Al Silm Haji Hajjaj Awwad Al Hajjaji

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Al Silm Haji Hajjaj Awwad Al Hajjaji is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] Al Hajjaji's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 245. American intelligence analysts estimate that Al Hajjaji was born in 1980, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Contents

[edit] Identity

The Department of Defense released two official lists of detainee names, on April 20, 2006 and May 15, 2006.[2][1]

  • The April 20th list identifies detainee 245 as Al Silm Haji Hajjaj Awwad Al Hajjaji.
  • The May 15th list identifies detainee 245 as Salah Abdul Rasul Al Abdul Rahman Al Balushi.

[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.[3][4] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.[5]
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 Hajjaji chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[6]

[edit] allegations

The allegations Al Hajjaji faced during his Tribunal were:

a. The Detainee is associated with Al Qaeda.
  1. The Detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan via Quetta, Pakistan.
  2. The Detainee spent approximately 9 months in Afghanistan training with the Taliban.
  3. The Detainee received military training at the Al Qaeda camp located at Al Farouk.
b. The Detainee participated in military operations against the coalition.
  1. The Detainee carried a weapon on the battlefield.
  2. The Detainee participated in military operations in Tora Bora.

[edit] testimony

Al Hajjaji said he and his Personal Representative had prepared answers to the allegations against him, which his Personal Representative would read to the Tribunal. As his Personal Representative read out responses Al Hajjaji grew increasingly agitated. He said that the Personal Representative was reading was not what they agreed and not what was on his copy of his written statement.

Al Hajjaji insisted that he get a new Personal Representative, and he started refusing to answer questions.

[edit] Repatriation

According to The Saudi Repatriates Report Al Hajjaji was one of sixteen men repatriated on December 14, 2006.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
  2. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, April 20, 2006
  3. ^ Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror
  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. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Al Silm Haji Hajjaj Awwad Al Hajjaji's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 1-19
  7. ^ Anant Raut, Jill M. Friedman (March 19, 2007). The Saudi Repatriates Report. Retrieved on April 21, 2007.