Administrative Review Board

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Hearing room where Guantanamo captive's annual Administrative Review Board hearings convened for captives whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal had already determined they were an "enemy combatant". ARB trailer.jpg
Hearing room where Guantanamo captive's annual Administrative Review Board hearings convened for captives whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal had already determined they were an "enemy combatant".

The Administrative Review Board is a United States military body that conducts an annual review of the detainees held by the United States in Camp Delta in the United States Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Detention (imprisonment) removal of the freedom of liberty by a state

Detention is the process whereby a state or private citizen lawfully holds a person by removing his or her freedom or liberty at that time. This can be due to (pending) criminal charges preferred against the individual pursuant to a prosecution or to protect a person or property. Being detained does not always result in being taken to a particular area, either for interrogation or as punishment for a crime.

United States Navy Naval warfare branch of US Armed Forces

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the U.S. military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of June 2019, making it the third-largest air force in the world, after the United States Air Force and the United States Army.

Cuba Country in the Caribbean

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean meet. It is east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The area of the Republic of Cuba is 110,860 square kilometers (42,800 sq mi). The island of Cuba is the largest island in Cuba and in the Caribbean, with an area of 105,006 square kilometers (40,543 sq mi), and the second-most populous after Hispaniola, with over 11 million inhabitants.

Contents

The purpose of the Board is to review whether the detainees still represent a threat. American President George W. Bush initially called the detainees "illegal combatants." [2] [3] [4] But, without a formal announcement of the policy change, the Bush Presidency changed their description to "enemy combatant". From July 2004 through March 2005, military authorities conducted a one-time Combatant Status Review Tribunal for each detainee, to confirm whether they had been properly been classified as an "enemy combatant".

George W. Bush 43rd president of the United States

George Walker Bush is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He had previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

An enemy combatant is a person who, either lawfully or unlawfully, directly engages in hostilities for an enemy state or non-state actor in an armed conflict. Prior to 2008, the definition was: "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war." In the case of a civil war or an insurrection the term "enemy state" may be replaced by the more general term "Party to the conflict".

Combatant Status Review Tribunal Tribunals of US detainees at Guantanamo Bay

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.

The Combatant Status Reviews were criticized by human rights workers because the detainees were not entitled to legal counsel, and did not know what allegations they had to defend themselves against, and the detainees had no presumption of innocence. The ARB was created in an attempt to mitigate the harsh results of potentially indefinite detention by allowing an annual review to determine whether the enemy combatant should still be detained.

Indefinite detention is the incarceration of an arrested person by a national government or law enforcement agency without a trial; the practice violates many national and international laws, including human rights laws. In recent years, governments have indefinitely incarcerated individuals suspected of terrorism, often in black sites, sometimes declaring them enemy combatants.

The Combatant Status Reviews determined that 38 detainees were not illegal combatants after all. They determined that the rest of the detainees had been correctly classified as "enemy combatants" during their original, secret, classifications.

The first set of Administrative Reviews took place between December 14, 2004 and December 23, 2005. The Boards met to consider the cases of al 463 eligible detainees. They recommended the release of 14 detainees, and the repatriation of 120 detainees to the custody of the authorities in their home countries.

Repatriation process of returning assets to original owners

Repatriation is the process of returning an asset, an item of symbolic value or a person – voluntarily or forcibly – to its owner or their place of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the process of returning military personnel to their place of origin following a war. It also applies to diplomatic envoys, international officials as well as expatriates and migrants in time of international crisis. For refugees, asylum seekers and illegal migrants, repatriation can mean either voluntary return or deportation.

As of January 2017, 45 detainees remain at Guantanamo. [5]

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) was under a court order from United States District Court Judge Jed Rakoff to release the names of all the detainees by 6:00 p.m. EST on March 3, 2006. The Department of Defense ("DOD") did not meet this deadline. They delivered a CD-ROM with approximately 5,000 pages of documents at 6:20 pm. DoD had to take that CD-ROM back and issue a second copy that with redacted files that DoD decided not to release.

United States Department of Defense United States federal executive department

The United States Department of Defense is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces. The DoD is the largest employer in the world, with nearly 1.3 million active-duty service members as of 2016. More employees include over 826,000 National Guard and Reservists from the armed forces, and over 732,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.8 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the DoD's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".

A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case. A court order must be signed by a judge; some jurisdictions may also require it to be notarized.

Factors for and against continued detention

As part of this release of documents the DoD released three portable document format files containing summaries of the factors for and against the release of some of the detainees. [6] [7] [8] These documents summarized the factors for and against the continued detention of 120 detainees. These documents contain the detainee's names. The DoD has not explained why they did not comply with Rakoff's court order and release the factors for and against the other 343 detainees.

Some of the factors listed in favour of continued detention for some detainees were repetitions of allegations that had already been refuted during the detainee's Combatant Status Review Tribunals.

