Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays

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Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays
Born: June 1, 1977(1977-06-01)
Sada, Yemen
Detained at: Guantanamo
ID number: 162
Conviction(s): no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
Status repatriated

Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays (also transliterated as Ali Hussain al-Tais) is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] Al Tay's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 162. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reports that Al Tays was born on June 1, 1977, in Sada, Yemen.

Contents

[edit] Identity

Press reports list the name of the released man as Ali Hussain al-Tais.[2][3]

[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.[4][5] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.[6]
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.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 15 September 2004.[7] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a The detainee is a member of al Qaida:
  1. The detainee voluntarily traveled from Yemen to Afghanistan to receive weapons training for a tribal war in Yemen in 2001.
  2. While awaiting transportation from Kandahar to Al Farouq, the detainee stayed at Al Nabrass, an al Qaida safehouse.
  3. The Al Nabrass safehouse was frequented by Usama Bin Laden.
  4. The detainee attended the Al Farouq training camp in 2001.
  5. At the Al Farouq training camp, the detainee received training on the AK-47 rifle.
  6. The detainee fled the Al Farouq training camp to the Tora Bora Mountains in September 2001.
  7. Pakistan Authorities held the detainee at the Pakistani/Afghan border, when attempting to flee the Tora Bora region in October 2001.

[edit] Transcript

Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[8]

[edit] Testimony

The Tribunal President explained the Tribunal process to Al Tays.[9] He then asked him if he had any questions. Al Tays asked where they got the information on which they based the allegations, which, he said, were "all lies". The Tribunal President then asked Al Tays if he wanted to make a statement. Al Tays replied that they had all the statements. The President seemed to conclude that Al Tays had not understood the process after all. Both the President, and the Personal Representative tried to explain that the Tribunal had not seen any of the evidence yet, and this was Al Tays's opportunity to explain himself.

When the first allegation was repeated, saying he had traveled to Afghanistan for training, so he could fight in a tribal war in Yemen, he expressed confusion, asserting that it was not the concern of the United States, since he was not an enemy of the United States.[10]

After the Tribunal President explained that, in and of itself it did not indicate he was an "enemy combatant", when considered with the other allegations, it might.[11] Al Tays then acknowledged that the first allegation was correct.

One of the Tribunal members asked the President if he could try and explain the Tribunal process to Al Tays.

Al Tays acknowledged staying at Al Nabrass while awaiting transportation from Kandahar to Al Farouq.[12]

Al Tays expressed confusion over the third allegation, that the place where he stayed had been frequented by Osama bin Laden. The Tribunal moved on to the next allegation without getting an answer to the third allegatioo.

Al Tays acknowledged both attending the Al Farouq training camp, and receiving AK47 training there.

Al Tays denied fleeing Al Farouq for Tora Bora in September 2001.[13] He denied that he had been held at the border by Pakistani authorities in October 2001.

When the allegations were exhausted the Tribunal Recorder asked Al Tays when he left Al Farouq, and under what circumstances.

Al Tays answered: "The took us from there and I didn't know where we were going. They took me to another place to finish my training."

The Tribunal members then started asking their questions:

  • He went to Afghanistan for Weapons training because he could get training there immediately, whereas he would have to wait years for training in Yemen.
  • He said he had never heard of Al Qaeda until he arrived in Cuba.
  • He said he had heard of the Taliban.
  • When asked if he had known that the Taliban controlled Afghanistan he said he had known that they controlled a part and that Al Masood had controlled a part, but he had not realized that they were at war.
  • He said he hadn’t been captured, that he had voluntarily turned himself in to Pakistani authorities. He said he thought they would help him contact the Yemeni embassy.

[edit] Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays v. George W. Bush

A writ of habeas corpus was submitted on Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's behalf.[14] The Department of Defense released 26 pages arising from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal on October 1, 2004. Tribunal panel 5 confirmed his enemy combatant status on 24 September 2004.

