Ahcene Zemiri

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Ahcene Zemiri (also known as Hassan Zumiri) is an Algerian citizen held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] The Department of Defense reports that Zemiri was born on September 8, 1967, in Algiers, Algeria.

Prior to April 20, 2006 the Department of Defense did not officially release the names of more than a handful of detainees. But US District Court Justice Jed Rakoff issued a court order that the DoD had to release the identities of the detainees. The Bush administration exhausted its legal appeals on March 3, 2006, and slowly started to comply. The two official lists, from April 20, 2006 and May 15, 2006, don't include Ahcene Zemiri.^[2][3] They do list an Algerian named Hassan Zumiri, born on September 8, 1967, in Algiers.

Contents 1 Arrival in Canada 2 Arrival in Afghanistan 3 Ressam 'clarifies' his allegations against Zemiri 4 Writ of habeas corpus 5 Combatant Status Review 6 Administrative Review Board 6.1 First annual Administrative Review Board 6.1.1 The following primary factors favor continued detention: 6.1.2 The following primary factors favor release of transfer: 6.1.3 Transcript 6.1.4 Response to the factors 6.1.5 Ahcene Zemiri's interview with his Assisting Military Officer 6.1.6 Ahcene Zemiri's statement 6.1.7 The Assisting Military Officer's notes 6.1.8 Correspondence submitted 6.2 Second annual Administrative Review Board 6.3 Transcript 7 References

[edit] Arrival in Canada

Zemiri arrived in Canada in 1994, where he applied for refugee status. His application was rejected on National security grounds in 1996. Nevertheless, he married a Canadian woman, Karina Dereshteanu. After his refugee claim was turned down Zemiri should have been deported, but he and Dereshteanu lived in Canada until July 2001, when they moved to Afghanistan.

[edit] Arrival in Afghanistan

Dereshteanu, was able to flee Afghanistan in November 2001, around the time of invasion. Zemiri was captured.

Dereshteanu filed an affadavit with a US court where she attested that, to the best of her knowledge, her husband had no ties to terrorism. She reports that bounty hunters sold her husband to United States forces of $5,000 USD.^[4]

The Ottawa Citizen obtained a copy of Zemiri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Zemiri, like approximately half of the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay declined to agree to the conditions which would have permitted him to attend his review hearing. So it was held without him.

The tribunal cited his friendship with Ahmed Ressam, and said that Zemiri loaned Ressam $3,500 and some camera equipment, which Ressam used to help him conduct his foiled Millennium bomb plot. Ressam, like Zemiri, was an Algerian expatriate, who lived in Montreal.

[edit] Ressam 'clarifies' his allegations against Zemiri

Ressam wrote a letter in November 2006, to U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour, in which he said he wanted to "clarify" his allegations against Zemiri.^[5] Coughenour was the Judge who sentenced Ressam.

Ressam wrote:^[6]

• "Mr. Hassan Zemiry is innocent and has no relation or connection to the operation I was about to carry out. He also did not know anything about it and he did not assist me in anything, It is true that I have borrowed some money and a camera from him, but this was only a personal loan between me and him. It has nothing to do with my case..."
• "It is not right or just to accuse somebody of something not true."

Ressam explained the incorrect information he had previously offered American intelligence analysts was because he "was in shock and had a severe psychological disorder^[5][6] Ressam was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment. He was believed to be about to receive a life sentence, which was reduced because he cooperated by naming other suspects, like Zemiri.

According to Jim Dorsey, Zemiri's lawyer, "This letter undercuts what is the most damning allegation against my client by far.^[5]" Dorsey forwarded a copy of Ressam's letter to "American military officials".

[edit] Writ of habeas corpus

The Center for Constitutional Rights organized a program of finding American lawyers who would agree to serve as the lawyers for Guantanamo captives, while serving writs of habeas corpus on their behalf. Lawyers from the firm Fredrikson & Byron agreed to serve pro bono as Ahcene Zemiri's lawyers.^[7][8] Initially, the United States government's executive branch took the stand that, if captives were not held on United States territory, then they were not subject to United States law, and they could not requests through the US government's judicial branch In the fall of 2006 the United States Congress. The lawyers working to submit writs of babeas corpus on behalf of the captives challenged this assertion.

