Bensayah Belkacem

Infobox WoT detainees
subject_name = Belkacem Bensayah

---

image_size = 220px
image_caption = Belkacem Bensayah from his OARDEC dossier
date_of_birth = Birth date|1962|9|10
place_of_birth = Wargala, Algeria
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
detained_at = Guantanamo
id_number = 10001
group =
alias =
charge = no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
penalty =
status = still in captivity
occupation = clergyman
spouse =
parents =
children =

Bensayah Belkacem was born in Algeria, and arrested in his home in Bosnia, on October 8 2001, shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/waronterror/story/0,1361,565648,00.html Man linked to Bin Laden arrested in Bosnia] , "The Guardian", October 8, 2001]

Belkacem and five other men, charity workers, who were colleagues of his, who were also born in Algeria, were under suspicion of plotting to bomb the American embassy in Bosnia. [http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=hen&s=o&o=archive/bcr2/bcr2_20011207_2_eng.txt Bosnia: Algerian Trial Jeopardised] , "Institute for War and Peace Reporting", December 7 2001] American intelligence officials had grown alarmed by an increase in the "chatter". After his extrajudicial capture it was reported that a search of his home turned up pro-jihadist material. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,655717,00.html Terrorist material found in Sarajevo charity raid] , "The Guardian", February 23, 2002]

Detention in Cuba

Bensayah was one of the first Guantanamo detainees who was able to get a letter out describing the conditions there. In a letter his wife received in June 2002 he said that the detainees no longer had to defecate and urinate into plastic bags. The camp authorities had provided them with toilets.cite news
url=http://www.nci.org/02/06f/16-02.htm
title=The Next Wave: Dirty-bomb, car-bomb, boat-bomb, bomb plots—meet the new al-Qaeda men, less polished than the 9/11 crew, but any less lethal?
publisher=Time magazine
author=Michael Elliott
date=June 16 2002
accessdate=2007-12-19]

Combatant Status Review Tribunals

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were "lawful combatants" -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

Bensayah declined to participate in his own Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Allegations

The allegations Bensayah Belkacem would have faced, during his Tribunal, were:cite web
pages=pages 115
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/ARB_Transcript_Set_13_22245-22523.pdf#115
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal Belkacem, Bensayah
date=September 24 2004
publisher=Department of Defense
author=Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants
accessdate=2007-08-19]

:"'a. The detainee is an al Qaida member::#The detainee traveled from Yemen to Bosnia-Herzegovina during November 1995.:#Detainee is linked to Usama Bin Laden's operational network.:#The detainee was in possession of Abu Zubaydah "sic" cell phone number in Afghanistan.:#The detainee had phone conversations with Abu Zubaydah, a senior al Qaida aide to Usama Bin Laden pertaining to procuring passports.:#The detainee made 70 phone calls to Afghanistan between September 11, 2001 and the time he was arrested.:#The detainee was being investigated under the criminal acts sic for international terrorism in Bosnia.:#The detainee was identified as the primary al Qaida facilitator in Bosnia.:#In late September 2001 the detainee in Bosnia Herzegovina planned to join jihadist elements in Afghanistan in anticipation of the United States/coalition invasion and encouraged other Algerians to do the same.:#On 1 October 2001, the detainee applied for a visa in Sarajevo, Bosnia - Herzegovina for onward travel to Afghanistan.:#The detainee, prior to planned departure to Iran/Afghanistan, was to assist the mid-October 2001 arrival of unidentified travelers from Afghanistan.:#The detainee planned to coordinate from Tehran, Iran the late October 2001 travel to Bosnia-Herzegovina of an additional 30-40 travelers from Afghanistan.

Detainee election form

Bensayah Belkacem's Detainee election form states his Personal Representative met with him for two hours on September 27 2004 -- one day before his Tribunal first convened.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_4818-4946.pdf#46
title=Detainee election form
pages=pages 46
author=author redacted
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-24] The only comment his Personal Representative recorded from that two hour meeting was:The Unclassified summary of basis for Tribunal decision records that his Personal Representative made no comments, and asked no questions during either the classified or unclassified sessions of the Tribunal.And, when asked to comment on the Tribunal his Personal Representative had no comments.

Unclassified summary of basis for Tribunal decision

Bensayah Belkacem's Tribunal first convened on September 28 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_4818-4946.pdf#42
title=Unclassified summary of basis for Tribunal decision
pages=pages 42-45
author=Tribunal panel 6
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-24] He did not choose to attend his Tribunal.His status was confirmed by Tribunal panel 6.

According to the Unclassified summary of basis for Tribunal decisionhis Tribunal considered six unclassified documents which included allegations that were not summarized on the Summary of Evidence presented to him beforehand::
*It stated investigators found: :

Slatina quoted Tomislav Limov, Bosnia's deputy interior minister, who was confident Bosnia had sufficient evidence to justify the Bosnian's arrest.

Additional documents

On 22 November 2004
James R. Crisfield wrote an "Addendum legal sufficiency review of Combatant Status Review Tribunal for detainee ISN # "#####"cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_4818-4946.pdf#73
title=Addendum legal sufficiency review of Combatant Status Review Tribunal for detainee ISN # "#####"
pages=pages 73
author=James R. Crisfield
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-24] ::

References