| Aziz Abdul Naji | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 4, 1975 Batna, Algeria |
| Citizenship | Algeria |
| Detained at | Guantanamo |
| ISN | 744 |
| Charge(s) | No charge |
| Status | Transferred to Algeria against his will; currently under judicially supervised release |
Aziz Abdul Naji is an Algerian citizen who was held without charges in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 744. American intelligence analysts report that he was born on May 4, 1975, in Batna, Algeria.
Naji arrived at Guantanamo on August 5, 2002, and has been held there for 9 years, 6 months and 22 days.[2][3][4]
The Obama administration transferred Aziz Abdul Naji to Algeria in July 2010 against his will. Naji argued that he would face a high risk to be tortured in Algeria when he would be forced to returned to this country but he lost his case before the Supreme Court. Human Rights Watch has heavily criticized the Obama administration for their decision.[5][6]
On July 25, 2010, he was indicted by the government of Algeria and placed under judicial supervision though it is not known what he had been charged with or what the supervision entailed.[7]
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Aziz Abdul Naji asserts he was in Pakistan as an aid worker, performing zakat -- charitable work.[8] He described losing a leg to a land mine while performing charitable service near embattled Kashmir. He lost his leg prior to al Qaeda's attack on the USA, and spent a year in medical rehabilitation in Pakistan. His capture came shortly after his release from the hospital during a trip to Peshawar, where he was to meet a marriage broker.
No charges have ever been brought against Mr. Naji by the US government.[8] On May 20, 2009, he was cleared for transfer by the Guantanamo Review Task Force established by President Obama’s Executive Order of January 22, 2009.
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 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. However, the Supreme Court eventually ruled these tribunals unconstitutional in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.
Aziz Abdul Naji had a habeas corpus appeal initiated on his behalf in 2005.[8][9]
On 15 July 2008 Kristine A. Huskey filed a "NOTICE OF PETITIONERS’ REQUEST FOR 30-DAYS NOTICE OF TRANSFER" on behalf of these captives whose names are not on any of the official lists.[10]
His most recent attorneys are Ellen Lubell and Doris Tennant, of Newton, Massachusetts. Lubell and Tennant appealed to Newton's city council to follow the example of neighboring Amherst and offer sanctuary to their client.
In an email, dated 23 July 2010, Bill Quigley, Legal Director of Center for Constitutional Rights, states that Abdul Aziz Naji, had gone missing after the US sent him back to Algeria against his will and that Abdul Aziz Naji did not want to return to Algeria because he feared persecution from both the Algerian government and militant anti-government forces. Mr. Naji had applied for political asylum in Switzerland, and his application was proceeding through the Swiss courts.
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