Said Boujaadia

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Said Boujaadia
Born: May 5, 1968(1968-05-05)
Casablanca, Morocco
Detained at: Guantanamo
Alias(s): Saïd Boujaâdia
ID number: 150
Conviction(s): no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
Status Repatriated May 1, 2008

Said Boujaadia is a citizen of Morocco held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 150. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reports that he was born on May 5, 1968, in Casablanca, Morocco.

Contents

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 3 x 6 meter trailer. The captive sat with his hands cuffed and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor. Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.
Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 3 x 6 meter trailer. The captive sat with his hands cuffed and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.[2] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.[3]

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 Said Boujaadia's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 28 October 2004.[4][5] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is a member of al Qaida:
  1. The detainee traveled from Morocco to Kandahar, Afghanistan via Syria and Iran.
  2. The detainee's travel to Afghanistan occurred late July 2001.
  3. The detainee is associated with the al Wafa organization.
  4. The al Wafa organization has been identified as a terrorist organization on the U.S. State Department's Terrorist Exclusion List.
  5. The detainee is associated with individuals linked to the plot to attack United States warships in the straits of Gibraltar.
  6. The detainee has familial ties to a senior al Qaida Lieutenant.
  7. The detainee traveled with the wife of the chief of security for the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG).
  8. The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) has been identified as a terrorist organization on the U.S State Department's Terrorist Exclusion List.
  9. A foreign government source has confirmed the detainee attended training camps.
  10. The detainee trained at a terrorist training camp.
b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States or it's [sic] coalition partners:
  1. The detainee engaged in Jihad in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee was captured while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan without identification documents.
  3. The detainee was captured with one of Usama bin Ladin's [sic] drivers.

[edit] Testimony

The Department of Defense did not release a transcript of Boujaadia's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, implying he chose not to participate.

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearings

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".[6]

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] First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Said Boujaadia's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 19 August 2005.[7] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] Transcript

There is no record that Said Boujaadia participated in his first annual Board hearing.

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Said Boujaadia's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 16 September 2006.[8] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] Transcript

There is no record that Said Boujaadia participated in his first annual Board 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.[9][10] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on January 17, 2007.

[edit] Repatriation

A Moroccan named "Saïd Boujaâdia", three Sudanese captives, and five Afghan captives were repatriated to the custody of their home countries on May 1, 2008.[11][12] The Chicago Tribune reports that Saïd Boujaâdia was in the custody Moroccan judicial police in Casablanca. The identity of the five Afghan repatriates was not made public. The three Sudanese men were Sami Al Hajj, Yacoub al-Amir and Walid Ali.[13] Amnesty International reports that the nine repatriates were the first captives to be repatriated in 2008.

[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. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
  3. ^ Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials. United States Department of Defense (March 6, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
  4. ^ OARDEC. "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- name redacted", United States Department of Defense, 28 October 2004, pp. pages 108-109. 
  5. ^ OARDEC (28 October 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Boujaadia, Said pages 49-50. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  6. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  7. ^ OARDEC (19 August 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Boujaadia, Said pages 69-72. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  8. ^ OARDEC (16 September 2006). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Boujaadia, Said pages 18-21. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  9. ^ OARDEC (January 17, 2007). Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 150 page 10. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  10. ^ OARDEC (14 September 2006). Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 150 pages 11-19. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  11. ^ James Oliphant. "U.S. releases nine from Guantanamo", Chicago Tribune, May 2, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-06-02. "A fourth detainee, Saïd Boujaâdia, was returned to Morocco, where he is reported to have been taken into custody by the judicial police in Casablanca, Amnesty International said." 
  12. ^ "Sami al-Hajj hits out at US captors", Al Jazeera, May 2, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-02. 
  13. ^ "Amnesty International Urges the Bush Administration to Release or Provide Fair Trials to All Remaining Guantanamo Detainees", AmnestyInternational, May 2, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.