Abdul Rahman al-Amri

Abdul Rahman Ma'ath Thafir al Amri (Arabic: عبدالرحمن العمري‎) (April 17, 1973 in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia — May 30, 2007) was a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1]

Press reports identified Al Amri as a Saudi that the DoD reported had committed suicide on May 30, 2007.^[2][3][4]

Hunger striker

The Associated Press reported that Al Amri had participated in several hunger strikes.^[5] According to AP Al Amri weighed 150 pounds when he was transferred to Guantanamo, and his weight dropped to 90 pounds during the 2005 hunger strike.^[6] They reported that another Guantanamo captive had reported that al Amri had been participating in a hunger strike as recently as March 2007. He had been force-fed with a nasal tube.^[7]

Reported to have died May 30, 2007

The US Southern Command asserted that a Saudi captive had committed suicide on May 30, 2007.^[8][9][10] Initially the DoD withheld his identity.

Early on May 31, 2007 Saudi authorities identified the dead man as Abdul Rahman Maadha al-Amry.^[11]

The Associated Press reported, at noon May 31, 2007, that Al-Amry has been identified as one of the "high-value detainees", held in Camp 5.^[2][3]

The Miami Herald, citing sources with inside knowledge of the case, reports that the dead man was Abdul Rahman Ma Ath Thafir Al Amri.^[4] Their report identified Al Amri as one of the Guantanamo captives who was never allowed to meet with an attorney. The report quotes Al Amri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, where he pointed out that if he had truly been a jihadist dedicated to killing Americans he could have done so when he was receiving military training in Saudi Arabia from American advisors. The article also quoted Al Amri's denial that he had been involved in making a video about the USS Cole bombing.

Other newspaper reports commented on the timing of the death, pointing out that it was almost a year after the three deaths of June 10, 2006, and that both incidents followed a new commandant being assigned to JTF-GTMO, and both incidents occurred shortly before the convening of a military commission.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Press reports

Department of Defense documents released in September 2007 revealed that al Amri had warned camp authorities in 2002 that conditions at the camp were driving captives to the brink of suicide.^[16]

See also

• Guantanamo Bay detention camp suicide attempts
• Guantanamo Bay homicide accusations

References

External links

• Suicide at Guantánamo: the story of Abdul Rahman al-Amri Andy Worthington April 24, 2008