Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi

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Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi is a citizen of Saudi Arabia held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] Hawsawi's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 368. American intelligence analysts estimate that Hawsawi was born in 1975, in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia.

Contents

[edit] Identity

Captive 368 was identified inconsistently on official Department of Defense documents:

[8]

[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.
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 Uhmran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 30 September 2004.[2] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is part of or supported the Taliban or al Qaida:
  1. The detainee is a Saudi Arabian national who traveled to Afghanistan via Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; to Damascus, Syria; to Tehran, Iran; to Mashad, Iran; and finally entered Afghanistan near Tayyebat, Iran.
  2. The detainee decided to travel to an Afghanistan refugee camp sometime in September 2001 after hearing of the war in that area.
  3. The detainee was identified to be in Kabul, Afghanistan, training at the al-Farouq camp.
  4. The detainee was in the camp when the United States bombardment began and he sustained shrapnel injuries.
  5. The detainee left his passport at the hospital and was taken into custody by the Pakistani government.

[edit] Tribunal

There is no record that Uhmran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[9]

[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".[10]

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 Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 3 December 2004.[11] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention. The factors for and against continuing to detain Hawsawi were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3, 2006.[12]

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee admitted knowing that Sheik Amoud Shouib Ouqula in Saudi Arabia had issued a Fatwa for Muslims to go and fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
  2. Sheikh Hamud ((Al-Uqqla)) is a Saudi Mufti who issued a Fatwa calling for jihad against Christians and Jews. Al-Uqqla condoned the 11 September 2001 attacks against the United States of America.
  3. The detainee decided to travel to an Afghani refugee camp sometime in September 2001 after hearing of the war in that area.
  4. The detainee was in the camp when the United States bombardment began and he sustained shrapnel injuries.
b. Training
  1. The detainee was identified to be in Kabul, Afghanistan training at the al Farouq camp.
  2. The detainee stated that he went to Afghanistan for the training. [sic]
c. Connections/Associations
  1. The detainee traveled from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Damascus, Syria, then to Tehran, Iran, then to Mashad, Iran before crossing the border into Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee attempted to enter Afghanistan legally but he was turned back by Iranian officials. He did eventually sneak across the border, aided by another individual.
  3. Prior to being turned over to U.S. Forces, detainee surrendered his passport in Quetta while he was staying at the Saudi Red Crescent Hospital.
  4. The detainee's passport had altered stamps which indicated a possible al Qaida connection.
  5. A senior al Qaida lieutenant stated that the detainee is a member of al Qaida. The detainee is on the media committee along with Khalid Shaykh Muhammad (KSM).
d. Other relevant Data
The detainee has committed two assaults which consisted of throwing food, milk, tea, water and body fluids on the MPs. He has also harassed the guards by telling them to die and making threatening gestures at them.

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

a.

The detainee said he traveled to Afghanistan to teach the Koran and to fulfill the Koran's religious principles.
b.

The detainee denied any knowledge of training camps in Afghanistan or of the al Qaida organization.

[edit] Transcript

Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi participated in his Board hearing.[13] The Department of Defense released a 10 page summarized transcript from his Board hearing on March 3, 2006.

[edit] Statement in reply to the factors favoring detention

The captive's Assisting Military Officer had helped prepare a statement in response to the factors favoring his continued detention. He asked his Assisting Military Officer to present it to the Board on his behalf. Although His Assisting Military Officer read the statement aloud it was not recorded in the transcript.

Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi was asked if he had any additional comments to supplement his prepared statement. His additional comments were recorded. He asked his board to reconcile the two factors that he traveled to Afghanistan after 9-11 and that he received training at the al Farouq training camp.

