Said Boujaadia

Said Boujaadia is a citizen of Morocco who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 150. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reports that he was born on May 5, 1968, in Casablanca, Morocco.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

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.

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Said Boujaadia's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 28 October 2004.^[4][5] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is a member of al Qaida:

1. The detainee traveled from Morocco to Kandahar, Afghanistan via Syria and Iran.
2. The detainee's travel to Afghanistan occurred late July 2001.
3. The detainee is associated with the al Wafa organization.
4. The al Wafa organization has been identified as a terrorist organization on the U.S. State Department's Terrorist Exclusion List.
5. The detainee is associated with individuals linked to the plot to attack United States warships in the straits of Gibraltar.
6. The detainee has familial ties to a senior al Qaida Lieutenant.
7. The detainee traveled with the wife of the chief of security for the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG).
8. The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) has been identified as a terrorist organization on the U.S State Department's Terrorist Exclusion List.
9. A foreign government source has confirmed the detainee attended training camps.
10. The detainee trained at a terrorist training camp.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States or it's coalition partners:

1. The detainee engaged in Jihad in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan.
2. The detainee was captured while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan without identification documents.
3. The detainee was captured with one of Usama bin Ladin's drivers.

Testimony

The Department of Defense did not release a transcript of Boujaadia's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, implying he chose not to participate.

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.^[6]

First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Said Boujaadia's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 19 August 2005.^[7] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

Transcript

There is no record that Said Boujaadia participated in his first annual Board hearing.

Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Said Boujaadia's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 16 September 2006.^[8] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

Transcript

There is no record that Said Boujaadia participated in his first annual 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.^[9][10] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on January 17, 2007.

Repatriation

A Moroccan named "Saïd Boujaâdia", three Sudanese captives, and five Afghan captives were repatriated to the custody of their home countries on May 1, 2008.^[11][12] The Chicago Tribune reports that Saïd Boujaâdia was in the custody Moroccan judicial police in Casablanca. The identity of the five Afghan repatriates was not made public. The three Sudanese men were Sami Al Hajj, Yacoub al-Amir and Walid Ali.^[13] Amnesty International reports that the nine repatriates were the first captives to be repatriated in 2008.

Moroccan sentencing

The Miami Herald reported that Boujaâdia's trial in a Moroccan court concluded on 14 November 2008.^[14] He received a ten year sentence.

References

External links

• The Ordeal of Moroccan Prisoner Said al-Boujaadia Andy Worthington