Twelve Kuwaiti detainees were held in [1] [2] extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. [1]
The last Kuwaiti, Fayiz Al Kandari, was repatriated in January 2016. [3] The US had accused the 12 Kuwaitis of being associated with or were members of al-Qaeda or the Taliban. All 12 men denied the charges. Most of the men said they were on charitable missions and all said they were sold to American forces for bounty. None of the Kuwaiti prisoners held in Cuba was ever charged with a crime. [2]
Nasser Al Mutairi (ISN 205) was the first Kuwaiti released in January 2005. Al Mutairi said he traveled to Afghanistan for ribat, according to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal transcripts. In November 2005, the Department of Defense transferred five more prisoners to Kuwait including Adel Al Zamel (ISN 568), who prior to his time in Guantanamo was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison for previous charges of assault against a female college student. Zamel denied assaulting the woman, according to journalist Jenifer Fenton who met with him in Kuwait. [4]
Abdulaziz Al Shammeri (ISN 217) was released at the same time as Al Zamel. He was married and had two children, who in 2001 were six and two years old. He was an Islamic scholar and worked at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Kuwait. He was planning to get a Master's degree in Egypt, but decided before doing so he would spend some time teaching Islamic law in Afghanistan. "In my case I don't even know why I was transferred there (Guantanamo)... and then I have no idea how I was released," he told Fenton. [5]
The third prisoner released in late 2005 Sa'ad Al Azmi (ISN 571) said he traveled to Pakistan on a business trip. He reported he was severely abused as well: beaten, left naked for two months, sexually humiliated and his leg was broken. [6] Released in 2005 as well was Mohammed Al Dehani (ISN 299), who worked as an auditor for the Kuwait government. The last of the group released in late 2005 was Kuwaiti prisoner Abdullah Al Ajmi (ISN 220), who was 23 years old when captured. He had trained as a soldier in the Kuwait military. Abdullah blew himself up in a suicide attack in Mosul, Iraq in 2008. [7] Several Iraqis were killed. [8]
According to US embassy files published by WikiLeaks, in 2006 after a direct appeal by the then Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah to then-President George W. Bush, Omar Rajab Amin (ISN 65) and Abdullah Kamel Al Kandari (ISN 228) were freed.[ citation needed ] Amin was an aid worker and Kamel Al Kandari had been a star volleyball player, who played for Kuwait's national team. [2]
Two prisoners Fouad Al Rabiah (ISN 551) and Khalid Al Mutairi (ISN 213) were ordered released by American courts in 2009. The ruling by which Fouad, an aviation engineer, was freed stated the U.S. government's evidence was "surprisingly bare," noting that interrogators used "abusive techniques." Fouad, who returned to Kuwait in December 2009, was the oldest of the Kuwaiti prisoners. He had a documented history of doing charitable work with reputable organizations in Kosovo, Bosnia and Bangladesh. He planned to help people in Afghanistan. Instead, he lost eight years of his life and missed watching his four children grow up. "I lost so many things, but I know that I was right," he said. "I know that they were wrong," according to an interview he gave after his release.
Fawzi al Odah was cleared for transfer by the Periodic Review Board and transferred to Kuwait in late 2014. Fayiz al Kandari was cleared by the Periodic Review board during his second hearing and sent home in early 2016. Both al Odah and al Kandari spent time in Kuwait's rehabilitation center.
In February, Federal Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly Colleen Kollar-Kotelly "lashed out" at government prosecutors for "repeated delays" in the case of the four Kuwaitis detained at Guantanamo Bay. The Judge ordered one government lawyer removed from the case for failing to comply with repeated orders to produce requested declassified evidence, explaining in a court document his "compliance was not optional." She continued in document, that the court "has serious concern about counsel's ability to read and comprehend its orders." [9] According to Agence France-Presse Agence France Presse, "The rare public row between the judge and prosecutors reflects frustrations over delays to appeals by Guantanamo prisoners in federal courts." [10]
On June 9, 2009, the lead attorney for the Kuwaiti detainees at Guantanamo, David Cynamon, called on Congress to delay the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor until the Obama administration's commitment to the rule of law and compliance with Supreme Court decisions is examined. In the letter , Cynamon asks Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to first schedule a Judiciary Committee hearing on the Obama Administration's failure to comply with Boumediene v. Bush.
"The Bush Administration Department of Justice did everything in its power to delay and obstruct the habeas cases from proceeding in federal court. This was disappointing but not surprising," Cynamon wrote in the letter. "What has been surprising is that the Obama Justice Department has maintained the same policy of delay and obstruction."
