Othman Ahmad Othman al-Ghamdi

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Othman Ahmed Othman Al Omairah (also transliterated as Othman Ahmad Othman al-Ghamdi) is a citizen of either Yemen or Saudi Arabia, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 184. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate he was born in 1973, in Shabwa, Yemen.

[edit] Identity

Captive 184 was identified differently on official US documents and official Saudi documents:

• Guantanamo captive 184 was identified as Othman Ahmed Othman Al Omairah on official lists of captives from April 2006, May 2006 and September 2007, and on the memos that summarized the allegations against him.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

But, on June 25, 2006, the USA repatriated 14 men to Saudi Arabia, including a man the Saudi government identified as Othman Ahmad Othman al-Ghamdi.^[7]

The DoD reports that he was a citizen of Yemen.

[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 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 Othman Ahmed Othman Al Omairah's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 14 October 2004.^[5] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

The detainee is associated with al Qaida:

1. The detainee traveled to Afghanistan on a forged passport.
2. The detainee traveled in response to a fatwa for Muslims to fight.
3. The detainee provided a false name when captured.
4. The detainee received weapons training on the Kalashnikov, the PK machine gun, and the Makarov pistol at the al Farouq training camp, for one month from October -- November 2001 ^[sic] .

[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".^[8]

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 Othman Ahmed Othman Al Omairah Administrative Review Board, on 20 September 2005.^[6] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention. His memo was three pages long.

[edit] Guantanamo record

There is no record that Othman Ahmad Othman al-Ghamdi chose to attend either his Combatant Status Review Tribunal or his Administrative Review Board hearing.

[edit] Transfer to Saudi Arabia

On June 25, 2006 14 men were transferred from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia.^[7] A Saudi identified as Othman Ahmad Othman al-Ghamdi was identified as one of the released men.

[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. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, April 20, 2006
3. ^ OARDEC (July 17, 2007). Index for Combatant Status Review Board unclassified summaries of evidence. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ ^{a b} OARDEC (14 October 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Omairah, Othman Ahmed Othman page 91. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
6. ^ ^{a b} OARDEC (20 September 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Omairah, Othman Ahmed Othman pages 13-15. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
7. ^ ^{a b} Thirteen Saudis and a Turkistani return to Saudi from Guantanamo, Middle East News, June 25, 2006
8. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.