In the summer of 2004, the United States Supreme Court ruling Rasul v. Bush, established that the executive branch could not hold captives, even in Guantanamo, without providing them with an opportunity to hear and repudiate the allegations against them.

Main article: Combatant Status Review Tribunal

The Supreme Court ruled, in July of 2006, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, that the executive branch had exceeded its constitional authority when it set up the original versions of the Guantanamo military commissions. However, the Supreme Court also advised that, under the US Constitution, the United States Congress could authorize a kind of trial by military commission.

In the fall of 2006 the US Congress passed the Military Commissions Act (MCA) setting up a third version of military commissions to try a selection of the Guantanamo captives.

The Military Commissions Act also stripped all the other Guantanamo captives of right to submit writs of habeas corpus through the US court system. The captive's lawyers have launched legal challenges to this aspect of the MCA.

Main article: Guantanamo captive's writs of habeas corpus

[edit] Combatant Status Review

Initially the Bush administration asserted they could withhold the protections of the Geneva Conventions from captives in the War on Terror, while critics argued the Conventions obligated the United States 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". Ahcene Zemiri was among the one-third of prisoners for whom there was no indication they chose to participate in their tribunals.^[9]

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for the tribunal, listing the alleged facts that led to his detainment. Ahcene Zemiri's memo accused him of the following: ^[10] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

The detainee is associated with al Qaida:

1. The detainee traveled to Afghanistan with a stolen passport.
2. The detainee's stolen passport was in the possession of an al Qaida facilitator.
3. The detainee traveled to Canada on a false French passport.
4. The detainee carried a weapon in Afghanistan.
5. The detainee was an active member of a network supporting subversion in Algeria.
6. The detainee knew Algerian al Qaida members in Kabul, Afghanistan.
7. The detainee associated with Islamic extremists.
8. The detainee associated with at least three persons whom he considers terrorists.
9. The detainee is a personal friend of the terrorist arrested at the United States/Canada border while attempting a terrorist attack in the United States.
10. The detainee provided financing and equipment to the above mentioned terrorist.
11. The detainee was planning to participate in jihad in Algeria.

[edit] Administrative Review Board

Detainees whose CSRT labelled them "enemy combatants" were then scheduled for annual Administrative Review Board hearings. These hearings were designed to judge whether the detainee posed a threat if repatriated to their home country.

[edit] First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Hassan Zumiri's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 31 October 2005.^[12] The memo listed 31 factors favoring his continued detention, and one factor that favored release or transfer.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. The Islamic Salvation Front Vice President lived very close to the detainee's home in Algiers.
2. An Islamic extremist group, the Armed Islamic Group, aims to overthrow the secular Algerian regime and replace it with an Islamic state. The Armed Islamic Group began its violent activity in 1992 after Algiers voided ^[sic] the victory of the Islamic Salvation Front in the first round of legislative elections in December 1991.
3. The detainee stated that he traveled to Spain several times in the early 1990's ^[sic] . At this time, the detainee was assisting his brother in the acquisition and sale of electronics.
4. "'The detainee traveled from Afghanistan to France via Italy.
5. The detainee traveled to Italy in the summer of 1991 and stayed for six months in Verona, Italy. The detainee then traveled to Paris, Bordeaux and Marseilles in France.
6. The detainee left France with a forged passport, which cost 3,000 francs (approximately $550 U.S. dollars) and went to Canada.
7. The detainee entered Canada in October 1994 and left Canada in June.
8. The detainee was known to be an active member of a network supporting subversion in Algeria. The detainee held the status of political refugee in Canada since 1994.
9. The detainee's name was placed in appropriate U.S. Government agency watch lists at the Unclassified/For Official Use Only level on a non-attributable basis.
10. The detainee attended six mosques while living in Canada. One of the mosques was the al Sunnah Mosque, and ^[sic] extremist mosque that shows videos to members portraying the Jihad in Algeria.
11. The detainee traveled to Vancouver, Canada in 1996 in order to file his immigration papers. The detainee's reasoning was that the Vancouver immigration department expedited immigrant papers faster than any other Canadian province.
12. In the summer of 1998 the Canadian Police arrested the detainee with two friends in Niagara Falls.
13. The detainee claims he went to Afghanistan because of the mounted ^[sic] pressure put on him by the Canadian Secret Service ^[sic] . The detainee wanted to live in peace and be left alone.
14. The detainee traveled between 15 and 25 June 2001, from Montreal, Canada to Afghanistan via Zurich, Dubai, Karachi, Quetta, Kabul, and Jalalabad.
15. The detainee said he was in a group of approximately 60 people in the Tora Bora Mountains and that American bombers spotted his group. The detainee's group was bombed and the majority died.
16. The detainee said that all the the Arabs in his group, including himself, were armed. The detainee said that his pistol was only for his protection.
17. The detainee said his purpose for going to Afghanistan was to immigrate and for Jihad. The detainee said that he simply wanted to immigrate, live and retire peacefully in Afghanistan.

