Hassan Abdul Said

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Hassan Abdul Said is a citizen of Iraq who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 435. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts report he was born on April 7, 1976, in Basra, Iraq.

Contents

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunal notice read to a Guantanamo captive. During the period July 2004 through March 2005 a Combatant Status Review Tribunal was convened to make a determination whether they had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant". Participation was optional. The Department of Defense reports that 317 of the 558 captives who remained in Guantanamo, in military custody, attended their Tribunals.
Combatant Status Review Tribunal notice read to a Guantanamo captive. During the period July 2004 through March 2005 a Combatant Status Review Tribunal was convened to make a determination whether they had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant". Participation was optional. The Department of Defense reports that 317 of the 558 captives who remained in Guantanamo, in military custody, attended their Tribunals.

Initially the Bush Presidency 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 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 Presidency's definition of an enemy combatant.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Hassan Abdul Said's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 25 October 2004.[2] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

The detainee is associated with the Taliban:
  1. The detainee entered Afghanistan from Pakistan in January 2001 and moved to Mazar-E-Sharif [sic] .
  2. While in Mazar-E-Sharif [sic] , the detainee stayed in the Taliban "Howza" guesthouse for about two months.
  3. The detainee stated that he joined the Iraqi National Congress (INC) resistance movement in 1993 and spied for them against the Iraqi Army.
  4. The detainee was a member of a group of Arab fighters on the Northern Front of Afghanistan.
  5. The detainee was among a group of individuals who worked with the Taliban Estakbarat as conduits between the Taliban Estakbarat in Mazar-E-Sharif [sic] and the Iraqi Government.

[edit] Transcript

There is no record that Hassan Abdul Said participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

[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".[3]

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 Hassan Abdul Said's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 10 November 2005.[4] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.


[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. In January 1993, in Kirkuk, Iraq, the detainee joined th Iraqi National Congress resistance movement. The detainee stated he worked as a spy for the Iraqi National Congress from 1994 to 1999.
  2. The detainee was tasked to gather information on the Rashid Camp in Baghdad. The Iraqi National Congress requested that he determine if any chemical weapons training was still being conducted at this facility.
  3. The detainee went to Kurdistan and was arrested there while working for a Kurdistan resistance movement known as the Iraqi Democratic Party.
  4. From January to April 2001, the detainee stayed at the Taliban house located in Mazar-e-Sharif.
  5. The detainee was arrested in Uzbekistan for having false documents. The detainee was in prison in Uzbekistan for two and one half months. After he was released from prison in Uzbekistan, he was turned over to the Taliban and placed in jail for one month.
  6. The detainee displayed an in depth knowledge of the power structure of tribal leaders serving as Baath party members.
  7. The detainee demonstrated a detailed knowledge of the identification cards carried by Saddam Hussein's suicide squad and how to differentiate between the suicide squad and most Iraqis.
b. Training
  1. In March 1994, the detainee joined the Iraqi army, and after basic training in Basra, was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, 15th Battalion, 104th Brigade, 3rd Company, 2nd Platoon.
  2. While in Basra, Iraq, the detainee learned to make an improvised explosive device.
c. Connections/Associations
  1. The detainee's cousin works at an Iraqi tactical weapons factory in Basra.
  2. The detainee has knowledge of Taliban interrogators and identified the Chief of the Taliban's Interrogation Office at Mazar [sic] , Afghanistan.
d. Other Relevant Data
  1. The detainee fled Iraq in search of political asylum after being accused of espionage.
  2. On 15 June 1995, the detainee was captured by Iraqi Army Officials and imprisoned for one year.
  3. The detainee was overheard stating he raped an International Committee of the Red Cross Worker in Norther Iraq. He fled the police and tried to escape by hiring a smuggled to take him across the border into Iran. Once inside Iran, the detainee refused to pay the smuggler so the smuggler turned him over to the Iranian Police who deported the detainee back to Afghanistan.
  4. The detainee was arrested with five kilos of heroin and several thousand dollars in United States currency.
  5. On 1 January 2002, the detainee turned himself in to the American Forces at Mazar-e-Sharif [sic] Afghanistan.

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

The detainee denied having any knowledge of the attacks in the United States prior to their execution on 11 September 2001.

[edit] Transcript

Although his Assisting Military Officer presented notes prepared during their pre-hearing interview from the Enemy Combatant election form, and read a brief statement Hassan Abdul Said made during his interview, the Department of Defense did not release a transcript of the unclassified session of his hearing.

[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.[5][6] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized transfer on January 11, 2006.

Two of the unredacted paragraphs stated:

  • (U) Combat and Capture. Little significant information is available regarding the EC's actions in Pakistan or Afghanistan or regarding his eventual capture. Most of the reporting on the EC is regarding his time spent in Iraq and his alleged espionage activities.
  • (U) Behavior. The EC's behavior during detention has been unremarkable although it appears he is often less than credible during his interrogation.

[edit] See also

[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. ^ OARDEC (25 October 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal - Abdul Said, Hassan page98. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  3. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  4. ^ OARDEC (10 November 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Abdul Said, Hassan pages 31-32. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  5. ^ OARDEC (January 11, 2006). Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 435 page 52. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  6. ^ OARDEC (December 6, 2005). Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 435 pages 53-59. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.