Khalid Rashid Ali Al-Murri

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Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri is a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo detainee ID number is 505. The Department of Defense reports he was born on September 9, 1975, in Khafji Saudi Arabia.

Contents

[edit] Identity

Al Muri's name is spelled differently on two official lists:

  • His name was spelled Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri on the list the Department of Defense released on May 15, 2006.[1]
  • His name was spelled Khalid Rashid Ali Al-Mari on the Saudi press release that announced his repatriation on May 19, 2006.[2]

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunal notice read to a Guantanamo captive.
Combatant Status Review Tribunal notice read to a Guantanamo captive.

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 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 Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 30 September 2004.[3] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is a member of al Qaida:
  1. The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan via the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan in August 2001.
  2. The detainee received military training at an al Qaida camp near Kabul, Afghanistan in August and September 2001.
  3. The detainee's name was found on a list of "Trust Accounts" found in raids conducted on al Qaida safe houses in Pakistan.
  4. One of the detainee's known aliases was on a list of captured al Qaida members that was discovered on a computer hard drive associated with a senior al Qaida member.
b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.
  1. Individual [sic] manned a fighting position in the Tora Bora mountain region from mid-November through mid-December 2001.
  2. The detainee surrendered to coalition forces near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

[edit] Transcript

There is no record that Al Muri chose to participate in his 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".[4]

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 Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri's Administrative Review Board, on 24 May 2005.[5] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee expressed his desire to fulfill his religious obligation by going to Afghanistan and fight in the Jihad.
  2. The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan via the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan in August 2001.
  3. Individual manned a fighting position in the Tora Bora mountain region form mid-November through mid-December 2001.
b. Training
  1. The detainee said he went to Afghanistan to teach the Koran and to simultaneously fulfill his religious obligation to obtain military training.
  2. The detainee received military training at an al Qaida camp near Kabul, Afghanistan in August and September 2001.
  3. The camp trained volunteers to fight the Jihad in Chechnya and elsewhere, and provided instruction on basic infantry weapons, crew-served weapons and tactics.
c. Connections/Associations
  1. The detainee's name was found on a list of "Trust Accounts" found in raids conducted on al Qaida safe houses in Pakistan.
  2. One of the detainee's known aliases was on a list of captured al Qaida members that was discovered on a computer hard drive associated with a senior al Qaida member.
d. Other Relevant Data
  1. The detainee surrendered to coalition forces near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee surrendered with $2400 in US currency in his possession.
  3. The detainee traveled to Bosnia and claims to have worked with an unknown charitable organization teaching the Koran in the summer of 1995.
  4. The detainee said it is noble to participate in Jihad to protect one's country.

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

a.

The detainee denied having any knowledge of the attacks on the U.S. prior to their execution on September 11th, and also denied knowledge of any rumors or pland of future attacks on the United States or United States interests.
b.

The detainee agreed to advise interviewing agents if he should learn of planned violence or escape at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
c.

The detainee claims to know no al Qaida members.
d.

The detainee claims to have never met Usama Bin Laden (UBL) or to have met anyone else who claimed to have met UBL.
e.

The detainee admitted it was his greatest mistake to travel to Afghanistan.
f.

The detainee said he did not travel to Afghanistan to participate in Jihad.
g.

The detainee said the United States presence in Saudi Arabia protects his country form Iraq.
h.

The detainee said he intends to find employment as a teacher and marry upon his return to Saudi Arabia.

[edit] Transcript

Al Muri's Board convened on 17 May 2005.[6] A two page transcript summarizing the unclassified session of Al Muri's Board was released. His Assisting Military Officer told his Board that he did not choose to attend. He also said that Al Muri had prepared a statement. Al Muri's statement was not read into the transcript. Nor was it released with his transcript.

[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.[7][8] His Board's recommendation was unanimous, but the heavy redactions make it impossible to know what recommendations was made.

His Board considered intelligence assessments from the FBI, the CIA, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs.

[edit] Repatriation

Al Muri was repatriated to Saudi Arabia on May 19, 2006 with 14 other men.[2][9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b 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 Saudi detainees at Guantanamo returned to the Kingdom; names given. Royal Saudi Embassy, Washington (May 19, 2006). Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
  3. ^ OARDEC (30 September 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Muri, Khalid Rashd Ali page 32. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  4. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  5. ^ OARDEC (24 May 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Muri, Khalid Rashd Ali pages 63-65. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  6. ^ OARDEC (17 May 2005). Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceeding for ISN 505 pages 235=236. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  7. ^ OARDEC (26 July 2005). Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 505 pages 91-92. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  8. ^ OARDEC (31 May 2005). Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 505 pages 93-100. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  9. ^ Anant Raut, Jill M. Friedman (March 19, 2007). The Saudi Repatriates Report. Retrieved on April 21, 2007.