b. Training

1. While the detainee stayed at the Toran Camp, he received instruction in the use of small firearms. The detainee claims that he learned how to use these firearms for fun.
2. Small arms training occurred near the Toran Camp to prepare for impending attack by Northern Alliance Forces. A cave system used for billeting was located above the Toran Camp.

c. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee admitted that he left Canada with a false Canadian passport that he stole from a friend of his, named Najib. When questions about the present whereabouts of this passport, the detainee said that it is now in the hands of the Afghans.
2. In 2001, a Canadian passport was in the possession of an al Qaida facilitator in Afghanistan used ^[sic] by the detainee. The last recorded use of this passport in Canada was by the detainee on 14 June 2001, when he left Canada with his wife.
3. A Canadian Algerian involved with document forgery networks and terrorists says the detainee may have prepared a passport for him.
4. A suspected al Qaida attack planner said the detainee was planning on doing Jihad in Algeria and wanted to fight with the Jama'ah in Algeria.
5. A suspected al Qaida attack planner confirmed that he received a $3,5000.00 Canadian dollar loan from the detainee just before he left for Vancouver. The detainee also gave him a video camera. The suspected al Qaida attack planner said that the detainee was a personal friend and that the detainee trusted him.
6. The detainee knows an Islamic extremist who is in Sudanese custody.
7. The detainee is a friend of a suspected Algerian operative ^[sic] .

d. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee confirmed that when he left Canada, he brought his portable cellular telephone with him, but it was never used.
2. The detainee was in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan when the Northern Alliance Forces captured him in December 2001.
3. The detainee had three $100.00 U.S. dollar bills and tw0 1000 Rupee notes on him when he was captured.
4. The detainee claims to have no knowledge why his wie was arrested with $13,000 U.S. dollars. The detainee claims he left Canada with $7,000.00 or $8,000.00 U.S. dollars with him. The detainee does not know where his wife got the money.
5. The detainee was once arrested in Canada for attempting to steal a computer from a tourist. The detainee would steal and shoplift ^[sic] by him ^[sic] and with others ^[sic] .

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

a. The detainee expressed that in the future he will no longer have friends like the ones he had before. The detainee has learned his lesson.

[edit] Transcript

Zemiri chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[13] The summarized transcript from his hearing is 8 pages long.

[edit] Response to the factors

On his lawyer's advice Ahcene Zemiri declined to respond to any of the factors for or against his continued detention.

[edit] Ahcene Zemiri's interview with his Assisting Military Officer

His Assisting Military Officer told his hearing that he met with Ahcene Zemiri for one hour on December 16, 2005. His Assisting Military Officer describe him as "responsive, attentive, but very reserved." During this interview he told his Assisting Military Officer he would respond to each factor, as it was read out in turn. During this interview he said he didn't want his Assisting Military Officer to offer answers from the interview. He wanted to speak for himself.

Ahcene Zemiri also informed his Assisting Military Officer that he planned to present letters from his wife and a friend as evidence on his behalf.

[edit] Ahcene Zemiri's statement

Ahcene Zemiri's Assisting Military Officer informed the Board he intended to make a "general oral statement". When invited to make this statement by the Presiding Officer he said:

"The only thing I want to say is that I do not have any problems with anyone. I have spoke ^[sic] to my lawyer and I have told him the same thing."

