Abdulla Majid Al Naimi

Abdulla Majid Al Naimi
Born March 9, 1982 (1982-03-09) (age 29)
Manama, Bahrain
Arrested November 2001
Pakistan
Pakistani authorities
Released 5 November 2005
Bahrain
Detained at Guantanamo
Alternate name Abdullah al Noaimi,
Abdullah Majed Sayyah Hasan Alnoaimi
ISN 159
Alleged to be a member of al-Qaeda
Charge(s) No charge (held in extrajudicial detention)
Status Repatriated, then arrested, and held without charge on a visit to Saudi Arabia.
Occupation Electrician

Born on March 9, 1982, in Manama, Bahrain, Abdulla Majid Al Naimi (also transliterated as Abdullah al Noaimi) is a Bahraini, formerly held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1]

Contents

Inconsistent identification

Abdulla Majid Al Naimi was identified inconsistently on official Department of Defense documents:

Press reports transliterate his name as "Abdullah Al Nuaimi".[3]

Combatant Status Review

edit standard intro
Initially the Bush administration asserted they could withhold the protections of the Geneva Conventions from captives in the War on Terror, while critics argued the Conventions obligated the United States to conduct competent tribunals to determine the status of prisoners.[4] Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted Combatant Status Review Tribunals, to determine whether the captives met the new definition of an "enemy combatant".

Detainees do not have the right to a lawyer before the CSRTs or to access the evidence against them. The CSRTs are not bound by the rules of evidence that would apply in court, and the government’s evidence is presumed to be “genuine and accurate.” However, unclassified summaries of relevant evidence may be provided to the detainee and each detainee has an opportunity to present “reasonably available” evidence and witnesses.[5]

From July 2004 through March 2005, a CSRT was convened to make a determination whether each captive had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant". Abdulla Majid Al Naimi was among the one-third of prisoners for whom there was no indication they chose to participate in their tribunals.[6]

In the landmark case Boumediene v. Bush, the U.S. Supreme Court found that CSRTs are not an adequate substitute for the constitutional right to challenge one's detention in court, in part because they do not have the power to order detainees released.[7] The Court also found that "there is considerable risk of error in the tribunal’s findings of fact."[8]

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for the tribunal, listing the alleged facts that led to his detainment. His memo accused him of the following:

[9]

a. The detainee is a Taliban fighter:
  1. The detainee is a Bahrain citizen who admitted he traveled from Bahrain through Meshad [sic], Iran to Afghanistan on September 13, 2001.
  2. Detainee traveled to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban and die in Jihad.
  3. Detainee knew he would be fighting the Northern Alliance and the United States.
  4. Upon arriving in Afghanistan detainee requested and received directions from a Taliban representative to an office/guesthouse in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  5. At the Taliban office, the detainee introduced himself and told the Taliban representative that he had come to fight.
  6. After November 2001 the detainee along with four other Arabs and two Afghanis, were guided to the Pakistani border where he was arrested by Pakistan border guards, taken to jail, and later turned over to United States forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Witness statements

The documents the Department of Defense released include two statements, both dated November 11, 2004.[10]

One statement was from Mohammed Salman Al-Khalifa, a cousin of Salman Al Khalifa, a member of the Bahrain royal family. It states since Abdullah Al Noaimi was a childhood friend of Salman Al Khalifa he was asked to travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan to look for him, when he went missing, in August 2001.

The other statement is from Mohamad Suleiman Alkaleifa, a childhood friend who testified to his good character, and lack of interest in politics.

If his Board considered these witness statements then it was redacted from their recommendations.

Abdullah AL Noaimi v. George Walker Bush

A writ of habeas corpus was submitted on Abdullah Al Noaimi's behalf.[11] The Department of Defense released a dossier of 24 pages of documents arising from his CSR Tribunal on 9 December 2004.

Administrative Review Board

Detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal labeled them "enemy combatants" were scheduled for annual Administrative Review Board hearings. These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee may pose if released or transferred, and whether there are other factors that warrant his continued detention.[12]

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdullah Al Noaimi's Administrative Review Board, on July 1, 2005.[13] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

There is no record that Al Noaimi participated in his Board hearing.

