Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mar'i

Born in Khochna, Yemen Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mar'i was detained following a raid on his home in Pakistan on 23 September 2001 and is currently being held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantánamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.

In the list of Guantanamo detainees the U.S. Department of Defense was forced to release on May 15 2006 Mari'i's birthdate is unknown, but his place of birth is listed as Darmar, Yemen. [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", May 15 2006] His Guantanamo detainee ID nuumber is 577.

His 'capture' and subsequent labelling as a combatant are the area of some controversy since he claims "I am not an enemy combatant, I am a sleeping combatant because I was sleeping in my home".

Jamal claims he went to Kandahar, Afghanistan in May 2001, to prepare for field work gathering medical supplies for the Al Wafa charity. He then moved to Karachi, Pakistan where he worked with (or alternately "was") the regional director, and purchased supplies from local hospitals to distribute to Al Wafa.

When his house was raided, Jamal was found with $13,000 which was to be used to bring his family to live with him. Following his detainment at Guantánamo, Jamal kept in contact with him family by telephone until Nov. 2003 at which point contact was lost between them.

Identity

Captive 577 was named inconsistently on various official documents released by the United States Department of Defense:
*Captive 577 was named Jamal Muhammad 'Alawi Mar'i on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for Jamal Muhammad 'Alawi Mari's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 22 September 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000400-000499.pdf#102
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Mari, Jamal Muhammad 'Alawi
date=22 September 2004
author=OARDEC
pages=page 102
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-11-12]
*Captive 577 was named Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mari on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his first annual Administrative Review Board, on 26 October 2005.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000495-000594.pdf#33
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Mari, Jamal Muhammad Alawi
date=26 October 2005
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 33-35
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-11-12]
*Captive 577 was named Jamal Muhammed 'Alawi Mar'i on the official list of the captives whose "enemy combatant" status was confirmed by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, released on April 20 2006. [http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/detainee_list.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", April 20 2006]
*Captive 577 was named Jamal Muhammad 'Alawi Mar'i on the official list of all the captives released on May 15 2006. [http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", May 15 2006]
*Captive 577 was named Jamal Muhammed Alwai on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his second annual Administrative Review Board, on 25 November 2006.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_2_Factors_599-699.pdf#77
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Alwai, Jamal Muhammed
date=25 November 2006
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 77-80
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-11-12]
*Captive 577 was named Jamal Muhammed 'Alawi Mari on several official lists released in early September 2007.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_CSRT_unclassified_summaries.pdf
title=Index for Combatant Status Review Board unclassified summaries of evidence
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=July 17 2007
accessdate=2007-09-29] cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_CSRT_detainees_testimony.pdf
title=Index for testimony
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=September 4 2007
accessdate=2007-09-29] cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_publicly_filed_CSRT_records.pdf
title=Index for CSRT Records Publicly Files in Guantanamo Detainee Cases
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=August 8 2007
accessdate=2007-09-29] cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_ARB_Round_1_Detention_Transfer_Factors.pdf
title=Index to Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round One
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=August 9 2007
accessdate=2007-09-29] cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_ARB_Round_2_Detention_Transfer_Factors.pdf
title=Index of Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round Two
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=July 17 2007
accessdate=2007-09-29]

CSRT-Yes [http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/Set_4_0320-0464.pdf#130 Summarized transcripts (.pdf)] , from Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mar'i's "Combatant Status Review Tribunal" - pages 130-144] cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000400-000499.pdf#102
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Mari, Jamal Muhammad 'Alawi
date=22 September 2004
author=OARDEC
pages=page 102
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-11-12]

:"'a. The detainee has worked for various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) with al Qaida and Taliban connections::#Detainee admitted he was the director of the Baku, Azerbaijan branch of the Al Haramayn.:#Al Haramayn is a sic NGO with known al Qaida connections.:#Detainee admitted traveling to Kandahar (AF) in May 2001 to work in the al Wafa office.:#Detainee admitted he was the director of the Karachi (PK) branch of al Wafa.:#Al Wafa is an NGO with known al Qaida connections.:#Detainee was apprehended during a raid on his residence on 23 September 2001 in Karachi (PK).:#Alawi was capture in a facility with other individuals now detained by DoD and information related to weapons, explosives and tactics were found in that facility at the time of capture.

