Bashir Nashir Al-Marwalah

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Bashir Nashir Al-Marwalah
Born: December 1, 1979(1979-12-01)
Al-Haymah, Yemen
Detained at: Guantanamo
ID number: 837
Conviction(s): no charge, held in extrajudicial detention

Bashir Nashir Al-Marwalah is a Yemeni, who was captured in Pakistan, on September 11, 2002, and transferred to extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.[1] His detainee ID number is 837.[2] Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reports that Al-Marwalah was born on December 1, 1979, in Al-Haymah, Yemen.

Contents

[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.
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]

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 Marwalah chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. The allegations against Al Marwalah were:[6]

[edit] Allegations

The allegations Al Marwalah faced during his Tribunal were:

a. The detainee is an al Qaida fighter:
  1. The detainee voluntarily traveled from Yemen to Afghanistan in September 2000.
  2. While waiting for transportation to Afghanistan, the detainee stayed at a safehouse.
  3. The detainee attended the Al Farouq training camp in September 2000.
  4. At the Al Farouq training camp, the detainee was trained on the Kalishnikov [sic] , RPK Machine-gun, and the Seminov Rifle.
  5. The detainee then trained at the Malek Military Center, where he received training on the Makarov Pistol, Dragunov Sniper Rifle, PK Machine-gun, RPGs, hand grenades, and map reading.
  6. Following his training, the Detainee returned to Yemen, then again voluntarily traveled back to Afghanistan in August of 2001.
  7. The detainee returned to the Al Farouq training camp, where he received specialized training in positional shooting with AK-47s.
b. The detainee participated in military operations against the coalition.
  1. The detainee traveled ot the front line near Bagram, Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee participated in the retreat from Omar Seif Center, Afghanistan.
  3. The detainee then fled to Karachi, Pakistan where he was captured during a raid on an apartment on September 11, 2002.

[edit] Answers to questions from his Personal Representative

Al Marwalah acknowledged traveling to Afghanistan in September 2000.[7] He acknowledged receiving military training at the Al Farouq training camp and the Malek Military Center.

He denied participating in hostilities, but acknowledged retreating from the Omar Seif Center.[8]

He claimed that he sought training in order to go fight in Chechnya.

[edit] Answers to questions from the Tribunal members

In answer to questions about his occupation in Yemen he explained that he was a nursing student.[9]

When asked if he was a member of al Qaeda he replied he didn’t know what al Qaeda was.[10]

He said his trainer at the Al Farouq was Malek Hakeem.

When asked if he wanted to give a final statement he said:[11]

"I can swear to you, I am not quite sure what to say. I was not fighting, nor did I want to fight Americans. The Americans were very far from where I was fighting and I am from Yemen. The Americans did not do anything to give me a reason to fight them."

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bashir Nashir Al Marwalah's dossier from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  2. ^ 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.
  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. ^ Summary of Evidence against Bashir Nashir Al Marwalah from pages 20-21 of his Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  7. ^ Bashir Nashir Al Marwalah's testimony before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, pages 11-16
  8. ^ Bashir Nashir Al Marwalah's testimony before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, page 12
  9. ^ Bashir Nashir Al Marwalah's testimony before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, page 13
  10. ^ Bashir Nashir Al Marwalah's testimony before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, page 14
  11. ^ Bashir Nashir Al Marwalah's testimony before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, page 16