Abdel al-Mudhaffari

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Abdel Qadir Hussein Al Mudhaffari
Born: 1976 (age 31–32)
Al Bayda, Yemen
Detained at: Guantanamo
ID number: 40
Conviction(s): no charge, held in extrajudicial detention

Abdel Qadir Hussein Al Mudhaffari is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 40. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate he was born in 1976 in Bayla, Yemen.

[edit] Background

American intelligence analysts assert Abdulqadir was one of Osama bin Laden's bodyguard. American intelligence analysts assert he was a weapon's trainer at al Qaeda's Al Farouq training camp.

Abdulqadir had a habeas corpus petition submitted on his behalf in 2005.

Contents


[edit] Identity

Captive 40 was identified inconsistently on official Department of Defense documents:

  • Captive 40 was identified as Abdel Qadir Husayn Al Mudhaffari on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 20 October 2004, and on the notes of his first Personal Representative.[2][3]
  • Captive 40 was identified as Abdel Qader Hussein Al Mudhaffari on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his first annual Administrative Review Board, on 25 October 2005.[4]
  • Captive 40 was identified as Abdelqadir al Mudhaffari on the declaration drafted by Teresa A. McPalmer when documents prepared for his CSR Tribunal were published in response to his habeas corpus petition on 22 December 2005.[5]
  • Captive 40 was identified as Abdelqader H. Al Mudhaffari on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his second annual Administrative Review Board, on 26 September 2006.[6]

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

CSRT notice read to a Guantanamo captive in July 2004
CSRT notice read to a Guantanamo captive in July 2004

Initially the Bush Presidency asserted they could withhold the protections of the Geneva Conventions from captives in the war on terror, while critics argued that the United States had an obligation to conduct competent tribunals to determine the status of prisoners. Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted Combatant Status Review Tribunals, to determine whether the captives met the new definition of an "enemy combatant".

From July 2004 through March 2005, a CSRT was convened to make a determination whether each captive had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant". Approximately two-thirds of prisoners chose to participate in their tribunals.[7] There is no record that Abdel Qadir Hussein Al Mudhaffari chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdel Qadir Husayn Al Mudhaffari's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 20 October 2004.[2] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is associated with an [sic] al Qaida and the Taliban:
  1. The detainee departed Sana, Yemen for Karachi, Pakistan in February 2001.
  2. The detainee desired jihad and chose to travel to Afghanistan.
  3. The detainee considers al Qaida his family.
  4. The detainee was a security guard for Usama Bin Laden.
  5. The detainee was a trainer at al Farouq.
  6. The detainee taught topography and weapons courses at an advanced-military training camp.
  7. The detainee was seen at Mullah Omar's compound.
b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.
  1. The detainee was identified in Tora Bora and left the region with 30 other suspected al Qaida members.
  2. The detainee was captured while trying to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan on 15 December 2001, with 30 other suspected al Qaida members.

[edit] Abdelqadir Al Mudhaffari v. George W. Bush

US District Court Judge James Robertson considered a writ of habeas corpus filed on his behalf on November 7, 2005.[8] In response, on 22 December 2005 the Department of Defense released 23 pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[5] Tribunal panel 18 confirmed his enemy combatant status on 9 November 2004. Tribunal panel 18 did not convene in Guantanamo. The Department of Defense did not offer an explanation as to why his Tribunal did not meet in Guantanamo. This habeas submission was assigned docket number 05-2185. In various official documents this case was referred to as:

  • Al-Mudafari v. Bush[8]
  • Abdelqadir Al Mudhaffari v. George W. Bush[5]
  • Mudafari v. Bush[9]

The Personal Representative who met with him in Guantanamo on November 3, 2004 did not present his case to Tribunal panel 18 when it convened in Washington DC on November 9, 2004. The USAF Major who was firstappointed to be his first Personal Representative met with him on 3 November 2004 for half an hour.[3] The notes on his Detainee election form state:

Does not want to participate.
No oral or written statement.
Witnesses Requested: 0
Follow-up Required: No
Does not admit to anything. Says it must be the wrong guy described on the summary of evidence. Was curious about the administrative review board.