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.[14][15] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on 4 October 2005.

Release

Represented by attorney Joshua Colangelo-Bryan,[16] al-Naimi was one of three Bahraini detainees released and sent back to Bahrain in November 2005.[17]

Bahraini Member of Parliament Mohammed Khalid had called for the Bahrain government to provide financial compensation to the released men.[18]

Comments on the June 10, 2006 suicides

Main article: Guantanamo suicide attempts

The deaths of three detainees were announced on June 10, 2006. Al Naimi knew the three men, and commented on their deaths on June 25, 2006.[19] Al Naimi said that Mani Al-Utaybi and Ali Abdullah Ahmed were captured while studying in Pakistan. He said that they were interrogated for only a brief time after their arrival in Guantanamo, and their interrogators had told them they were not regarded as a threat, and that they could expect to be released.

"The interrogations dealt with them only during the first month of their detention. For more than a year before I left Guantanamo in November 2005, they were left alone. But they were still held in bad conditions in the camp by the guards,"

Al Naimi said that the third dead man, Yasser Talal Al Zahrani, was only 16 when he was captured.[19] According to Al Naimi Al Zahrani should have been treated as a minor.

"He was 21 when he died, barely the legal age in most countries, and was merely 16 when he was picked up four and half years ago. His age shows that he is not even supposed to be taken to a police office; he should have been turned over to the underage [juvenile] authorities."

Saudi arrest

The Gulf Daily News reports that he was arrested in Saudi Arabia in late October 2008.[20] Bahraini Member of Parliament Mohammed Khalid expressed dismay at the arrest of a third former Guantanamo captive by Saudi authorities, and said that the Saudis had not offered a formal justification for his arrest.

In late November 2008 another Bahraini in extrajudicial detention in Saudi Arabia, Khalil Janahi, was reported to have been repatriated.[21][22] Mohammed Janahi described Khalid Janahi's repatriation as a hopeful development for Al Naimi, and two other Bahrainis in extrajudicial detention in Saudi Arabia -- Abdulraheem Al Murbati, and Hassan Al Yabis. Al Naimi and the other men remained held by Saudi Arabia in April 2009.[23]

On August 2, 2010, Newsblaze reported on an incident where Bahraini police had been recorded beating a Saudi citizen.[3] Newsblaze speculated that Saudi officials had not complained about the incident because Saudi Arabia did not want to explain its detentin of Naomi, Khalil Janahi, and Abdurrahim Al Murbati.

Pentagon claim he had "returned to the fight"

On May 20, 2009, the New York Times, citing an unreleased Pentagon document, reported that Department of Defense officials claimed Abdullah al Noaimi was one of 74 former Guantanatmo captives who "are engaged in terrorism or militant activity."[24][25]

Main article: Lists of released Guantanamo prisoners who allegedly returned to battle