Two of the four Kuwaiti detainees are expected to be handed over to Kuwaiti authorities after negotiations, Major Barry Wingard , Fayiz Al-Kandari's military attorney, said at a press conference in Kuwait on June 9, 2009. [11] While the administration maintains that two other Kuwaiti detainees, Fayiz Mohammed Ahmed Al-Kandari and Fouad Mahmoud Al-Rabiah, will face charges, Major Wingard said there is a lack of evidence in Fayiz's case. There is "not enough proof to try him [Fayiz]" in a U.S. federal court, Wingard said.
In April 2009, the United States promised to review the cases of the four Kuwaiti Guantanamo detainees after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Kuwait and met with the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [12] "Clinton promised that Washington would rapidly and seriously review the files of the four Kuwaiti prisoners and notify Kuwait in this regard as soon as possible," the Kuwait News Agency reported, citing a statement by Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [13]
In March 2008, attorneys for Fawzi al-Odah and three other Kuwaiti detainees held at Guantanamo Bay filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Court of Military Commission seeking to block military prosecutors from contacting the four detainees without their attorneys' consent. The attorneys' petition for a writ of mandamus – or other appropriate order – was due to concerns that military prosecutors had violated, or intended to violate, military and professional rules of legal conduct.
Matthew MacLean, a Washington-based attorney for the Kuwaitis, explained in an interview with the Associated Press that government interrogators told his clients their lawyers are Jewish in a bid to sow mistrust. "Are these prosecutors bound by the rules that are binding on all prosecutors everywhere?" MacLean said. "Or are these prosecutors going to be allowed to be cowboys, doing whatever they want?" [14]
On June 12, 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Boumediene v. Bush, that the Military Commissions Act could not remove the right for Guantanamo detainees to access the US Federal Court system. Further, all previous Guantanamo detainees' habeas petitions were eligible to be re-instated.
On July 18, 2008, David J. Cynamon filed a "PETITIONERS' STATUS REPORT" in Al Odah, v. United States Civil Action No. CV 02-0828 (CKK) on behalf of Fawzi Khalid Abdullah Fahad Al Odah, Fayiz Mohammed Ahmen Al Kandari, Khalid Abdullah Mishal Al Mutairi, Fouad Mahmoud Al Rabiah. [15] He wrote that they were the four remaining Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo. He wrote that none of the four men had been cleared for release. He wrote that the government had completed "factual returns" for all four men—but those factual returns had contained redacted sections.
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 mandated that Guantanamo detainees were no longer entitled to access the US civil justice system, so all outstanding habeas corpus petitions were stayed.
isn | name | arrival date | departure date | notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
ISN 65 | Omar Rajab Amin | 2002-01-12 | 2006-09-06 |
|
205 | Nasser Najiri Amtiri | 2002-02-07 | 2005-01-16 |
|
213 | Khalid Abdullah Mishal al Mutairi | 2002-02-09 | 2009-10-09 |
|
217 | Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri | 2002-02-10 | 2005-11-02 |
|
220 | Abdallah Saleh Ali Al Ajmi | 2002-01-17 | 2005-11-02 | |
228 | Abdullah Kamel Abudallah Kamel | 2002-05-01 | 2005-11-02 | |
229 | Mohammed Fenaitel Mohamed Al Daihani | 2002-05-03 | 2005-11-02 | |
232 | Fouzi Khalid Abdullah al Awda | 2002-02-12 | 2014-11-05 | |
551 | Fouad Mahmoud al Rabiah | 2002-05-01 | 2002-05-01 |
|
552 | Faiz Mohammed Ahmed Al Kandari | 2002-05-01 | 2016-01-08 |
|
568 | Adel Zamel Abd Al Mahsen Al Zamel | 2002-05-04 | 2005-11-02 |
|
571 | Sa ad Madhi Sa ad Howash Al Azmi | 2002-05-01 | 2005-11-02 |
1. Major Issues to be Discussed Premier's US Visit Timely,", Kuwait Times, September 15, 2008.
2. William Glaberson, "Despite Ruling, Detainee Cases Facing Delays,", New York Times, October 4, 2008.
3. "2 Kuwaitis at Guantanamo Bay Charged with War Crimes", USA Today, October 22, 2008.
4. "Obama's Election Bodes Changes for Guantanamo Prisoners,", Agence France-Presse, November 16, 2008.
5. "Court orders new review on torture, allows tobacco lawsuits", SCOTUS Blog, December 15, 2008.
6. Ben Garcia, "Gitmo Detainees' Fate Undecided,", Kuwait Times, January 27, 2009.
7. David Cynamon, "A Glossy View of Guantanamo Bay", Washington Post, March 22, 2009.
8. Zachary Roth, "Not Just State Secrets", Talking Points Memo, April 10, 2009.
9. "U.S. Judge Lambasts Government Guantanamo Lawyers", Agence France-Presse, April 8, 2009.
8. Josh Gerstein, "Judge Riles at DOJ in Gitmo Case", Politico, April 6, 2009.
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz after U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush and were coordinated through the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants.