The package contains five memos from the FBI's representatives in Guantanamo explaining that they would only release copies of their documents that had been redacted to remove national security sensitive material.[10] The five memos were dated October 21, 2004; November 8, 2004; November 9, 2004; January 21, 2005; and January 21, 2005. Although the national security material had been redacted by the FBI, before the documents were provided to OARDEC the Recorder for Abdul Qadir's Tribunal still marked the FBI document as "classified", and so the documents were not made available to him to review.

The documents in Abdulqadir's habeas package do not record why the FBI provided newly redacted documents to his Tribunal panel in January 2005, when the record states his panel reached its conclusion in November 2004.

Following a widespread uprising on guards by captives in Guantanamo camp 4, on May 18, 2006, camp authorities seized all the captives personal items, including their copies of their habeas petitions. On July 7, 2006 the Department of Justice filed a motion explaining the seizure of Abdelqadir's copies of his legal documents, and those of all the other captives.[9] The motion described the documents being secured by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearings

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".[11]

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.[12] 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] First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdel Qader Hussein Al Mudhaffari's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 25 October 2005.[4] The three page memo listed thirteen "primary factors favor continued detention" and six "primary factors favor release or transfer". Those factors included:

  • an allegation that he had studied under Sheik Muqbil al Wadi, a cleric who was "a supporter of the Taliban and jihad";
  • an allegation that he had been sent for training at the al Qaeda's al Farouq training camp, and eventually became a trainer there;
  • an allegation that he had been seen in Mullah Omar's compound in 2000;
  • an allegation that he was a "close associate" of Osama bin Laden, and one of his bodyguards;
  • a report that other captives did not believe he had fought on the front lines;
  • a report that he stated he disapproved of the attack on the World Trade Center because Islam does not permit attacking civilians;
  • a report that he stated he had no association with the Taliban or al Qaeda, and that he had not been recruited to fight in Afghanistan, and had never engaged in hostilities.

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdelqader H. Al Mudhaffari's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 26 September 2006.[6] The two page memo listed fourteen "primary factors favor continued detention" and five "primary factors favor release or transfer". New factors, not presented on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared in 2005 included:

  • a report that he traveled to Afghanistan to teach the Koran;
  • a report that he had known Osama bin Laden's personal secretary in Yemen, and that they were good friends;
  • an allegation that he had "assisted Mujahedin with travel to Afghanistan".
  • an allegation that he traveled to Afghanistan in late 1999 or early 2000 -- not February 2001 as was asserted in the 2004 Summary of Evidence memo.
  • a report that he stated he had no knowledge of any plans for attacks on the USA or US interests.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b OARDEC (20 October 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Mudhaffari, Abdel Qadir Husayn page 44. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
  3. ^ a b Detainee election form (ISN 40) page 10-11. United States Department of Defense (3 November 2004). Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
  4. ^ a b OARDEC (25 October 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Mudhaffari, Abdel Qader Hussein pages 48-50. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
  5. ^ a b c Abdelqadir Al Mudhaffari v. George W. Bush pages 1-23. United States Department of Defense (22 December 2005). Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
  6. ^ a b OARDEC (26 September 2006 26 September 2006). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Mudhaffari, Abdelqader H. pages 69-70. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
  7. ^ OARDEC (September 4, 2007). Index to Transcripts of Detainee Testimony and Documents Submitted by Detainees at Combatant Status Review Tribunals Held at Guantanamo Between July 2004 and March 2005. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  8. ^ a b AL-MUDAFARI et al v. BUSH et al -- Case Number: 1:2005cv02185. US District Court Washington DC (November 7, 2005). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  9. ^ a b Notice: re Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. United States Department of Justice (July 7, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  10. ^ Request for redaction of national security information pages 13-20. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
  11. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  12. ^ Army Sgt. Sarah Stannard. "OARDEC provides recommendations to Deputy Secretary of Defense", JTF Guantanamo Public Affairs, October 29, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.