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" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
  2. ^ "Exhibit C: List of No Longer Enemy Combant Detainees With Pending Habeas Corpus Petitions Who Have Been Released From United States Custody" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. April 17, 2007. p. 64. Archived from the original on 2008-10-03. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pegc.us%2Farchive%2FIn_re_Gitmo%2Fgov_mot_to_dismiss_20070419.pdf&date=2008-10-03. Retrieved 2008-05-05``. 
  3. ^ a b Brij Sharma (2010-08-02). "TV Clip Creates No Clouds Over Bahrain-Saudi Ties". Newsblaze. http://newsblaze.com/story/20100802085735kipl.nb/topstory.html. Retrieved 2010-08-03. "FThe Saudi silence may also have been prompted by several other reasons. For one, the incident could be termed as minor even if ugly considering that Bahraini Abdurrahim Al Murbati, brother of former Guantanamo prisoner Issa Al Murbati, has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2003 and lately even his family has not been allowed to see him. And Bahrainis Khalil Janahi and Abdullah Al Nuaimi, a former Guantanamo inmate, are also in Saudi jails for a number of years. Since repeated attempts by human rights campaigners and the Bahrain government have failed to elicit a satisfactory response from the Saudi authorities, the clip of the drunken Saudi getting a rap on his knuckles looks more like a blip."  %2Fnewsblaze.com%2Fstory%2F20100802085735kipl.nb%2Ftopstory.html&date=2010-08-03 mirror
  4. ^ "Q&A: What next for Guantanamo prisoners?". BBC News. January 21, 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1773140.stm. Retrieved November 24, 2008.  mirror
  5. ^ Elsea, Jennifer K. (July 20, 2005). "Detainees at Guantanamo Bay: Report for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22173.pdf. Retrieved November 10, 2007. 
  6. ^ OARDEC, Index to Transcripts of Detainee Testimony and Documents Submitted by Detainees at Combatant Status Review Tribunals Held at Guantanamo Between July 2004 and March 2005, September 4, 2007
  7. ^ "Boumediene v. Bush". June 12, 2008. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/06-1195.ZO.html. "... the procedural protections afforded to the detainees in the CSRT hearings ... fall well short of the procedures and adversarial mechanisms that would eliminate the need for habeas corpus review." 
  8. ^ "Boumediene v. Bush". June 12, 2008. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/06-1195.ZO.html. 
  9. ^ OARDEC (2 September 2004). "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Noaimi, Abdullah". United States Department of Defense. pp. page 61. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000101-000200.pdf#61. Retrieved 2007-12-04. 
  10. ^ OARDEC (November 11, 2004). "Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings of ISN". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 172–174. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/Set_52_3643-3869.pdf#172. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
  11. ^ OARDEC (9 December 2004). "Abdullah AL Noaimi v. George Walker Bush" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 1–24. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_894-976.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
  12. ^ "Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials". March 6, 2007. http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3902. Retrieved November 12, 2010. 
  13. ^ OARDEC (1 July 2005). "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Noaimi, Abdullah". United States Department of Defense. pp. page 85–86. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000099-000196.pdf#85. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
  14. ^ OARDEC (October 4, 2005). "Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 159". United States Department of Defense. pp. page 38. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Decision_memos_000096-000195.pdf#. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
  15. ^ OARDEC (July 26, 2005). "Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 159". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 39–45. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Decision_memos_000096-000195.pdf#. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
  16. ^ Kelly Klaasmeyer (2007-05-17). "Guantánamo: Pictures from Home. Questions of Justice". Houston Free Press. http://www.houstonpress.com/2007-05-17/culture/guant-namo-pictures-from-home-questions-of-justice/. Retrieved 2010-08-0.  mirror
  17. ^ Free at last!, Gulf Daily News, November 5, 2005.
  18. ^ Geoffrey Bew (August 23, 2007). "Bay victims may get BD50,000". Gulf Daily News. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=191432&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30156. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 
  19. ^ a b Habib Tourni (2006-06-25). "Ex-detainee disputes triple suicide report". Gulf Daily News. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Farchive.gulfnews.com%2Farticles%2F06%2F06%2F25%2F10049187.html&date=2009-05-22. 
  20. ^ Rasha Al Qahtani (2008-10-31). "Freed Bay man held in Saudi". Gulf Daily News. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gulf-daily-news.com%2FStory.asp%3FArticle%3D233238%26Sn%3DBNEW%26IssueID%3D31225&date=2009-05-22. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
  21. ^ Rasha Al Qahtani (2008-11-27). "Bahraini may be freed soon". Gulf Daily News. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=236251&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31252. Retrieved 2008-11-28.  mirror
  22. ^ Geoffrey Bew (2008-11-29). "Rights row over Saudi detainee". Gulf Daily News. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=236389&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31254. Retrieved 2008-11-30.  mirror
  23. ^ Rashid Al Qahtani (2009-04-14). "Don't forget us say jailed four". Gulf Daily News. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gulf-daily-news.com%2FNewsDetails.aspx%3Fstoryid%3D248096&date=2009-05-22. 
  24. ^ Elizabeth Bumiller (2009-05-20). "Later Terror Link Cited for 1 in 7 Freed Detainees". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F05%2F21%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2F21gitmo.html%3Fref%3Damericas&date=2009-05-21. 
  25. ^ "Recidivism". New York Times. 2009-05-20. Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fprojects.nytimes.com%2Fguantanamo%2Fdetainees%2Frecidivism&date=2009-05-21. 

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