Alawi denied some of the allegations, and claimed that they contained contradictions. He admitted to being an employee of Al Haramayn, but not its director. He said that Al Haramayn was not an NGO, and that he was unaware of it having any terrorist connections.

First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mari'sfirst annualAdministrative Review Board, on 26 October 2005.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000495-000594.pdf#33
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Mari, Jamal Muhammad Alawi
date=26 October 2005
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 33-35
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-11-12] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

The following primary factors favor continued detention:

:"'a. Commitment:#In 1997 the detainee was hired to work at the al Haramayn office in Baku, Azerbaijan.:#In 1998 the detainee was placed in charge of the al Haramayn office in Baku.:#A foreign government agency identified the detainee as the al Haramayn director since August 1998. The agency stated the detainee also took part in high-level illegal activity. The agency reported that al Haramayn, in the guise of providing humanitarian assistance, disseminated propaganda of an extremist and separatist nature.:#The detainee stated that he left al Haramayn in Baku in January or February 1999 and attempted to obtain a position at the al Haramayn office in Sanaa, Yemen.:#An associated of the detainee from al Haramayn helped the detainee get a job with al Wafa. The detainee then moved to Karachi, Pakistan in May 2001.:#In May 2001 the detainee traveled to Kandahar, Afghanistan through Karachi and Quetta, Pakistan and Spin Balduk, Afghanistan. In Kandahar, the detainee visited the director of al Wafa for about two weeks while learning about the organization and what was expected of him.:#At the beginning of June 2001, the detainee traveled from Kandahar to Karachi and opened the al Wafa office in Karachi. The detainee's office purchased medicine and supplies and sent them to Afghanistan. The detainee was given a cell phone and was in daily contact with the director of al Wafa.:#The detainee headed the al Wafa office in Karachi. This office was responsible for buying medical supplies and also facilitated travel of al Wafa personnel into Afghanistan.:#The detainee was the only person with access to the al Wafa account at the Bank of the Emirates in Karachi.:#The detainee rented a house in his name for the al Wafa organization in August 2001. The detainee used this rental as a base of operations.:#The detainee relied heavily on the local Taliban office for storage space and access to office equipment. The detainee would forward supplies to Afghanistan from the Taliban office to avoid the official authorization required by the Pakistan Government.:#The detainee stated that during the three months he worked for al Wafa in Pakistan, he handled shipments of medical supplies and worked with the Taliban for the storage and shipping of supplies.:#The detainee admitted the Taliban and al Wafa were connect to facilitate movement of supplies and food into Afghanistan.:#While in Karachi, the detainee received boxes of records from the director of the al Wafa office in Kandahar. The boxes contained information regarding explosives and attack plans.:#The detainee was arrested in his home by Pakistani officials on 23 September 2001. A suitcase with clothes and $11,300 U.S. Dollars sic were found.:#At the time of the detainee's arrest, several items were seized, including lists of chemicals and pharmaceuticals and handwritten notes regarding the characteristics of different military weapons, explosives and attack scenarios.

:"'b. Connections/Associations:#The detainee disclosed that an al Qaida member contacted the al Wafa office in Karachi requesting assistance in purchasing medical equipment to set up a laboratory in Pakistan.:#The detainee admitted that he knew two al Qaida members. One member was from Kuwait and worked for al Wafa. The other member sent his family to Kuwait just prior to 11 September 2001 and knew people in Jordan who were with Usama bin Laden.

:"'c. Detainee Actions and Statements::The detainee stated that he personally endorses the Chechnyan jihad.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer:

:

Transcript

There is no record that captive 577chose to participate in his first annual Administrative Review Board hearing.

econd annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Jamal Muhammed Alwai'ssecond annualAdministrative Review Board, on 25 November 2006.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_2_Factors_599-699.pdf#77
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Alwai, Jamal Muhammed
date=25 November 2006
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 77-80
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-11-12] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

The following primary factors favor continued detention:

