| Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 11, 1969 Hudaydah, Yemen |
| Detained at | Guantanamo (since 2002) |
| Alternate name | Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman Ismail Ali Hamza Ahmed Suleiman al Bahlul |
| ISN | 39 |
| Charge(s) | convicted in November 2008 of conspiring with Al-Qaeda, soliciting murder and providing material support for terrorism |
| Status | detained at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp |
Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul (born September 11, 1969, Hudaydah, Yemen) has been held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp since 2002. He boycotted the Guantanamo Military Commissions, arguing that there was no legal basis for the military tribunals and was convicted in November 2008 of performing media relations for Osama bin Laden and sentenced to life imprisonment after a jury of 9 military officers deliberated for less than an hour.[1]
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Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts describe Bahlul as al Qaida's public relations director. He is alleged to have created propaganda videos glorifying attacks against the United States, and to have set up a satellite receiver for Osama bin Laden to listen to live radio coverage of the September 11th attacks.[1]
He faced charges before the first Guantanamo military commissions, before they were over-turned by the United States Supreme Court. In 2004 he was held in solitary confinement.[2]
Bahlul faced charges before a Guantanamo military commission, prior to the United States Supreme Court ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that the Bush Presidency lacked the constitutional authority to create military commissions.[4][5][6] He was indicted along with Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi.
Lieutenant Commander Philip Sundel, his first military defense attorney, described difficulty getting a security clearance for a translator to talk to his client.[7] Sundel told CBS News: "There's virtually no chance he can get a fair trial."[8]
Bahlul asked Peter Brownback, the President of the commissions, if he could represent himself.[5] Al Bahlul and the question of whether detainees should be able to represent themselves were featured in the October 2007 issue of the Yale Law Journal in an article by Matthew Bloom entitled: "'I Did Not Come Here To Defend Myself': Responding to War on Terror Detainees' Attempts To Dismiss Counsel and Boycott the Trial". His most recent military lawyer is Major Thomas Fleener.[9] On February 9, 2008, Bahlul and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud Al Qosi were charged before the Congressionally authorized Guantanamo military commissions authorized by the Military Commissions Act of 2006.[10]
Carol Rosenberg, reporting in the Miami Herald, reported that Bahlul would be allowed to represent himself before the commissions authorized by the United States Congress's Military Commissions Act of 2006, while he was not allowed to represent himself before the Presidentially authorized commissions.[3]
David McFadden of the Associated Press reported that only three reporters covered Bahlul's trial. one from the Miami Herald, one from the Associated Press, and one from Reuters.[11]
In late October 2008 three of the men called the "Buffalo Six" testified at Bahlul's Guantanamo military commissions about being shown a two hour video that Bahlul produced.[12]
On November 3, 2008, Bahlul was convicted of conspiring with al Qaeda, soliciting murder and providing material support for terrorism.[13] At his sentencing he admitted he was a member of Al-Qaeda, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.[1] Through a translator Bahlul said "We will fight government that governs America, We are the only ones on Earth who stand against you."[14]
Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald, reported that Bahlul's military defense attorneys filed a fifty page appeal of his sentence on free speech grounds.[15] The appeal was the second filed with the Court for Military Commission Review.[15] Bahlul had boycotted his military commission, so no defense was mounted. He also refused to participate in the appeal.[15]
Rosenberg reported that the Obama Presidency has proposed a change whereby appeals of the rulings and verdicts of military commissions would be heard.[15] The proposed changes would have such appeals first heard by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which Rosenberg noted was a 58-year-old institution. In the current set-up there is no appeal to rulings of the Court of Military Commission Review. Under the proposed changes appeals could be taken to the United States Supreme Court.
Carol Rosenberg reported that, following his conviction, Al Bahlul was separated from the other captives.[15] She reported that the Department of Defense justified this isolation because the "Geneva Conventions ... forbids convicts from being held with war prisoners."
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