| Ali Mohsen Salih | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1980 (age 31–32) Guban, Yemen |
| Detained at | Guantanamo Bay |
| Alternate name | Mohsen al Askari |
| ISN | 221 |
| Charge(s) | No charge (extrajudicial detention) |
| Status | Repatriated |
Ali Mohsen Salih is a citizen of Yemen who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 221. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reported that he was born on October 26, 1980, in Guban, Yemen.
He was interviewed by Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star in September 2009.[2]
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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.
A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Ali Mohsen Salih's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 18 October 2004.[3] The memo listed the following allegations against him:
- a. The detainee is a member of Taliban or al Qaida:
- The detainee traveled to Afghanistan to fight in support of the Jihad.
- The detainee received weapons training at al Farouq.
- While detainee was training at al Farouq, Usama Bin Laden visited and lectured to the camp.
- The detainee joined the Taliban on 11 September 2001.
- b. The detainee supported hostilities in aid of enemy armed forces:
- The detainee was a soldier with the Taliban forces on the front lines near Bagram, Afghanistan.
There is no record that captive 221 participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
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.[4]
A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Ali Mohsen Salih's Administrative Review Board, on 11 February 2005.[5] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
The following primary factors favor continued detention
- a. Commitment
- The detainee traveled to Afghanistan to fight in support of the Jihad.
- The detainee stated that he felt anyone who took up arms against Muslims was an enemy of Islam and made no distinction between terrorists and regular Muslims.
- In June 2000, the detainee heard from friends that the Taliban in Afghanistan would provide a home for those who chose to live there. In July 2000, the detainee departed Qatar and traveled through several countries to get to Afghanistan
- b. Connections/Associations
- The detainee joined the Taliban on 11 September 2001.
- While the detainee was training at al Farouq, Usama Bin Laden visited and lectured to the camp.
- The detainee was recognized by a senior al Qaida lieutenant.
- c. Other Relevant Data
- The detainee stated that he could not judge if the 911 terrorist actions were wrong because he is not an Islamic scholar and said, “The were just following the directions of the scholars”, “That is what we do.”
- d. Training
- The detainee attended al Qaida’s al Farouq terrorist training camp in Afghanistan and during the month of July 2001, he observed and listened as Usama Bin Laden gave a speech at the camp about the need for jihad.
- e. Intent
- The detainee was a soldier with the Taliban forces on the front lines near Bagram, Afghanistan.
- The detainee possessed small notebooks with several pages of phrases hand-written in both French and Arabic languages, as well as drawing of rifles, a cleaver, a spatula, pliers and a glove. Words from one of the pages include “poudre (melange explosif),” “graphite,” “salpetre,” “nitre,” “secret,” and “electrique.”
The following primary factors favor release or transfer
- a. The detainee said that he heard from some of his friends that the Taliban, in Afghanistan, would provide a home for those who chose to live there. Ali wanted to move to Afghanistan because he was unhappy with the quality of his life. He also thought he could find a wife more easily there.
- b. The detainee further states that he did not like to fire the Kalishnikov rifle.
In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.[6][7] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on 11 May 2005.
Four men were repatriated to Kuwait on June 21, 2007.[8][9] One of the four men was identified as Ali Saleh Muhsin. He was described as suffering from "psychological disturbances."
Michelle Shephard, writing in the Toronto Star, traveled to Yemen in September 2009, and reported on interviews with three former Yemeni captives.[2] Mohsen is not working, and is living at home, while studying to be an electrician. Mohsen repeated, in his interview, that he had told interrogators that his only knowledge of al Qaeda came from watching Al Jazeera. Shephard said Mohsen described himself as an "angry young man", when he was repatriated from Guantanamo, and described his detention in Guantanamo as representing a barrier to employment: "In Yemen, it's hard for anybody to get a job. But it's much harder when you're a Guantanamo Bay detainee."
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