Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid
Born: November 7, 1980(1980-11-07)
Ta'if, Saudi Arabia
Detained at: Guantanamo
Alias(s): Abd Al-Rahman 'Juwayidh Al-Ju'ayd
ID number: 179
Conviction(s): no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
Status repatriated

Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] Al Juaid's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 179. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reports that Al Juaid was born on November 7, 1980, in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia.

Contents

[edit] Identity

Captive 179 was identified inconsistently on official Department of Defense documents:

  • Captive 179 was identified as Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his first annual Administrative Review Board, on 20 September 2005.[2]
  • Captive 179 was identified as Abd Al-Rahman 'Juwayidh Al-Ju'ayd on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his second annual Administrative Review Board, on 1 May 2006.[3]

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 3 x 6 meter trailer. The captive sat with his hands cuffed 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.
Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 3 x 6 meter trailer. The captive sat with his hands cuffed and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.[4] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.[5]

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.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 27 September 2004.[6] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is associated with Al Qaida.
  1. One of the detainee's known aliases was on a list of captured Al Qaida members discovered on a computer hard drive associated with a senior Al Qaida member.
  2. The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia through Pakistan, arriving in Kandahar, Afghanistan during July/August 2001.
  3. The detainee provided monetary support to the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, a non-governmental organization.
  4. The Al Haramain Islamic Foundation is on a terrorism blacklist because of "financial, material and logistical support" they provide to the Al Qaida network and other terrorist organizations.
  5. After the fallof Kabul and Jalalabad, the detainee fled Afghanistan for Pakistan where he was arrested by the Pakistani police and eventually turned over to U.S. forces.

[edit] Transcript

Al Juaid chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[7]

[edit] testimony

[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".[8]

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] First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 20 September 2005.[2] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee's travel to Afghanistan was facilitated and paid for by Sami Ahmed, also known as Ahmad Al-Sharjib, who suggested they travel to Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee joined the Taliban Forces for a month prior to the Northern Alliance seizing Kabul.
b. Connections/Associations
  1. The detainee stayed at a guesthouse in Kabul for approximately seven weeks. The guesthouse was operated by Abdul Rahman.
  2. Abdul Rahman is a Harakat Al-Mujahadin Operative based in Islamabad. He is responsible for transporting foreign Arabs to and from Kashmir.
  3. The radical Islamic group, Harakat Al-Mujahadin is based in Jalalabad and has extensive ties to the al Qaida terrorist organization and is known to help Arabs escape Afghanistan.
  4. The detainee stayed at the Tunisian guesthouse in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
  5. The Tunisian guesthouse is a meeting place, supply storage area, and hospital facility for Afghan and Arab fighters.
  6. The detainee has family ties to an individual who was scheduled to travel to San Francisco, California with associates of the 11 September hijackers Khalid Al-Midhar and Nawaf Al-Hazmi.
c. Other Relevant Data
  1. The detainee passed through the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Quetta, and proceeded through Kandahar, Afghanistan, before ultimately arriving in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  2. Sharjabi recommended that the detaiene go to Afghanistan in order to experience a truly Islamic and beautiful country. The promise of beautiful women and adventure were other incentives.
  3. Sharjabi did not mention jihad to the detainee until after they were in Afghanistan.
  4. The detainee may have carried an AK-47 for protection while fleeing Afghanistan.

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

a. The detainee stated that he did not go to Afghanistan to fight the Northern Alliance.
b. The detainee denied that he had a Kalashnikov rifle that was seized from his person when he was detained in Pakistan.
c.

The detainee maintains that he is innocent and advises that he was "anything but" a pious Muslim due to his penchant for "chasing women" and partying.
d. The detainee denies stating that he joined the Taliban.
e.

The detainee was unable to explain what his plans would be if released, but stated that he does not want to return to Yemen. He does not feel safe in Yemen with tribal rivalry and asked the Red Cross (ICRC) about political asylum.

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abd Al-Rahman 'Juwayidh Al-Ju'ayd's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 1 May 2006.[3] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. During the spring of 2001, the detainee heard a half hour lecture from a sheikh regarding the hardships that Muslims were enduring in Afghanistan and how other Muslims could help them out.
  2. Prior to this lecture, the detainee says he had donated money to a charitable organization known as al Haramain in Taif, Saudi Arabia.
  3. Foreign government services [sic] officials believe that al Haramain might be a cover organization for Usama bin Laden's al Qaida network. Saudi Mujahedin are know to work in al Haramain regional offices around the world.
  4. Approximately two or three weeks after the lecture from the sheikh, the detainee decided that he would go to Afghanistan.
  5. The detainee applied and paid for a Saudi passport in Taif. The detainee also went to the Pakistani Embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and received a one-year visa for Pakistan. He left Saudi Arabia with 3,000 Saudi Riyals of his own money.
  6. The detainee arrived in Kandahar in June or July 2001 by the following route: Taif to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; to Bahrain; to Karachi and Quetta, Pakistan; to Spin Buldak, Afghanistan; then finally on to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  7. On 11 September 2001 the detainee was in Kabul, Afghanistan when he saw the attacks on the United States on television. The detainee said he did not leave Afghanistan when he learned that the United States was bombing the country because he wanted to stay and continue to distribute money to the needy.
  8. The detainee stated he left his passport and record of monetary distribution at a house in Kabul, Afghanistan. Kabul had already fallen and the detainee could not get back to Kabul to get his passport or record of monetary distribution.
  9. Upon crossing the Pakistani border the detainee surrendered to the Pakistani police hoping that he would be taken to the Saudi Embassy. The Pakistani police sent the detainee to two Pakistani prisons before he was turned over to the American military and sent to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
b. Connections/Associations
  1. The detainee was recognized as one of the individuals seen at the Abu Hamza guest house in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee's uncle is connected to individuals who are involved in falsifying passports and supporting terrorist organizations such as al Wafa and the Mujahedin.
  3. According to a foreign government service the non-governmental organization "Wafa", was believed to have had connections to Usama bin Laden and Afghan Mujahedin.
  4. The detainee admits that he likely ran across members of al Qaida during his departure from Afghanistan.
  5. In January 2002 a jihadist website published the detainee's name on a list of Mujahedin captured as a result of the United States-led military action in Afghanistan.
  6. The detainee's name was found on a computer hard drive recovered by Allied personnel in a suspected al Qaida safe house in Islamabad, Pakistan. The data appears to have been recorded sometime between 31 March 2001 and 22 January 2002.
  7. The detainee's name was found on a hard drive belonging to a known al Qaida member.

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

a. The detainee stated he has never been involved in any radical Islamic movements in Saudi Arabia.
b. The detainee stated he was not in Afghanistan to fight and never trained at any training camp with any weapons in Afghanistan.

[edit] Repatriation

Repatriated on July 16, 2007 with fifteen other men.[9] Described as having "no ties to militancy whatsoever".[10]

[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 September 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Juaid, Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad pages 9-10. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  3. ^ a b OARDEC (1 May 2006). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al-Ju'ayd, Abd Al-Rahman 'Juwayidh pages 62-64. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  4. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ OARDEC (27 September 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Juaid, Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad page85. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  7. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 74-83
  8. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  9. ^ Raid Qusti. "More Gitmo Detainees Come Home", Arab News, July 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 
  10. ^ Andy Worthington. "Who are the 16 Saudis Released From Guantánamo?", Huffington Post, July 18, 2007.