| Said Ali al Farha | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 5, 1979 Bahir, Saudi Arabia |
| Detained at | Guantanamo |
| Alternate name | Saeed Ali Al-Farha Al-Ghamdi, Seed Farha |
| ISN | 341 |
| Charge(s) | No charge (held in extrajudicial detention) |
| Status | Repatriated on December 14, 2006. |
Said Ali al Farha is a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 341. The Department of Defense reports that he was born on November 5, 1979, in Bahir, Saudi Arabia.
Said Ali al Farha was transferred to Saudi Arabia on December 13, 2006.[2]
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Initially the Bush Presidency 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 Presidency's definition of an enemy combatant.
A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Said Ali Abdullah Al Farha Al Ghamidi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 9 November 2004.[3] The memo listed the following allegations against him:
- The detainee is associated with al Qaida.
- The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan one and a half weeks before Ramadan in 2001.
- The detainee taught at a mosque that was run by the Tablighi Jamaat Organization.
- Jama'at Al Tablighi, a Pakistan based Islamic missionary organization is being used as a cover to mask travel and activities of terrorists including members of al Qaida.
- The detainee has recruited at least two individuals for al-Qaida.
- The detainee facilitated travel for individuals traveling to Afghanistan for al-Qaida.
- The detainee was listed by the Saudi Ministry of Interior as a high priority target.
- The detainee was apprehended in Pakistan for not having his passport.
There is no record that Said Ali Abdullah Al Farha Al Ghamidi participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
A writ of habeas corpus was submitted on his behalf.[4] Captive 341 was identified as "Seed Farha". It was heard before US District Court Judge Reggie Walton, and was amalgamated with other habeas cases into Mohammon v. Bush 05-CV-2386.
The Department of Defense published the unclassified documents generated through the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of 179 captives who had habeas petitions submitted on their behalf.[5] But they did not publish this one.
Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings.[7] The Administrative Review Boards were not authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they were not authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".
They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat—or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.
A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Said Ali Al Farha'S first annual Administrative Review Board, on 24 June 2005.[8] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Said Ali Abdallah Al Farha Al Ghamidi second annual Administrative Review Board, on 11 April 2006.[9] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.[10][11] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on 14 August 2006.
One of the unredacted paragraphs in the decision memos stated:
All of the board members reviewed and considered the associated SCI material for this case. The board members consider the SCI material both relevant and significant. The SCI information is being forwarded separately via JWICS for review by the Director, OARDEC.
According to The Saudi Repatriates Report Al Ghamdi was one of sixteen men repatriated on December 14, 2006.[12]
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