Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri

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Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri
Born: September 23, 1973(1973-09-23)
Al Fahahil, Kuwait
Detained at: Guantanamo
ID number: 217
Conviction(s): no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
Status repatriated

Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri (also translitereated Abdulaziz al-Shimmari) is a Kuwaiti citizen detained, without charge, at the United States Guantánamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] Al Shammeri's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 217.[2] The Department of Defense reports that Al Shammeri was born on September 23, 1973, in Al Fahahil, Kuwait.

Contents

[edit] Identity

Captive 217 was identified inconsistently on official Department of Defense documents:

  • A captive named Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri had his full unclassified dossier released through a Freedom of Information Act request.
  • A captive named Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri was listed on the official list released on April 20, 2005.[3]
  • A captive named Abd Al Aziz Sayir Al Shamari was listed on the official list released on May 15, 2006.[2]
  • The Department of Defense transliterates Al Shammeri's name nine different ways:[4]
name page document
Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri 1 Declaration of James R. Crisfield, CSRT Legal Advisor
Abd Alaziz Sayir Shamari 10 unclassified summary of basis for tribunal decision
Abd Al Aziz Sayer Al Shammri 18 unsworn detainee statement (csrt)
Abd Al Aziz Sayer Al Shammeri 19 unsworn detainee statement (csrt)
Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwaln Al Shammeri 28 Summary of Evidence (CSRT)
Abdulaziz Sayer Owain AI-Shammari 3
Abd Alaziz Sayir al Shamari 32 answers to the questions for the family of Abd Alaziz Sayir al Shamari
Abdulaziz Sayer Owain Zaher Al-Shammari 35 State of Kuwait Civil ID Card
Abd Al Aziz Sayer A1 Shammri 61 Al Shammeri's written statement

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a trailer the size of a large RV. The captive sat on a plastic garden chair, with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor. Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed. The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007)Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.
Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a trailer the size of a large RV. The captive sat on a plastic garden chair, with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.[5][6] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.[7]
The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007)
Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.

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 Shammeri is notable because he is one of the few detainees whose dossier has been made public, and who participated in a question and answer session with the officers on his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on September 20, 2004.[8] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a The detainee is a member of al Qaeda
  1. The detainee traveled from Kuwait to Iran and then to Afghanistan soon after 11 September 2001.
  2. Detainee was arrested by the Pakistani Army while attempting to cross in Pakistan from Afghanistan without identification documents.
  3. One of the detainee's known aliases was on a list of captured hard drives [sic] associated with a senior al Qaeda member.

[edit] Testimony

His dossier contained 14 pages of transcripts.

  • Al Shammeri welcomed his review, apparently because he welcomed the chance to explain that he was innocent of ties to terrorism.[9]
  • Al Shammeri erroneously thought the Tribunal was a legal proceeding, and that he would be granted the presumption of innocence.[10]
  • Al Shammeri acknowledged that he had traveled to Afghanistan.[10] But he said that al Qaeda formed less than 1% of the people in Afghanistan. He pointed out that he traveled to Afghanistan before the American attack.
  • Al Shammeri said that he had traveled to Afghanistan on the invitation of an Afghani exile he met during a religious pilgrimage, (omra), to Mecca.[11] He received this invitation because he had spent four years in Islamic Studies at the Iman Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University. His invitation was for the purpose of offering religious training.
  • He said that after the fall of the Taliban every Arab had to flee, and became separated from his passport.[12]
  • He claimed that he sought out the Pakistani authorities, hoping they could connect him with Kuwaiti consular officials, thus showing he was not a fugitive.[12]
  • In answer to the third allegation he stated his name, said it was his only name -- that he had no aliases.[13] He said his name is a common one, and that many other people share it.
  • In response to a questions from the Tribunal President, Al Shammeri acknowledged joining the Kuwaiti Army in 1992, but denied that this implied any connection to terrorism.[14]
  • One of the other Tribunal officers asked Al Shammeri to clarify how he got disconnected from his passport, and how he thought he could gain entry into Pakistan without it.[15] He replied that he had routinely left his documents in his baggage, as no one in Afghanistan was ever interested in seeing it. He went on to say:
"...part of the Northern Alliance had entered the closest city to us. They started killing any Arab they saw and captured them, even if he wasn't a combatant...So, when I hear something like that, I don't think of going back and getting my passport, I just think of my life.
"Like I told you, I thought if I went to Pakistan, the would detain me for a while until they found out my country and then return me to my country. I didn't think they would tell me 'Since you don't have identification or a passport, that your means you are a follower of Usama Bin Laden.'
  • When questioned about the allegation that his name had been found on another al Qaeda suspect's hard drive, Al Shammeri reported that his interrogators had only recently began to ask him about his name being found on this hard drive.[16]
  • One of the Tribunal officers asked Al Shammeri if he was, in fact, a lawyer.[17]
Q: You are, in fact, a lawyer, aren't you?
A: No, in my studies I study some things, but I am not a lawyer. If I wanted to be a lawyer, my degree would enable me to work as a lawyer.
Q: You do have a degree in Islamic law, do you not?
A: That's what brought me here to this prison, this degree.
Q: That's unfortunate.
  • Al Shammeri was told that, following the attacks of September 11, 2001, "...a reasonable person could infer that the conflict in Afghanistan was about to widen substantially." — Al Shammeri reminded the Tribunal that US spokesmen were predicting that it would take many months to be ready for an attack.

