Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid Al Sharif

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Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid Al Sharif
Born: March 18, 1976(1976-03-18)
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Detained at: Guantanamo
Alias(s): Fahd Al Sharif,
ID number: 215
Conviction(s): no charge, held in extrajudicial detention

Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid Al Sharif is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.[1] Al Sharif's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 215. The Department of Defense reports that Al Sharif was born on March 18, 1976, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Contents

[edit] Identity

Captive 215 was identified inconsistently on official Department of Defense documents:

[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.[11][12] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.[13]
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 Fahd Al Sharif's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 27 September 2004.[2] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a The detainee is a member of the Taliban and is associated with al Qaida:
  1. The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan in early 2001.
  2. The detainee voluntarily joined the Taliban to participate in Jihad.
  3. The detainee received training in Afghanistan on the operation of the AK-47 rifle, PK machine gun, and rocket propelled grenade launcher.
  4. The detainee was provided with an AK-47 and 7.62 mm PK.
  5. The detainee agreed to fight with the Taliban.
  6. The detainee met with and received money from Usama Bin Laden.
  7. The detainee's name was on a list of probable Al-Qaeda operatives.
b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.
  1. The detainee fought on the front lines for approximately nine months and fired his weapon at coalition forces.
  2. The detainee manned anti-aircraft weaponry during combat.
  3. The detainee was present at Tora Bora during the during the U.S. air campaign.

[edit] Transcript

Al Sharif chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[14] On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order, the Department of Defense published a twelve page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

[edit] Testimony

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearings

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] First annual Administrative Review Board

This Casio F91W is in daily alarm mode. This watch is set to beep its buzzer and flash its light at 7:30 am.
This Casio F91W is in daily alarm mode. This watch is set to beep its buzzer and flash its light at 7:30 am.

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid Al Sharif Administrative Review Board, on 31 October 2005.[3] The four page memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] Transcript

Captive 215 chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[16] In the Spring of 2006 the the Department of Defense published a nineteen page summarized transcript from captive 215's first annual Board hearing. It also published an eight page memo, that contained point by point responses captive 215 prepared prior to his hearing.[17]

Captive 215 acknowledged traveling to Afghanistan for Jihad. He acknowledged receiving military training in Afghanistan, and subsequently manning the Taliban's front line near the Gharband mountains. He acknowledged being present in Tora Bora during the American aerial bombardment.

Captive 215 clarified that his training at the Khalden training camp was a four month infantry course, not a six month course. He acknowledged telling his interrogators that Khalden offered more advanced training courses, but he clarified he had not been enrolled in those courses. He acknowledged briefly attending an infantry training session at the al Farouq training camp.

Captive 215 acknowledged owning a digital watch. He couldn't remember the model number, and had no idea whether it was a Casio F91W. He had no knowledge as two whether bomb-makers liked to build time-bombs around Casio F91W watchers, and asserted that he only used his watch to tell the time of day.

Captive 215 disputed meeting Osama bin Laden, or accepting money from him. He disputed ever having any contact with al Qaida. He disputed being a member of the Taliban. He was a volunteer who served on their front lines, not a member.

Captive 215 acknowledged that he had been ready to be a martyr. He tried to explain a distinction between being martyred through normal combat, and purposely putting one's self in jeopardy in order to seek martyrdom. He regarded the former as legitimate and the latter as illegitimate.

Captive 215 said that during the time he manned the Gharband front line, prior to 9-11, he didn't remember ever firing his weapon. He disputed ever being trained on, or firing anti-aircraft weapons. He disputed ever firing any rifles at US aircraft during the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan.

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid Al Sharif's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 3 October 2006.[4] The three page memo listed twenty primary factors favoring continued detention and one factor favoring release or transfer.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b list of prisoners (.pdf), United States Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
  2. ^ a b OARDEC (27 September 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Sharif, Fahd pages 30-31. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  3. ^ a b OARDEC (31 October 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Sharif, Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid pages 56-59. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  4. ^ a b OARDEC (3 October 2006). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Sharif, Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid pages 30-32. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  5. ^ OARDEC (April 20, 2006). List of detainee who went through complete CSRT process. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  6. ^ OARDEC (July 17, 2007). Index for Combatant Status Review Board unclassified summaries of evidence. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  7. ^ OARDEC (September 4, 2007). Index for testimony. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  8. ^ OARDEC (August 9, 2007). Index to Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round One. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  9. ^ OARDEC (August 9, 2007). Index of Transcripts and Certain Documents from ARB Round One. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  10. ^ OARDEC (July 17, 2007). Index of Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round Two. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  11. ^ Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror
  12. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ OARDEC (date redacted). Summarized Statement pages 13-24. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  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 (30 November 2005). Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings for ISN 215 pages 198-228. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  17. ^ OARDEC (November 2005). Detainee Written Responses to the Unclassified Summary of Evidence for the Administrative Review Board, in the case of Al Sharif, Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid pages 34-45. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.