Waqas Mohammed Ali Awad

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Waqas Mohammed Ali Awad who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.^[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 88. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate he was born in 1982, in Aden, Yemen.

1 Press accounts
2 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
- 2.1 Summary of Evidence memo
- 2.2 Transcript
3 Administrative Review Board hearing
- 3.1 First annual Administrative Review Board
  - 3.1.1 The following primary factors favor continued detention:
  - 3.1.2 The following primary factors favor release or transfer:
- 3.2 Second annual Administrative Review Board
4 References

[edit] Press accounts

The San Francisco Chronicle published a profile of Mike Trinh, Awad's lawyer.^[2] According to Trinh:

Awad's real name is "Adham Mohammed Ali Awad".
The injury that cost Awad his leg occurred when a bazaar where he was shopping was bombarded.
Trinh said Awad was of slight build, and only five feet tall.
Trinh said Awad had been issued a prosthetic leg, but it was too large, so he has to use a walker.
Trinh said Awad acknowledged traveling to Afghanistan, to attend a madrassa, but Trinh attributed this to an attempt to leave his family behind.
Trinh believes "Awad wasn't in battle or caught carrying a weapon."

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a trailer the size of a large RV. The captive sat on a plastic garden chair, with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.^[3]^[4] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.^[5]

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Initially the Bush Presidency 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 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 Presidency's definition of an enemy combatant.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Waqas Mohammed Ali Awad's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 13 October 2004.^[6] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is associated with al Qaida and the Taliban:

The detainee stated he went to Afghanistan to become a fighter.
The detainee was identified as a suspected al Qaida member.
A senior al Qaida leader said he possibily saw the detainee at the al-Zubayr guesthouse.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the coalition.

The detainee stated he lost his leg during an air raid in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The detainee's leg was amputated most likely from injury sustained in a two-car collision, involving ten individuals, while trying to avoid coalition air strikes.
The detainee, along with seven other Arabs suspected of being al Qaida, were reportedly armed with weapons and used a hospital as a safe haven to elud coalition forces.
A senior al Qaida leader identified the detainee as possibly being on the front lines in Kabul Afghanistan.

[edit] Transcript

There is no record that Waqas Mohammed Ali Awad chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

[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".^[7]

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 Waqas Mohammed Ali Awad's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 14 June 2005.^[8] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

The detainee stated he went to Afghanistan to become a fighter.
One of the aliases used by the detainee was identified as being a suspected al Qaida member.
A senior al Qaida lieutenant identified the detainee as possibily being at the Al-Zubayr guesthouse, and also perhaps at the front line in Kabul.
Zubayr Al Halli was responsible for most of al Qaida's guesthouses in Qandahar, Afghanistan.
The detainee along with seven other individuals were involved in an automobile accident while attempting to elude U.S. and coalition bombings. Surviving members including the detainee were evacuated to a Kandahar hospital.
The detainee, along with seven other Arabs suspected of being al Qaida were reportedly armed with weapons and used a hospital as a safe haven to elude coalition forces.

b. Training

One of the detainee's aliases appeared twice on a list of names found among papers retrieved from Tarnak Farms, an al Qaida training facility.
Tarnak Farms provided the al Qaida with poison and explosive training and it was also an advanced operational training camp. No one was allowed to train at Tarnak without first passing through basic training at al Faruq camp.
Students who graduated from Tarnak Farms were assigned missions by Usama Bin Laden based on their willingness to become martyrs.

c. Intent

The detainee has incited four disturbances while at Guantanamo Bay and assaulted personnel on multiple occasions.

d. Other Relevant Data

The detainee has expertise with the Kalashnikov (AK-47). He advises that the AK-47 was learned at home, as everyone has one in Yemen.
The detainee stated he lost his leg during an air raid in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The detainee stated that when he first heard about the events of 9/11, he felt it was wrong. However, the longer he is held captive the more he feels it was justified.

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

a.	The detainee claimed not to be familiar with fatwas ordering Arabs to attack United States ciitizens and property.
b.	The detainee claimed he never became a fighter and he denies all knowledge of any combat activities in Afghanistan.
c.	When asked about his opinion of the terrorist attack on the USS Cole, the detainee did not want to comment on it. The attack was a political incident and he does not like to get involved in politics.
d.	The detainee denied any prior knowledge of the September 11th attacks on the United States. He further denied having knowledge of rumors or plans of future attacks on the United States or United States interests.
e.	While paging through the 9/11 photograph book, detainee stated that the persons who committed the 9/11 terrorist attacks ruined the reputations of Islam and stated that what happened to the United States was not a good thing.
f.	The detainee denied any knowledge of possible revolts or escape plans at the Guantanamo detention facility.
g.	The detainee is unsure what he will do when he leaves Cuba. He will figure this out when he is home. Once home, he would relax and spend time with his family. The detainee would eventually like to work as a contractor in construction.

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Waqas Mohammed Ali Awad's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 20 April 2006.^[8] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.