[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".[15]

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 Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's Administrative Review Board.[16] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee admitted he voluntarily traveled from Yemen to Afghanistan to receive weapons training for use in a tribal war in Yemen in 2001.
  2. The detainee stated during previous interviews that he had gone to Afghanistan to fight jihad.
b. Connections and Associations
  1. The detainee stayed at Al Nabrass, and al Qaida safehouse known to be frequented by Usama Bin Laden, while awaiting transportation from Kandahar, Afghanistan to al Farouq training camp.
  2. The detainee admitted he relinquished his passport when he arrived at the house (Al Nabrass) in Kandahar, Afghanisan. He stated "when you arrive you are suppose [sic] to hand it over to someone."
  3. The detainee trained at al Farouq, a known al Qaida training facility near Kandahar, AF.
c. Intent
  1. The detainee stated he received training on the AK-47 at al Farouq.
  2. Al Farouq offered basic training; anti-aircraft and mountain combat tactics courses.
  3. The detainee stated he went to the Tora Bora region with others and witnessed the bombing in that area.
d. Other Relevant Data
  • The detainnee was combative, angry and defiant during the Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT). The Tribunal panel found him to be evasive in his statements.

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

  • The detainee stated in the Combatant Status Review Tribunal "My leaving Yemen and going to Afghanistan has nothing to do with Al Qaida or fighting"[sic]
  • The detainee stated at the end of an interview "If I were al Qaida would I have helped protect British and American people.[sic] Would I have helped escort Canadian and foreign delegations when they came to visit my tribe?"

[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.[17][18] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on May 25, 2005.

The document that explained the basis for the Board's decision noted[18]:

The ARB was convened and began its proceeding without the Enemy Combatant (EC) present. The Designated Military Officer (DMO) presented the unclassified summary, both in written form and with an oral summary of the unclassified primary factors. The Assisting Military Officer (AMO) presented the Enemy Combatant Notification as exhibit EC-A and the Enemy Combatant Election Form, indicating the EC was unresponsive to AMO inquiries, as exhibit EC-B. The EC did point to his throat, presumably conveying by gesture that he had a sore throat. This is consistent with prior assertions by the EC although these have been unsubstantiated by multiple medical evaluations and contradicted by a long discussion the EC had with his lawyer the day prior, according to verbal report from the guards.

[edit] Repatriation

Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, demanded the release of the remaining Yemenis held in Guantanamo on December 23, 2006. [2] The Yemen Observer identified Mohammed Ahmed al-Asadi, Esam Hamid al-Jaefi and Ali Hussain al-Tais as three of the six Yemeni who had been repatriated the previous week. Al Asadi, the first of the six men to be released, on December 29, 2006, was asked to sign an undertaking promising to refrain from armed activity.[19] On January 7, 2007 the Yemen Times identified two of the three remaining men as Tawfiq Al-Murwai and Muhassen Al-Asskari.[3] Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, said the men would be released as soon as Yemeni authorities had cleared them.

[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 Nasser Arrabyee. "Saleh demands release of Guantanamo detainees", Yemen Observer, December 23, 2006. Retrieved on December 29. 
  3. ^ a b "Ex-Guantanamo detainees in detention", Yemen Times, January 7, 2007. Retrieved on January 8. 
  4. ^ Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror
  5. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ OARDEC (15 September 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Tays, Ali Husayn Abdullah pages 63-64. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  8. ^ Summary of Evidence (.pdf) from page 19 of Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  9. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf) from page 11 of Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  10. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf) from page 12 of Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  11. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf) from page 13 of Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  12. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf) from page 14 of Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  13. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf) from page 15 of Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  14. ^ OARDEC (October 1, 2004). Ali Husayn Abdullah Al Tays v. George W. Bush pages 25-50. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  15. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  16. ^ OARDEC (date redacted). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Tays, Ali Husayn Abdullah pages 95-96. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  17. ^ OARDEC (18 May 2005). Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 162 page 78. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  18. ^ a b OARDEC (18 February 2005). Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 162 page. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  19. ^ Nasser Arrabyee. "Guantanamo detainee released", Gulf News, December 29, 2006. Retrieved on December 29.