- Mustafa Ait Idr
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Mustafa Ait Idr
Mustafa Ait Idr from his OARDEC dossierBorn July 9, 1970
Sidi M'Hamed, AlgeriaDetained at Guantanamo ISN 10004 Status Released 12/16/08 Occupation clergyman Mustafa Ait Idr an individual held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] Ait Idr was born in Algeria, but moved to Bosnia, married a Bosnian woman, and became a Bosnian citizen. Idr was arrested on October 18, 2001 on suspicion of participating in a conspiracy to bomb the United States Embassy.
After their release following their acquittal, the six men were captured, on January 17, 2002, by American forces, who transferred them to Guantanamo Bay.
Ait Idr has alleged brutal treatment there.[2] He claimed that guards beat him, when he was shackled, and bent back his fingers, breaking them. Idr has a black belt, and was the Croatian martial arts champion. During another alleged beating guards threw him onto a gravel path, where one guard jumped on him, with his full weight, causing a stroke that left part of his face paralyzed.
On 16 December 2008, Ait Idr was one of three prisoners released to Bosnia after he was found innocent.[3]
Contents
Combatant Status Review
Main article: Combatant Status Review TribunalAit Idr was among the 60% of prisoners who participated in the tribunal hearings.[4] A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for the tribunal of each detainee. The memo accused him of the following:[5][6]
- a. The detainee is associated with al Qaida:
- The detainee is Algerian, but acquired Bosnian citizenship by serving in the Bosnian military in 1995.
- The detainee is associated with the Armed Islamic Group (GIA).
- While living in Bosnia, the detainee associated with a known al Qaida operative.
- At the time of his capture, the detainee had planned to travel to Afghanistan once his al Qaida contact arrived there and had made the necessary arrangements.
- b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States or its coalition partners.
- The detainee was arrested by Bosnian authorities on 18 October 2001.
- The detainee was arrested because of his involvement with a plan to attack the U.S. embassy located in Sarajevo.
Washington DC based Judge Joyce Hens Green extensively quoted a transcript from Idir's Combatant Status Review Tribunal when she decided that the Guantanamo tribunals violated the US Constitution.[7]
Administrative Review Board
Detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal labeled them "enemy combatants" were scheduled for annual Administrative Review Board hearings. These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee may pose if released or transferred, and whether there are other factors that warrant his continued detention.[8]
Ait Idr participated in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[9]
Suing the US Government
The Washington Post reported on April 14, 2005 that Idir's lawyers initiated legal steps to sue the U.S. government to get the videotapes of the incidents with the Initial Reaction Force where he was injured.[10] The IRF is supposed to videotape all of its interventions.
Thomas P. Sullivan's testimony before the US Senate Judiciary Committee
Thomas P. Sullivan is a lawyer who volunteered to serve as a pro bono attorney for several Guantanamo captives.[11] On September 26, 2006 he testified before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, expressing his concerns about the bill that was to become Military Commissions Act.
Sullivan's testimony quoted a long passage from Idr's Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[11]
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Tribunal Recorder: While living in Bosnia, the Detainee associated with a known al Qaida operative. Detainee: Give me his name. Tribunal President: I do not know. Detainee: How can I respond to this? Tribunal President: Did you know of anybody that was a member of al Qaida? Detainee: No, no.
[T]hese are accusations that I can't even answer. . . You tell me I am from al Qaida, but I am not al Qaida. I don't have any proof except to ask you to catch Bin Laden and ask him if I am part of al Qaida. . . What should be done is you should give me evidence regarding these accusations because I am not able to give you any evidence. I can just tell you no, and that is it.
Sullivan also reminded the Judiciary Committee that US District Court Judge Joyce Hens Green, who had been appointed to oversee the Guantanamo habeas cases following the Supreme Court's decision in Rasul, cited Mr. Idr's hearing as an example of the fundamental unfairness of the CSRT process. See 355 F. Supp. 2d 443 (D.D.C. 2005)."[11]
Release
On 16 December 2008 Mustafa Idr, Boudella al Hajj and Mohammed Nechle were released to Bosnia.[3][12][13] According to The Australian Idr told the Dnevni Avaz:
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- "For almost seven years, I was at the end of the world, at the worst place in the world. It would have been hard even if I had done something wrong (but) it is much harder if one is totally innocent."
