Sulaiman al-Nahdi

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Sulaiman Awath Sulaiman Bin Ageel Al Nahdi is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] Al Nahdi's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 511. The Department of Defense reports that Al Nahdi was born on December 1, 1974, in Al Mukalla, Yemen.

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a trailer the size of a large RV. The captive sat on a plastic garden chair, with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.^[2][3] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.^[4]

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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.

Al Nahdi chose to submit a written statement to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal rather than attend in person.^[5]

[edit] Al Nahdi's statement

Al Nahdi's statement said that the allegations against him contained exaggeration.

Al Nahdi said he traveled to Afghanistan because he was moved by the plight of children. He was moved by cleric's speeches and the images on TV.

Al Nahdi's statement acknowledges that someone paid his travel expenses, without mentioning who paid for him. He pointed out he traveled there prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001. His travel had nothing to do with a hatred of America. He asserted he had no problems with America. He asserted he played no role in the conflict between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance.

Al Nahdi denied being a member of al Qaeda -- he said he had never heard of al Qaeda until he was arrested.

Al Nahdi acknowledged attending an Afghan training camp, where he saw Osama bin Laden, but he said he had nothing to do with him, and did not identify with what bin Laden was saying. He asserted bin Laden should be charged for what he did. He pled that bin Laden's crimes shouldn't be taken out on him.

Al Nahdi said he had promised his mother he would stay in Afghanistan for no more than six months.

Al Nahdi said he had been well behaved at Guantanamo, with the exception of once throwing juice at a guard when he was upset when he learned his mother had died.

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearing

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. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't 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.

Al Nahdi chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[6]

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. Approximately June 2001, the detainee traveled to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to visit the "Holy Places".
2. After traveling to Saudi Arabia, the detainee traveled to Afghanistan to receive training as outlined in a Fatwa he heard issued by Sheik Hammoud al Oqalah.
3. Abu Shakeirly also preached about the Fatwa and sent the detainee to Sanna, Yemen to see the Abdal Kalik ^[sic] , who could assist the detainee in getting to Afghanistan.
4. The detainee went to Afghanistan to prepare for Palestine ^[sic] .

b. Training

1. The detainee trained for approximately one month with the Yemeni Military at Buwesh ^[sic] . During the training, the detainee received instruction on the Kalashnikov and physical training.
2. The detainee arrived at Camp Farouq sometime before Ramadan in 2001.
3. The al Farouq training camp was funded by al Qaida and therefore was more advanced than other camps in Afghanistan. The training at al Farouq consisted of two-week periods of weapons training, basic commando courses, topography, and explosives.
4. The detainee knew al Qaida ran the al Farouq camp, but not everyone at the camp was necessarily a member of al Qaida.
5. The detainee's training consisted of small arms training with the Kalashnikov and pistols.
6. The detainee stayed for about twenty to thirty days before being told they were moving to another area for training.

c. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee stayed at a guesthouse in Karachi, Pakistan, that was led by a man whom the detainee knew only by the name of Riyadh.
2. Once in Kandahar, the detainee stayed at a safe house owned by Abu Khaled. The detainee stayed at the safe house for approximately one week. The detainee watched a film about Jihad in Bosnia and Chechnya that was narrated by a man named Katib.
3. Abu al Kholud was the Emir of the al Qaida guesthouse called Ansar in Kandahar.
4. About one week after the detainee's arrival at the al Farouq camp, the detainee saw Usama Bin Ladin.
5. While in Tora Bora, the detainee saw Usama Bin Ladin for the second time. Usama Bin Ladin talked about the Jihad for approximately one hour and then a senior al Qaida operative made a few comments.
6. The detainee's name was found on a chart in Arabic, listing the names of captured Mujahadeen. The information was on a hard drive which was associated with a senior al Qaida operative.
7. The detainee's name was found on a document listing 324 Arabic names, aliases, and nationalities recovered from safe house raids associated with suspected al Qaida in Karachi, Pakistan.
8. The detainee's name was found in files recovered from various computer media seized during raids against al Qaida associated safe houses in Rawalpindi on 1 March 2003, and Karachi, Pakistan on 11 September 2002. The files contained a list of al Qaida Mujahadeen and the contents of their "trust" accounts.

Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee went to Tora Bora and stayed in the mountains for ten to fourteen days.
2. While in Tora Bora, the detainee took turns with others standing guard in front of a cave.
3. The detainee may have fought in Tora Bora.
4. The detainee was part of a group led by Abu Thabbit in the mountains of Pakistan. The detainee carried a Kalashnikov rifle.
5. The group remained in the mountains for twenty-five days unsuccessfully searching for a guide before deciding to exit the mountains and either walk to Pakistan or surrender in Afghanistan.
6. The group walked for approximately five hours until they reached a valley where the group was bombed by American planes. Many of the group members were killed or injured.
7. While in a valley, Afghani Forces caught the detainee's group and shrapnel injured the detainee.

[edit] The following primary factors favor release of transfer:

a. The detainee is not mad at the United States.

b. The detainee stated it is every Muslim's duty to be military-trained, but he was not in Afghanistan to fight and never discharged his weapon.

c. The detainee was never asked to take an oath to al Qaida. The detainee stated that even if he were asked, he would not have taken the oath.

d. The detainee knew nothing about al Qaida. The detainee said the only thing he knew about al Qaida was from what he read in a newspaper article.

e. The detainee denied knowledge of any rumors or plans of future attacks on the United States or United States interests.

f. The detainee denied having any knowledge of the attacks on the United States prior to their execution on 11 September 2001.

[edit] Response to the factors

[edit] Response to Board questions

[edit] References

1. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
2. ^ Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror
3. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
4. ^ Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials. United States Department of Defense (March 6, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
5. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Sulaiman Awath Sulaiman Bin Ageel Al Nahdi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 60
6. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Sulaiman Awath Sulaiman Bin Ageel Al Nahdi's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 13