Noor Uthman Muhammed

Noor Uthman Muhammed
Born	Kasala, Sudan
Detained at	Guantanamo
Alternate name	Muhammed Noor Uthman Zamir Muhammed
ISN	707
Charge(s)	Charges initiated May 23, 2008.

Noor Uthman Muhammed is a citizen of Sudan confined in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba where he is serving a sentence for terrorism convictions before the Guantanamo military commission^[1]

The Department of Defense reports that Muhammed was born in Kasala [sic], Sudan.

As of September 14, 2010, Noor Uthman Muhammed has been held at Guantanamo for eight years one months^[2]

Background

Noor Uthman Muhammaed is a citizen of Sudan who described working at the Khalden training camp, in Afghanistan, from the mid-1990s, until it was shut down in 2000. He first worked as a small-arms instructor, but after a few months of discontent he asked for a transfer. Instead, Noor Uthman Muhammad was assigned as Khalden training camp's quartermaster. He was responsible for the collection and distribution of camp supplies, such as food, water and firewood.^[3] He denies membership in al Qaida or the Taliban, and described the Khalden camp as being an independent camp.

Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts describe him as being a senior member of al Qaida's leadership cadre. Noor Uthman Muhammaed was captured in Abu Zubaydah's house in Faisalabad on March 24, 2002, along with Abu Zubaydah, Sufyian Barhoumi, Ghassan al-Shirbi, Jabran Al Qahtani, Abdul Zahir and several other suspects. Four of the other captives captured in that house were to face charges before the Guantanamo military commissions, in 2005 and 2006.

Charges were initiated against Noor Uthman Muhammed on May 23, 2008.^[4][5]

Charges

On May 23, 2008 charges were initiated against Noor Uthman Muhammed .^[4][5] The charges won't be official until they are confirmed by Susan J. Crawford, the Office of Military Commissions Appointing Authoriy.

On 21 October 2008 Susan J. Crawford the official in charge of the Office of Military Commissions announced charges were dropped being dropped against Noor Uthman and four other captives, Jabran al Qahtani, Ghassan al Sharbi, Sufyian Barhoumi, and Binyam Mohamed.^[6][7] Carol J. Williams, writing in the Los Angeles Times reports that all five men had been connected by Abu Zubaydah -- one of the three captives the CIA has acknowledged was interrogated using the controversial technique known as "waterboarding".

Williams quoted the men's attorneys, who anticipated the five men would be re-charged in thirty days.^[7] They told Williams that: "... prosecutors called the move procedural", and attributed it to the resignation of fellow Prosecutor Darrel Vandeveld, who resigned on ethical grounds. Williams reported that Clive Stafford Smith speculated that the Prosecution's dropping of the charges, and plans to subsequently re-file charges later was intended to counter and disarm the testimony Vandeveld was anticipated to offer, that the Prosecution had withheld exculpatory evidence.

The current charges ^[8] against Noor Uthman were instated on 5 December 2008.

The Barack Obama Presidency was granted a continuance on October 21, 2009.^[9] The military commissions for five other captives have been granted continuances, until November 16, 2009.

On 13 November 2009, the Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Noor Uthman's case would continue in a military commission.^[10]

On April 8, 2010, Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald, reported Captain Moira Modzelewski, the Presiding Officer over Noor's military commission, predicted she would require a year to review the secret evidence against Noor.^[11] According to Rosenberg the provisions within the Military Commissions Act of 2009 allowed the use of classified evidence, but only after a review by the Presiding Officer. The Prosecution could submit a summary of classified evidence, in lieu of the evidence itsel, but the Presiding Officer was required to review every document the summary was based on, to ensure it was a fair summary.

On September 21, 2010, Carol Rosenburg, again writing in the Miami Herald, reported that prosecutor Marine Major James Weirick stated that “Noor Uthman Mohammed for a number of years was the principal trainer and in charge of all training at the Khalden training camp in Afghanistan that provided numerous individuals who went on to serve for al Qaida.^[12]

On 15 February 2011, Noor Uthman Muhammed pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism, and conspiracy to providing material support to an international terrorist organization and terrorism. He was sentenced to 14 years of confinement.^[13]

References

1. ^ OARDEC (May 15, 2006). "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
2. ^ The Guantanamo Docket - Noor Uthman Muhammed
3. ^ Cabot, Tyler. "The Prisoners of Guantanamo". Esquire Magazine. Hearst Corporation. http://www.esquire.com/features/guantanamo-prisoner-0911?click=pp. Retrieved 18 August 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Sudanese terror suspect charged at Guantanamo Bay". Associated Press. May 23, 2008. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i9RQHdm30VOq5QehUXYnnGjHdlkAD90RK87G0. Retrieved 2008-05-23. "According to the charges, Muhammed was a member of al-Qaida, trained at a camp in Afghanistan and later become a weapons instructor. From 1996 to 2000 he was deputy commander of the camp, where he oversaw its operations."  mirror
5. ^ ^{a b} "Pentagon charges detainee with terrorism support". Reuters. May 23, 2008. http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnN23295928.html. Retrieved 2008-05-23.  mirror
6. ^ Jane Sutton (2008-10-21). "U.S. drops charges against 5 Guantanamo captives". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE49K65120081021?sp=true. Retrieved 2008-10-21.  mirror
7. ^ ^{a b} Carol J. Williams (2008-10-21). "War crimes charges dropped against 5 in Guantanamo". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gitmo22-2008oct22,0,6309987.story. Retrieved 2008-10-21.  mirror
8. ^ http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Referred%20Charge%20Sheet.pdf Archived 11 February 2011 at WebCite
9. ^ "Delays granted in 2 Guantanamo war crimes cases". Associated Press. 2009-10-21. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhostednews%2Fap%2Farticle%2FALeqM5hvgzauEfo94g-QRVik7N_BMXozlwD9BFOJOG0&date=2009-10-22. 
10. ^ U.S. to hold 9/11 trial in public court : Some praise the shift from Guantanamo to New York. Others say the suspects gain a propaganda forum. - Los Angeles Times Archived 11 February 2011 at WebCite
11. ^ Carol Rosenberg (2010-04-08). "Judge says she needs year to sort through evidence". Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/08/1568502/judge-says-she-needs-year-to-sort.html. Retrieved 2010-04-08.  mirror
12. ^ Prosecutor: Guantanamo detainee trained 9/11 hijackers | McClatchy Archived 11 February 2011 at WebCite
13. ^ "Gitmo detainee pleads guilty to terror charges". CNN U.S.. 15 February 2011. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-15/us/gitmo.detainee.plea_1_gitmo-detainee-terror-charges-material-support?_s=PM:US. Retrieved 2 March 2011. 

External links

• The Prisoners of Guantánamo Esquire Magazine 18 August 2011
• A Lack of Conviction Foreign Policy
• Human Rights First blog: Military Commissions
• Guantanamo judge weighs detainee's request for psychologist
• Human Rights First; The Case of Noor Uthman Muhammed, Sudanese
• Guantanamo military commission hearing for Noor Uthman Mohammad September 22, 2010

Persondata
Name	Muhammaed, Noor Uthman
Alternative names
Short description	People held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp
Date of birth
Place of birth	Kasala, Sudan
Date of death
Place of death