Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi
Detained at: Guantanamo
ID number: 627
Conviction(s): no charge, held in extrajudicial detention

Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi is a Yemeni doctor held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 627.

Contents

[edit] Press reports

He claimed that he was forced to work as a doctor at the 2001 Battle of Tora Bora, during which time he treated injured mujahideen fighters inside the region's complex caves.[2] At one of his Administrative Review Board hearings, he confirmed that Osama bin Laden was present during the battle, claiming that he had met with him for ten minutes.[3]

On May 25, 2008 the Yemen Times reported that a number of the Yemeni captives in Guantanamo had gone certifiably insane under the conditions there.[4] The article quoted the recently released Sudanese journalists Sami Al Hajj, who reported that Yemeni captives had been driven insane through the administration of hallucinogenic drugs.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 2 November 2004.[5] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is a member of al Qaida and supported the Taliban and al Qaida against the United States and its coalition partners:
  1. The detainee entered Afghanistan and went to Jalalabad, until the Northern Alliance approached, at which time he fled to the Tora Bora Mountains and hid with other Arabs trying to flee Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee is a former al Wafa official.
  3. Al Wafa, a non-governmental organization, officially named al Wafa al Igathat al Islamia (Wafa Humanitarian Organization) and headquartered in Saudi Arabia, has connections to Usama Bin Ladin and Afghan Mujahidin.
  4. The detainee purchased medical supplies for al Wafa and sent them to Afghanistan.
  5. On approximately 30 November 2001, the detainee personally met with Usama Bin Laden (UBL) in Tora Bora.
  6. In July 2001, the detainee stayed in a Quetta Taliban guesthouse.
  7. The detainee associated with a senior al Qaida operative and facilitator.
  8. The detainee stated that he met with Usama Bin Laden on a number of occasions.
  9. The detainee advised that he was involved in the purchase of three (3) vehicles in Herat for the Taliban and he purchased medical equipment for the Taliban.
b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners:
  1. The detainee arrived in the Tora Bora Mountains in mid-November 2001.
  2. The detainee carried a gun while he was in the Tora Bora Mountains.
  3. The detainee carried a walkie-talkie during his time in the Tora Bora Mountains in November 2001.

[edit] Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi v. George W. Bush

A writ of habeas corpus, Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi v. George W. Bush, was submitted on Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi's behalf.[6] In response, on 4 August 2005, the Department of Defense released seventeen pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. He is being represented by Baltimore lawfirm Murphy & Shaffer.

On 12 November 2004 Tribunal panel 15 confirmed his "enemy combatant" status.

According to the decision memo in his dossier:

The detainee refused to leave his cell to meet with the Personal Representative (PR). There was no reason to believe that the detainee was mentally or physically unable to meet with the PR. The PR consulted with the Assistant CSRT Legal Advisor who adsised the PR to request the detainee's guards to inform the detainee of the purpose of the meeting and offer him a second opportunity to leave his cell and meet with the PR. The guards stated the detainee still refused. As noted in detainee records, he spoke and understood English so there was no question that he understood the guards.
The CSRT notification letter provided to the detainee in July 2004 required that the detainee be provided a written unclassified summary of the evidence. However, in this case, this was not possible because the detainee's assigned facility did not permit the detainee to receive either written or verbal material while he is in his cell. Since the detainee voluntarily declined to leave his cell in order to meet with the PR to received this information, after being informed of the purpose of the PR's visit, the detainee elected to not received the unclassified summary of evidence.

[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".[7]

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.[8] 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 Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 31 October 2005.[9] The four page memo listed thirty-nine "primary factors favor[ing] continued detention" and two "primary factors favor[ing] release or transfer".

[edit] Transcript

In the Spring of 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a twenty page summarized transcript from his Administrative Review Board.[10][11] Attached to the transcript were three letters from family members.

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Ayman Batarfi's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 28 November 2006.[12] The four page memo listed thirty-six "primary factors favor[ing] continued detention" and two "primary factors favor[ing] release or transfer".

[edit] Transcript

In September 2007 the Department of Defense released the transcripts from the 2006 Board hearings which captives attended.[13]

[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. ^ Andrew O. Selsky, Ben Fox. "Gitmo Panels Struggle to Assess Facts", Associated Press, September 9, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. 
  3. ^ "Tora Bora doc: Bin Laden worried about self", Arizona Daily Star, September 8, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-08. 
  4. ^ [Amel Al-Ariqi]]. "Yemeni prisoners at Gitmo become clinically insane, says HOOD", Yemen Times, May 25, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-26. "'I have been told that Yemeni doctor Ayman Badhrafi (who is still in custody) became insane. He is not the only case; Fuwaz Nouman, who recently came back to Yemen, also suffers from serious psychological problems,' said Arman, an activist and lawyer with the human rights organization known as HOOD, the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedom."  mirror
  5. ^ OARDEC (2 November 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Batarfi, Ayman Saeed Abdullah pages 10-11. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  6. ^ Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi v. George W. Bush pages 21-37. United States Department of Defense (4 August 2005). Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  7. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  8. ^ Army Sgt. Sarah Stannard. "OARDEC provides recommendations to Deputy Secretary of Defense", JTF Guantanamo Public Affairs, October 29, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-26. 
  9. ^ OARDEC (31 October 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Batarfi, Ayman Saeed Abdullah pages 58-61. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
  10. ^ "US releases Guantanamo files", The Age, April 4, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-03-15. 
  11. ^ OARDEC (date redacted). Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings of ISN 627 (2005) pages 227-246. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  12. ^ OARDEC (28 November 2006). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Batarfi, Ayman pages 86-89. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  13. ^ OARDEC (date redacted). Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings of ISN 627 (2006) pages 45-70. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.