[edit] Responses to Board questions

  • Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi testified he traveled to Afghanistan to teach the Koran. He testified that he had been an Imam in Saudi Arabia, and had belonged to the National association of Koran teachers.
  • Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi work as an Imam was a volunteer position. He supported himself by serving as a freelance liaison between foreign firms and the Saudi government.
  • Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi was asked to confirm that he was not informed about his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
  • Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi confirmed he was injured, by shrapnel, in the buttocks, while he was trying to help refugees in the refugee camp.
  • Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi disputed that his passport had altered stamps. He had given his passport to a Saudi consular officer when he was the Saudi hospital in Pakistan. He testified that the Saudi delegation which visited Guantanamo confirmed that his passport was in Saudi hands and that it had not been altered. He invited the Board to contact Saudi officials for confirmation.
  • Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi was asked to confirm that every Muslim had a religious obligation to undergo military training. Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi disputed this interpretation of his religion.
  • Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi disputed ever attacking guards. He told his Board that he had spent much of his initial time in Guantanamo in the camp hospital. When he was released from the hospital he was transferred to Camp four (the camp for the most compliant captives]]. After approximately a year there he was transferred to a camp for less compliant captives. But he had no idea why. When he asked his interrogator, he said he didn't know either.
  • Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Amran Baqur Mohammed Hawsawi's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 12 April 2006.[8] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee indicated knowledge of Sheikh Hamound Shouib Ouqla. Sheikh Ouglq is well known in Saudi Arabia as a spiritual leader who issued religious fatwas for Mulsims to go and fight for and with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee left his wife and family with his father in Saudi Arabia to travel to Afghanistan primarily to spread teaching of the Koran. The detainee felt obligated to fulfill religious principles and stated that he considered in t a Dawa.
  3. The detainee left Saudi Arabia in September 2001 for Afghanistan. The detainee traveled through Syria, Iran and Pakistan. After arriving in a border area near Kandahar, Afghanistan, the detainee was wounded in an air raid.
b. Training
  1. The detainee stated he traveled to Afghanistan to teach but then later stated that he went to Afghanistan for training.
  2. The detainee has been in business for ten to eleven years. The detainee's business assisted companies in obtaining official documents, including passports, for employees who have transferred residences.
c. Connections/Associations
  1. The detainee traveled from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Damascus, Syria. The detainee proceeded to Tehran, Iran and then to Mashhad, Iran. Finally, the detainee illegally crossed the border into Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee was an instructor in an Afghan refugee camp when the United States bombardment caused a shrapnel injury to the detainee.
  3. The detainee was apprehended in possession of a passport from Saudi Arabia that appeared altered. There are concerns with regard to passport stamps being altered, as this may indicate a possible al Qaida connection.
d. Other Relevant Data
The detainee can return to the passport and official documents business if released to Saudi Arabia.

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

a.

The detainee claims he was in Afghanistan for seven days looking for refugees to teach the Koran.
b.

The detainee denied any knowledge of training camps in Afghanistan or of the al Qaida organization.
c.

The detainee claims to have never met anyone associated with the Taliban or the al Qaida organization. The detainee claims that no one in Saudi Arabia has talked about those groups.

[edit] Transcript

There is no record that Amran Baqur Mohammed Hawsawi participated in this Board hearing

[edit] Repatriation

A saudi named "Amran Hawsawi" was repatriated on July 16, 2007 with fifteen other men.[14][15] Historian Andy Worthington, author of the book "The Guantanamo Files", wrote:

"Like Fahd al-Fawzan and Mohammed al-Qurbi, Hawsawi also ran up against allegations produced, in dubious circumstances, by alleged members of al-Qaeda. It was stated that "a senior al-Qaeda lieutenant," who was "on the media committee along with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," described him as a member of al-Qaeda, and it may have been this source that was also responsible for another groundless allegation: that he was "identified" in Kabul at the al-Farouq camp. Not only was al-Farouq nowhere near Kabul, but it was also alleged that Hawsawi traveled to Afghanistan in September 2001, which was when the camp closed down."

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
  2. ^ a b OARDEC (30 September 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Hawsawi, Uhmran Bakr Muhammad page 90. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
  3. ^ OARDEC (April 20, 2006). List of detainee who went through complete CSRT process. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  4. ^ OARDEC (July 17, 2007). Index for Combatant Status Review Board unclassified summaries of evidence. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  5. ^ OARDEC (August 9, 2007). Index of Transcripts and Certain Documents from ARB Round One. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ OARDEC (July 17, 2007). Index of Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round Two. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  8. ^ a b OARDEC (12 April 2006). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Hawsawi, Amran Baqur Mohammed Hawsawi pages 36-37. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
  9. ^ OARDEC (September 4, 2007). Index for testimony. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  10. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  11. ^ OARDEC (27 April 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Hawsawi, Umran Bakr Muhammad pages 28-29. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
  12. ^ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Umran Bakr Muhammad Hawsawi Administrative Review Board, April 27, 2005 - page 28
  13. ^ OARDEC (date redacted). Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings (with Detainee present) pages. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
  14. ^ Raid Qusti. "More Gitmo Detainees Come Home", Arab News, July 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 
  15. ^ Andy Worthington. "Who are the 16 Saudis Released From Guantánamo?", Huffington Post, July 18, 2007.