Summarized Transcripts of Administrative Review Board hearings

The DoD also released an incomplete set of four portable document format files containing summarized transcripts from administrative review board hearings. [9] [10] [11] [12] Over the next six weeks the DoD released 15 more portable document format files containing transcripts. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] Most of these transcripts do not contain the detainees names. However, almost all the transcripts bear the detainee's Guantanamo ID number on the lower right hand corner of each page, and on April 20, 2006, and on May 15, 2006, the DoD released lists of the detainees, with their associated detainee IDs. [28] [29]

In early September 2007 the Department of Defense published additional documents from the second set of Review Board hearings convened in 2006. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

The Department published ten portable document format files. Less than twenty percent of the remaining captives participated in their hearings. The Department only published transcripts of the hearings for which captives chose to participate.

Releases

According to an article from the International Herald Tribune from April 22, 2006 the ARB had determined three detainees could be released and 107 detainees could be repatriated to the custody of their home country, yet they still remained in Guantanamo. [41] U.S. officials said their continued detention was due to concerns the detainees might be tortured or killed if they were returned or repatriated.

Observers

Very few of the Review Board hearings were observed by members of the press. [42] Adam Brookes of the BBC wrote, on April 8, 2005, about being allowed to sit in on the first Administrative Review Board hearing where observers were permitted. He wrote that over sixty Review Board hearings had been convened with no press attendance.

Related Research Articles

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Faris Muslim al Ansari is a citizen of Afghanistan who was seventeen years old when captured and held in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 253. American intelligence analysts estimate that Al Ansari was born in 1984 in Mukala, Yemen.

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References

  1. ↑ Spc Timothy Book (March 10, 2006). "Review process unprecedented" (PDF). The Wire (JTF-GTMO). p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2008. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  2. ↑ "Text of Bush, Karzai Remarks". Fox News. January 28, 2002. Retrieved 2008-02-19. BUSH: The question is about the detainees in Guantanamo Bay. I had a very interesting meeting this morning with my national security team. We're discussing all the legal ramifications of how we characterize the actions at Guantanamo Bay."
    "A couple of things we agree on. One, they will not be treated as prisoners of war; they're illegal combatants. Secondly, they will be treated humanely. And then I'll figure out -- I'll listen to all the legalisms and announce my decision when I make it.
  3. ↑ Kevin Drew (December 7, 2001). "Tribunals break sharply from civilian courts". CNN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  4. ↑ Jon Leyne (29 January 2002). "Rift in Bush's team over detainees". BBC . Retrieved 2008-02-19. If Colin Powell prevails, a tribunal would have to determine the detainees' status.
  5. ↑ Myre, Greg (2017-01-16). "10 Guantanamo Prisoners Freed In Oman; 45 Detainees Remain".
  6. ↑ ARB_Factors_Set_1_944-1045.pdf, Department of Defense , March 3, 2006
  7. ↑ ARB_Factors_Set_2_1046-1160.pdf, Department of Defense , March 3, 2006
  8. ↑ ARB_Factors_Set_3_1161-1234_Revised.pdf, Department of Defense , March 3, 2006
  9. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_1_395-584.pdf, Department of Defense , March 3, 2006
  10. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_2_585-768.pdf, Department of Defense , March 3, 2006
  11. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_3_769-943_FINAL.pdf, Department of Defense , March 3, 2006
  12. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_4_1431-1455.pdf, Department of Defense , March 3, 2006
  13. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_5_20000-20254.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  14. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_6_20255-20496.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  15. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_7_20497-20750.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  16. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_8_20751-21016.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  17. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_9_21017-21351.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  18. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_10_21352-21661.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  19. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_11_21662-22010.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  20. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_12_22011-22244.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  21. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_13_22245-22523.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  22. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_14_22524-22682.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  23. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_15_22683-22733.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  24. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_16_22734-22821.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  25. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_17_22822-23051.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  26. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_18_23052-23263.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  27. ↑ ARB_Transcript_Set_19_23264-23359.pdf, Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  28. ↑ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense , April 20, 2006
  29. ↑ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense , May 15, 2006
  30. ↑ OARDEC (July 17, 2007). "Transcripts and Certain Documents from Administrative Review Boards Round Two" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  31. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2000-2099" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  32. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2100-2195" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  33. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2196-2293" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  34. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2294-2396A" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  35. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2397-2490" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  36. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2491-2598E" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  37. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2599-2697" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  38. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2698-2800" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  39. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2801-2918" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  40. ↑ OARDEC (2006). "ARB Transcripts 2919-3025" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  41. ↑ Stuck in Guantánamo, International Herald Tribune , April 22, 2006
  42. ↑ Adam Brookes (8 April 2005). "Inside Guantanamo's secret trials". BBC News . Retrieved 2008-06-19. We were struck by the cursory nature of the questioning, and the absence of an attempt to reconcile conflicting claims as to what the young, sullen detainee had actually done.
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