Mesut Sen

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Mesut Sen
Born:	February 20, 1980(1980-02-20) Brussels, Belgium
Citizenship	Turkish / Belgian (dual)
Detained at:	Guantanamo
ID number:	296
Conviction(s):	no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
Status	Confirmed as an "enemy combatant", repatriated to Belgium April 2005.

Mehut Sen is a Belgian held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.^[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 296. The Department of Defense reports that Sen was born on February 20, 1980, in Brussels, Belgium.

[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.

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 Tribunal. 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 Mesut Sen's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 12 October 2004.^[2]

The detainee is associated with the Taliban and al Qaida forces:

1. The detainee is a Belgium ^[sic] citizen that admitted to traveling from Germany]], through Holland; to United Arab Emirates to Pakistan; to Jalalabad, Afghanistan in September 2000.
2. The detainee traveled to Afghanistan with approximately 2,000 to 2,500 U.S. dollars along with his Belgium ^[sic] passport.
3. The detainee's passport was taken for storage while at the Kandahar, Afghanistan guesthouse and he was given a new name.
4. The detainee lived for nearly one year at a Taliban transit house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
5. The detainee was in possession of a Casio watch and the model number was used in bombings that have been linked to al Qaida and other radical Islamic terrorist groups.
6. The detainee was captured in a village near Peshar ^[sic] Pakistan while trying to cross the border into Pakistan.

[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".^[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.^[4] 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 Mesut Sen's Administrative Review Board, on January 25, 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 is a Belgium citizen that admitted to traveling from Germany, through the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, to Jalalabad, Afghanistan in September 2000.
2. The detainee traveled to Afghanistan with approximately 2,000 to 2,500 U.S. dollars along with his Belgian passport.
3. The detainee’s passport was taken for storage while at the Kandahar, Afghanistan guesthouse and he was given a new name.
4. The detainee was captured in a village near Peshar ^[sic] , Pakistan while trying to cross the border into Pakistan.

b. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee lived for nearly one year at a Taliban transit house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
2. Detainee had connections to Millus Gorus ^[sic] , as did his father.
3. The Belgium Government considers Milli Gorus ^[sic] to be an extremist group and it is therefore banned from having representatives on the official representative board for Muslims in Belgium.

c. Other

1. The detainee was in possession of a Casio watch. The same model number of Casio watch found in the possession of the detainee has been frequently used in bombings that have been linked to al Qaida and other radical Islamic terrorist groups.
2. Emerging as a leader, the detainee has been leading the detainees around him in prayer. The detainees listen to him speak and follow his actions during prayer.

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

a. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee admits that he contacted the Taliban office in Quetta in order to enter Afghanistan, but claimed he had no affiliation with the Taliban.

[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.^[6][7] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on 3 March 2005 .

[edit] Repatriation

Mesut Sen was repatriated to Belgium on April 25 2005, along with Moussa Zemmouri, onboard a Belgian airforce plane, to face the Belgian justice system.^[8][9]

[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 (12 October 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Sen, Mesut page 39. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
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. ^ Army Sgt. Sarah Stannard. "OARDEC provides recommendations to Deputy Secretary of Defense", JTF Guantanamo Public Affairs, October 29, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-26. 
5. ^ OARDEC (January 25, 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of pages 1-2. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
6. ^ OARDEC (3 March 2005). Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 296 pages 90-92. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
7. ^ OARDEC (28 January 2005). Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 296 pages 93-95. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
8. ^ Belgians return from Guantanamo. Expatica Communications BV (www.expatica.com) (26 April 2005). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
9. ^ Michelle Shephard. "Canada is Khadr's 'only hope'", Toronto Star, April 30, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-30. "April 2005: Mesut Sen and Moussa Zemmouri released into Belgian custody."