Abdulla Majid Al Naimi is a Bahraini, formerly held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.
Fouad Mahmoud al Rabiah is a Kuwaiti, who was held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba from May 2002 to December 2009. Al Rabia's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 551.
Fouzi Khalid Abdullah Al Odah is a Kuwaiti citizen formerly held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. He had been detained without charge in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He was a plaintiff in the ongoing case, Al Odah v. United States, which challenged his detention, along with that of fellow detainees. The case was widely acknowledged to be one of the most significant to be heard by the Supreme Court in the current term. The US Department of Defense reports that he was born in 1977, in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Abdullah Kamel Abdullah Kamel Al Kandari is a citizen of Kuwait, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.
Jabran Said Bin Wazir al-Qahtani is a Saudi who was held in extrajudicial detention for almost fifteen years in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo analysts estimate he was born in 1977, in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Abdul Aziz Adbullah Ali Al Suadi is a Yemeni citizen who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantánamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, from May 3, 2002, to January 21, 2016. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number is 578. The Department of Defense reports that Al Suadi was born on June 16, 1974, in Milhan, Yemen.
Adel al Zamel is a citizen of Kuwait who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.
Al Wafa is an Islamic charity listed in Executive Order 13224 as an entity that supports terrorism. United States intelligence officials state that it was founded in Afghanistan by Adil Zamil Abdull Mohssin Al Zamil, Abdul Aziz al-Matrafi and Samar Khand. Affiliated groups include The Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Khalid Abdullah Mishal al Mutairi, also known as Khalid Hassan, is a Kuwaiti charity worker who was unlawfully detained in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. He was ordered released in August 2009, when it was determined that the law required the American government to prove his guilt, rather than demand al Mutairi prove his innocence. The ruling judge noted that al Mutairi had been "goaded" into making incriminating statements for interrogators, such as confessing alongside Osama bin Laden in 1991, while noting that some of his stories were contradictory.
Faiz Mohammed Ahmed Al Kandari is a Kuwaiti citizen who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba, from 2002 to 2016. He has never been charged with war crimes.
Hajji Shahzada is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Shahzada's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 952. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate that Shahzada was born in 1959, in Belanday, Afghanistan.
Abdallah Saleh Ali Al Ajmi was a Kuwaiti citizen, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 220. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reports indicated that he was born on 2 August 1978, in Almadi, Kuwait.
Ali Abdul Motalib Awayd Hassan Al Tayeea is a citizen of Iraq who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 111. The Department of Defense reports that Al Tayeea was born in Baghdad, Iraq. The Department of Defense provided a birthday, or an estimated year of birth, for all but 22 of the 759 detainees. Al Tayeea is one of those 22. He was repatriated on January 17, 2009, after more than seven years without ever been charged.
Mohammed Fenaitel Mohamed Al Daihani is a citizen of Kuwait who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba. Al Daihani's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 229. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts reports that Al Daihani was born on November 4, 1965, in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Al Dehani was repatriated without charges on November 2, 2005.
Adel Hassan Hamad is a citizen of Sudan, who was held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate he was born in 1958, in Port Sudan, Sudan. Adel Hassan was repatriated to Sudan without charges on December 12, 2007.
Tarek Ali Abdullah Ahmed Baada is a citizen of Yemen, who was formerly held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His detainee ID number is 178. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimated that Baada was born in 1978 in Shebwa, Yemen.
Stephen Abraham is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Army Reserve. In June 2007, he became the first officer who had served on a Combatant Status Review Tribunal to publicly criticize its operations. He said the evidence provided did not meet legal standard, and the members of the panels were strongly pressured by superiors to find that detainees should be classified as enemy combatants. Abraham served in the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants.
Al Odah v. United States is a court case filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsels challenging the legality of the continued detention as enemy combatants of Guantanamo detainees. It was consolidated with Boumediene v. Bush (2008), which is the lead name of the decision.
The Al Kandari is a large clan in Kuwait, while not the same as more coherent clans or tribes in the region who come from a single main brranch, they are made up of loosely connected families and tribes; as each Kandari family may have different grandfathers, but as all have to come to kuwait at similar times, the clan took the name after some of the first members who came to Kuwait who were working as "Kanadra" or water carriers in Kuwait. Therefore the Al Kandari are simply a sizable Kuwaiti clan with various sub-families; closely related to each other. They are mainly composed of Sunni Muslim Larestani ancestry. Until clear DNA studies are done, AL-Kandari clan can be considered largely as a collection of families that may include people from Bastak region, bandar abbas, Huwla Arab and Larestani people.
'The new facility will provide detainees with access to education, medical care, group discussions and physical exercise to help them recover from their long ordeal in Guantánamo,' said a statement issued by a Kuwaiti support group that announced Mutairi's repatriation.
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