[edit] The Assisting Military Officer's notes

Ahcene Zemiri's Assisting Military Officer then read his notes from the December 16, 2005 interview:

The following are additional detainee comments from the Enemy Combatant Election Form:

• After the AMO inquired if the detainee wanted to attend the ARB, the detainee replied, "God knows... who knows the future? I may be sick or otherwise unable to attend."
• When the AMO asked if neither sick not otherwide unable to attend, the detianee stated, "If God is willing."
• When the AMO inquired if the detainee wanted to speak at his ARB, the detainee replied, "If God is willing."
• The AMO then explained he could attend the ARB and then decide not to speak, however, these questions would be asked again at the ARB. The detainee then stated, "Well, probably... about 70%... I will speak."
• After the AMO explained that he would be provided an optional Islamic oath at the ARB, the detainee opined, "What does it matter if I take the oath? They (the ARB members) still will not believe me."
• When the AMO inquired if this meant he felt prejudged, the detainee simply replied, "Yes."
• The AMO then explained he would also be given an opportunity to make a general statement. The detainee then stated, "If God is willing."
• At the conclusion of the interview, the detainee stated he had no other questions nor would he make any further statement.

After hearing the Assisting Military Officer's notes the Presiding Officer encouraged Ahcene Zemiri to reconsider his silence, because, "The Review Board is trying to send people home." — adding:

"What the Review Boar would like to do here today, but it is totally up to you, is:

1. To hear a personal statement from you, if you so wish, and
2. The Review Board would like to ask you a few questions and visit with you for awhile if we could.

Ahcene Zemiri then declined to respond again.

His Presiding Officer then informed him that while they respected his decision they were going to read out their questions, anyhow.

Another Board member disputed with the Presiding Officer whether there was any point to asking the detainee any questions when he had so clearly indicated he didn't plan to answer.

The Presiding Officer then asked Ahcene Zemiri three questions:

Presiding Officer:	I do have one question and I may possibly think of another. Sir, if the Review Board were to recommend your release or transfer, where would you like to go?
Ahcene Zemiri:	You [referring to the Review Board] decide.
Presiding Officer:	So, either Algeria or Canada, it does not make a difference to you. Is that correct?
Ahcene Zemiri:	I have trust in you [referring to the Review Boaard]. I trust in you to make that decision.
Presiding Officer:	Do you feel that you would be in danger if you were sent back to Algeria? Just for your information it is the policy of the United States to never send anyone back to a country where they fear they may be killed or tortured. It would be helpful to the Review Board in making a recommendation to send you to a country of your preference.
Ahcene Zemiri:	Like I mentioned before, I trust in you to make that decision. I do not have a problem with any country.

[edit] Correspondence submitted

Affidavits from Zemiri, his wife, and a friend named Mokhtar Haouari, were attached to his Tribunal transcript.^[13]

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Hasan Zamiri's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 1 November 2006.^[14] The memo listed 19 factors favoring his continued detention, and 3 factors favoring his release or transfer.

[edit] Transcript

There is no record that Hasan Zamiri chose to attend his first annual Board hearing.

[edit] References

v • d • e Alleged Canadian Militants in the War on Terrorism Khadr family Ahmed Said Khadr and Maha Elsamnah, Zaynab, Abdullah, Abdurahman, Omar, Abdulkareem 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests Steven Chand, Shareef Abdelhaleem, Jahmaal James, Mohammed Dirie, Fahim Ahmad, Asad Ansari, Zakaria Amara, Amin Durrani, Saad Khalid, two young offenders with unreleased names Montreal Millennium Plot Ahmed Ressam, Fateh Kamel, Ahcene Zemiri Alleged al-Qaeda members Ahmed Said Khadr, Amer el-Maati, Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, Faker Boussora, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Mohammed and Abdul Rahman Jabarah, Canadians in the Afghan Insurgency Ahmed Said Khadr, Mohammed Warsame Canadians in the Iraqi Insurgency Saeed and Masoud Rasoul, Abu Abdul Rahman, Hassan Farhat, Aumar Alsorani Canadians in Chechnya Rudwan Khalil Detained on Security Certificates Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub, Hassan Almrei, Mohamed Harkat, Adil Charkaoui, Manickavasagam Suresh Other Abdullah Almalki, Bashir Makhtal, Arwad al-Boushi, Kassem Daher, Mustafa Krer, Momin Khawaja Wrongly Accused Maher Arar, Ahmad Abou El-Maati, Muayyed Nureddin, Qayyum Jamal, Yasim Mohamed, Ahmad Ghany, three young offenders with unreleased names, Sohail Qureshi, Abdellah Ouzghar