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearing

Hearing room where Guantanamo captive's annual Administrative Review Board hearings convened for captives whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal had already determined they were an "enemy combatant".
Hearing room where Guantanamo captive's annual Administrative Review Board hearings convened for captives whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal had already determined they were an "enemy combatant".[18]

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.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri's Administrative Review Board, on 20 April 2005.[19] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

The factors for and against continuing to detain Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3, 2006.[20]

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee did not tell anyone he was going to Afghanistan. The detainee planned and funded his travel arrangements. The detainee took sick leave from school and began his travel to Afghanistan on approximately 14 October 2001.
  2. The detainee traveled from Kuwait to Iran and then to Afghanistan soon after 11 September 2001.
  3. The detainee was arrested by the Pakistani Army while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan without identification documents.
  4. During confinement, the detainee organized others in non-compliance activity.
  5. In confinement, the detainee is considered a very important leader.
b. Training
In 1993, the detainee completed two to three months of basic military training in the Kuwaiti military, after which he was placed in the Army.
c. Connections / Associations
  1. One of the detainee's known aliases was on a list of captured hard drives associated with a senior al Qaida member.
  2. The detainee was present at an al Qaida House associated with a non-government organization with links to al Qaida.
  3. Executive Order 13224, which blocks property and prohibits transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit or support terrorism, designates al Wafa as a global terrorist entity.
  4. The al Qaida Media House, which houses the al Qaida Media Committee, was located in Qandahar. Senior members of al Qaida were associated with the Media Committee.
d. Intent
  1. The detainee was a member of the Islamic Court in Afghanistan, which enforced proper behavior.
  2. The detainee was present at the prison uprising at Mazar-e-Sharif [sic] .

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

a. The detainee did not participate in fighting in Bosnia or Chechnya. The detainee did not receive any training in Afghanistan and he claims no connection to al Qaida.
b. The detainee denies having any knowledge of the attacks in the United States prior to their execution on September 11, and also denied knowledge of any rumors or plans of future attacks on the United States or its interests.

[edit] Enemy Combatant Election Form

According to the Enemy Combatant Election Form filled out by Al Shammeri's Assisting Military Officer Al Shammeri did not choose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[21] His Assisting Military Officer told his Board that the translator who accompanied him told him that he confirmed he spoke the same language as Al Shammeri. Unusually Al Shammeri's transcript does not record his Assisting Military Officer commenting on his demeanor.

A one page memo was attached to his transcript, drafted by the translator who accompanied his Assisting Military Officer, recording that captive 217 had been reluctant to document experiencing torture or rough treatment.

The Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation memo stated[22]:

...The AMO verbally summarized the detainee's comments during the interview and the Detainee's written statement...
...The ARB reconvened on 25 May 05 after receiving correspondence submitted on behalf of the EC, identified herein as Enclosure (9), for further deliberation.

Captive 217's written statement was not included in the transcript, or published with it. Neither was the correspondence submitted on his behalf.

[edit] Board recommendations

In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.[23][22] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on 24 June 2005.

The assessment and recommendation memo stated:

  • The detainee is a habeas petitioner in the case of Al-Odah v. Bush Civil No. 02-0828 (D.D.C.). As of the date of this memorandum, no court order requires the government to provide the detainee's counsel or the court notice prior to removing the detainee from U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay.

[edit] Repatriation and Kuwaiti incarceration

Al Shammeri was repatriated to Kuwait on November 4, 2005.[24]

Al Shammeri, and four other Kuwaitis released when he was, stood trial in a Kuwaiti court, and were acquitted of all charges.[25]

The Washington Post reported that the two main charges were that the detainees had helped fund Al Wafa, an Afghan charity with ties to Al Qaeda, and that they had fought alongside the Taliban.[26]

Further, the prosecution argued that the detainees actions had endangered Kuwait's political standing and its relations with friendly nations.

The detainees' defense had argued that testimony secured in Guantanamo could not be used in Kuwaiti courts, because the detainees and interrogators hadn't signed them. Further, they had argued, the allegations the USA had directed at them weren't violations of Kuwaiti law.

Al Shammeri's trial began in March 2006, and he was acquitted on July 22, 2006.[27]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Unclassified dossier, from Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  2. ^ a b OARDEC (May 15, 2006). List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  3. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, April 20, 2006
  4. ^ Unclassified dossier from Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants (October 15, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  5. ^ Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror
  6. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
  7. ^ Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials. United States Department of Defense (March 6, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
  8. ^ OARDEC (September 20, 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Shammeri, Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain page 28. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  9. ^ OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Unsworn Statement page 13. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  10. ^ a b OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Statement page 14. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  11. ^ OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Unsworn Statement page 15. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  12. ^ a b OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Unsworn Statement page 17. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  13. ^ OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Unsworn Statement page 18. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  14. ^ OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Unsworn Statement page 19. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  15. ^ OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Unsworn Statement page 21. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  16. ^ OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Unsworn Statement page 22. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  17. ^ OARDEC (29 September 2004). Summarized Unsworn Statement page 23. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  18. ^ (Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", The Wire (JTF-GTMO), Friday March 10, 2006, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  19. ^ OARDEC (20 April 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Shammeri, Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri page 15-16. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  20. ^ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri Administrative Review Board - pages 15-16 - April 20, 2005
  21. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf) (.pdf)] from Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 109
  22. ^ a b OARDEC (May 5, 2005). Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 217 pages 95-100. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  23. ^ OARDEC (23 June 2005). Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 217 pages 83-84. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  24. ^ Kuwaitis released from Guantanamo, BBC, November 4, 2005
  25. ^ Kuwaiti court acquits ex-Guantanamo prisoners. Independent Online (South Africa), May 22, 2006
  26. ^ Kuwaiti court acquits ex-Guantanamo prisoners. Independent Online (South Africa), May 22, 2006
  27. ^ Kuwait's Gitmo men acquitted - again, Kuwait Times, July 23, 2006