Mohamad Farik Amin
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Mohamad Farik Amin, alias Zubair alias Zaid, is a Malaysian who is alleged to be a fairly senior member of Jemaah Islamiyah and al Qaeda. He is currently in American custody in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He is one of the 14 detainees who had previously been held at secret locations abroad.[1] In the ODNI biographies[2] of those 14, Amin is described as a direct subordinate of Hambali.
According to Time Magazine[3], Amin, Hambali, and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep were detained and interrogated on the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, where they confessed to scouting out possible sites for terrorist bombings throughout Thailand. Time also reported[4] that the three were captured together in central Thailand on August 11, 2003. The ODNI document says that Hambali and Bin Lep were captured together, but only that Amin was captured some time in 2003.
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[edit] Early Guantanamo connections
According to the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for Guantanamo detainee Abdullah Yahia Yousf Al Shabli's Administrative Review Board hearing, an individual named Bin Zubair is a close associate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.[5]
The memo states:
- "Abu Zubair (Bin Zubair) was the leader of al Qaida guesthouses in Kandahar named after the martyrs who carried out the USS Cole terrorist attack. Used for new recruits on their way to receive training and veterans cycling out, these guesthouses were located near the Haj Habash Mosque in Kandahar."[5]
[edit] Combatant Status Review
Initially the Bush administration asserted they could withhold the protections of the Geneva Conventions from captives in the War on Terror, while critics argued the Conventions obligated the United States to conduct competent tribunals to determine the status of prisoners. Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted Combatant Status Review Tribunals, to determine whether the captives met the new definition of an "enemy combatant".
From July 2004 through March 2005, a CSRT was convened to make a determination whether each captive had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant". Mohamad Farik Amin among the two-thirds of prisoners who chose to participate in their tribunals.[6]
A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for the tribunal, listing the alleged facts that led to his detainment. Mohamad Farik Amin's memo accused him of the following: [7]
The first unclassified session of Zubair's Tribunal convened 08:15 on March 13, 2007.[8]
[edit] Present
| Colonel [REDACTED] USAF | Tribunal President |
| Lieutenant Colonel [REDACTED] USAF | Tribunal Member |
| Commander [REDACTED] United States Navy | Tribunal Member |
| Lieutenant Commander [REDACTED] United States Navy | Personal Representative |
| Mister [REDACTED] | Translator |
| Sergeant First Class [REDACTED] United States Army | Reporter |
| Lieutenant Commander [REDACTED] United States Navy | Recorder |
| Lieutenant Colonel [REDACTED] USAF | Judge Advocate Member of the Tribunal. |
[edit] Translation
Zubair's Tribunal's President reminded him that he could have the assistance of the translator at any time.
[edit] Allegations
Zubair faced allegations that he was a member of both al Qaeda Jemaah Islamiya, and he played a role in the August 5, 2003 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta. Zubair faced allegations that he was a financial courier, and had transferred funds to Majid Khan, and had financed al Qaeda safe houses.
[edit] Testimony
Neither Zubair or his Recorder called any witnesses.
Unusually Zubair's Tribunal didn't ask him any questions on March 13, 2007. His session lasted just 25 minutes.
[edit] Unclassified session reconvened on March 17, 2007
The unclassified session of Zubair's Tribunal reconvened on March 17, 2007. Zubair's Tribunal's President informed him:
"Mr. Zubair, this Tribunal is reconvened in open session because the Panel had a question regarding one of the unclassified documents presented to us in open session earlier. Since you may be present at all open sessions of the Tribunal, you have been provided the opportunity to attend this additional open session."
The question that arose was whether Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines should be considered "coalition partners", the phrase used in the definition of "enemy combatant". The Recorder confirmed, that after consulting an unnamed document he could confirm:
"Yes, Sir. Mister President, based on Exhibit R-3a provided; Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand were all considered to be Asian allies with partners with the United States in the War against Terror in 2002, 2003. The exhibit does not specifically address the countries as being coalition partners but states the countries were Asian allies and partners with the United States. Additionally, the exhibit refers to the United States working closely with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations of which countries -- of these Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand were members of during the time period in question."
Zubair's Personal Representative confirmed that he had been given a copy of the unnamed document, to share with Zubair, and that Zubair had three questions, and that he would like to have the answers translated into Malay. Zubair's questions were:
- What type of cases would normally be -- be brought to military court?
- Is there a distinction between cases involving civilians and uniformed military personnel as targets?
- What is the role of the Malaysian Government in the coalition? And if Malaysia is a coalition partner, does the Malaysian Government have the right to petition for the extradition of the Detainee?
Zubair's Tribunal's President told him that the Tribunal couldn't answer his questions. The session lasted 21 minutes.
The Department of Defense announced on August 9, 2007 that all fourteen of the "high-value detainees" who had been transferred to Guantanamo from the CIA's black sites, had been officially classified as "enemy combatants".[9] Although judges Peter Brownback and Keith J. Allred had ruled two months earlier that only "illegal enemy combatants" could face military commissions, the Department of Defense waived the qualifier and said that all fourteen men could now face charges before Guantanamo military commissions.[10][11]
[edit] References
- ^ Bush: CIA holds terror suspects in secret prisons, CNN, 7 September 2006.
- ^ Biographies of 14 Guantanamo Bay detainees, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
- ^ Asia's Terror Threat: One year after the carnage of Bali, a top terrorist's confessions suggest Asia is as vulnerable as ever, Time Magazine, October 6, 2003
- ^ Asia's Terror Threat Time Magazine, October 6, 2003
- ^ a b Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Abdullah Yahia Yousf Al Shabli Administrative Review Board, April 28, 2005 - page 25
- ^ OARDEC, Index to Transcripts of Detainee Testimony and Documents Submitted by Detainees at Combatant Status Review Tribunals Held at Guantanamo Between July 2004 and March 2005, September 4, 2007
- ^ OARDEC (March 8, 2007). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-04-15.
- ^ OARDEC (March 17, 2007). Verbatim Transcript of Open Session Combatant Status Review Tribunal Hearing for ISN 10021. Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-04-15.
- ^ Lolita C. Baldur. "Pentagon: 14 Guantanamo Suspects Are Now Combatants", Time magazine, Thursday, August 9, 2007. mirror
- ^ Sergeant Sara Wood. "Charges Dismissed Against Canadian at Guantanamo", Department of Defense, June 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
- ^ Sergeant Sara Wood. "Judge Dismisses Charges Against Second Guantanamo Detainee", Department of Defense, June 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
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