons.
Tariqe insisted he never engaged in any hostile acts, or helped anyone else engage in a hostile act.
Tariqe had a 2-way ticket, because he only planned a limited stay.