:"'a. Commitment:#The detainee began working at al Haramayn, a humanitarian organization, in 1997. After one year, the detainee became an executive of the organization, and although not formally promoted, the detainee took over as director.:#The detainee denied al Haramayn had anything to do with funding the Chechnyan jihad or Mujahedin fighters. The detainee endorsed the Chechnyan jihad, but did not use al Haramayn to assist the fight.:#In May 2001 the detainee took a job working for an sic al Wafa Islamic relief organization in Kandahar, Afghanistan.:#In July 2001, the detainee returned to Karachi, Pakistan to establish an al Wafa organization and received 110,000 United States Dollars. Part of the detainee's mission was to establish an al Wafa office in Karachi, Pakistan.:#The detainee stayed at a special, Taliban guest house while in Pakistan.:#The detainee relied heavily on the local Taliban office for storage space and access to office equipment because his Karachi, Pakistan, al Wafa organization was not yet established. Medical supplies the detainee purchased were sent directly from the vendor to the Taliban office for storage. The detainee would then go to the Taliban office and forward the supplies to Afghanistan.:#The detainee's al Wafa office had boxes which contained notebooks with handwritten notes of weapons capabilities, explosives, chemical and pharmaceutical lists and attack scenarios.:#The detainee had 11,300 United States Dollars in his possession when he was arrested.

:"'b. Connections/Associations:#Al Haramayn was founded in 1992 to disseminate the Saudi Arabian version of the Sunni Islamic religion with Wahaistic influences/teachings. In addition to providing legitimate humanitarian aid to promote Islamic teachings, this organization has provided support to families of Islamic suicided attackers, freed activists from prisons, procured fraudulent travel documents, provided medical care for wounded Mujahedin, smuggled weapons into Algeria and transferred radical fundamentalists into Bosnia.:#The detaiene assisted at al Haramayn in as early as 1995.:#Al Haramayn has provided logistical support to the Mujahedin fighting in Afghanistan since the 1980's sic. Their annual budget was between 50 to 60 million United States Dollars. Al Haramayn provides support to Islamic extremist elements in seventeen countries or regions that includes freeing of activists from prisons, procurement of fraudulent travel documents and weapons smuggling to Algeria. Forty bank accounts connected to terrorist activities have been linked to offices and sub-departments of al Haramayn.:#A source stated al Haramayn worked closely with members of al Wafa. A former al Qaida member stated organizations such as al Haramayn and al Wafa allowed easier access to funds which financed al Qaida. These organizations provided a legitimate cover for al Qaida members to travel world-wide under the guise of humanitarian operations. These groups would build mosquest for the purpose of recruiting future al Qaida members.:#A senior al Qaida operative traveled to Azerbaijan in 1997 at the invitation of al Haramayn.:#Al Haramayn established an officer in Azerbaijan to provide a legitimate organization, which was also providing money and materials to Mujahedin, military leaders throughout Chechnya. Authorities accused al Haramayn of supporting activities not in alignment with the humanitarian aims of the organization in January 2000 and the office was subsequently closed.:#The detainee admitted the Taliban and al Wafa were connected in some ways, but he denied any connection between al Wafa and al Qaida.:#The detainee claims to have never met any al Qaida members with al Haramayn, although he admitted to knowing two al Qaida members.:#An al Wafa associate of the detainee had past contacts with Usama bin Laden and Usama bin Laden's senior operative.:#An al Wafa associate of the detainee was in contact with a microbiologist involved in al Qaida's anthrax program.:#The detainee received a telephone call stating the Kandahar, Afghanistan office was closing for fear of United States air attacks. The detainee was informed that documents and paperwork from the Kandahar office was being sent to him for safekeeping.

:"'c. Other Relevant Data:#All employees of al Haramayn worked for the detainee by 1998. The detainee oversaw the finances that were used for payroll, food, medical supplies, Islamic publications and general aid.:#The detainee was responsible for the supply and care of five camps of displaced people located in Azerbaijan. Financial support for the organization came from Saudi Arabia. The organization did not have bank accounts and operated solely on cash.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer:

:

Transcript

There is no record that captive 577chose to participate in his second annual Administrative Review Board hearing.

References

External links

* [http://www.cageprisoners.com/downloads/jamalmari.pdf documents from] Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mar'i's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
* [http://www.boomantribune.com/comments/2005/5/31/8515/58425/93?mode=alone;showrate=1 Profile on Booman Tribune]