On March 3, 2009, El Khabar reported that the Bush administration forced Idr and the other two men to sign undertakings that they would not sue the US government for their kidnapping, before they would be released.[14]
See also
References
- ^ OARDEC (2006-05-15). "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006". United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- ^ Guantanamo detainee is alleging he was brutalized, Boston Globe, April 13, 2005
- ^ a b Mike Melia (2008-12-16). "Lawyer: Gitmo detainees arrive in Bosnia". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gGotzoZe_qi25M1jrAtQ1lnOFVSAD953VKN00. Retrieved 2008-12-17. mirror
- ^ OARDEC, Index to Transcripts of Detainee Testimony and Documents Submitted by Detainees at Combatant Status Review Tribunals Held at Guantanamo Between July 2004 and March 2005, September 4, 2007
- ^ documents (.pdf) from Mustafa Ait Idr's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - 53 pages
- ^ Summary of Evidence (.pdf) from Mustafa Ait Idr's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - page 42 of 53
- ^ Judge Rules Detainee Tribunals Illegal, Washington Post, February 5, 2005
- ^ "Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials". March 6, 2007. http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3902. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
- ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Mustafa Ait Idr's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 208
- ^ Guantanamo Detainee Suing U.S. to Get Video of Alleged Torture, April 14, 2005
- ^ a b c Thomas P. Sullivan (September 25, 2006). "Statement regarding the proposed Military Commissions bill". United States Senate Judiciary Committee. Archived from the original on March 29, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070329020456/http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=2416&wit_id=5772. Retrieved April 21, 2007.
- ^ William Glaberson (2008-12-15). "U.S. Is Set to Release 3 Detainees From Base". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/washington/16gitmo.html?hp. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ "Guantanamo 'worst place on Earth'". The Australian. 2008-12-17. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24816310-12335,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-17. mirror
- ^ "Documents allege Bosnian Algerians committed not to sue the U.S.". El Khabar. 2009-03-04. http://www.elkhabar.com/quotidienFrEn/?ida=146315&idc=129. Retrieved 2009-03-03. "The U.S. has handed over the Bosnian Government documents alleging that Bosnian-Algerians recently freed from Guantanamo detention camp have signed commitments depriving them from the right to sue in justice U.S. and Bosnian officials, responsible for their “abduction” in Sarajevo, seven years ago, spokesman of Bosnian Al-Ansar Association, Ayman Awad told El Khabar." mirror
External links
- Algerians, freed from Guantanamo, still paying the price
- Who are the Guantanamo detainees, Mustafa Ait Idir and five others, Amnesty International
- Algerians, freed from Guantanamo, still paying the price
- Report on Torture, Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment of Prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. (Ait Idir)
- Human Rights First; Habeas Works: Federal Courts’ Proven Capacity to Handle Guantánamo Cases (2010)
Controversies surrounding people captured during the War on Terror Guantanamo Bay
detention campSuicide attempts · Qur'an desecration controversy · Boycott of military tribunals · Former captives alleged to have (re)joined insurgency · Hunger strikes · Force feeding · Homicide accusations · Juvenile prisoner
CIA black site operations Prison and detainee abuse Abu Ghraib · Bagram · Canadian Afghan detainee issue · Black jail · Salt Pit
Prison uprisings
and escapesDeaths in custody Dilawar · Jamal Nasser · Abdul Wahid · Habibullah · Abed Hamed Mowhoush · Manadel al-Jamadi · Nagem Hatab · Baha Mousa · Fashad Mohamed · Muhammad Zaidan · Gul Rahman · Abdul Wali
Tortured Abu Zubaydah · Mohamedou Ould Slahi · Mohammed al-Qahtani · Khalid Sheikh Mohammed · Abdul Jabar · Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri · Binyam Mohamed
Forced disappearances Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi · Abdu Ali al Haji Sharqawi · Muhammed al-Darbi · Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman · Yassir al-Jazeeri · Tariq Mahmood · Hassan Ghul · Musaad Aruchi · Hiwa Abdul Rahman RashulReports and legislation Related media Categories:- Algerian extrajudicial prisoners of the United States
- Bosnia and Herzegovina extrajudicial prisoners of the United States
- Living people
- Guantanamo detainees known to have been released
- 1970 births
- Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Algerian descent
- People from Algiers
- People subject to extraordinary rendition by the United States
- Combatant Status Review Tribunals
- a. The detainee is associated with al Qaida:
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