Saad Madhi Saad Howash Al Azmi

Infobox WoT detainees
subject_name = Saad Madai Saad al-Azmi
image_size =
image_caption =
date_of_birth = Birth date|1979|5|29
place_of_birth = Doha, Kuwait
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
detained_at = Guantanamo
id_number = 571
group =
alias =
charge = no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
penalty =
status = repatriated
occupation =
spouse =
parents =
children =

Saad Madai Saad al-Azmi (also transliterated Saad al-Azmi and Sa'ad Madhi Sa'ad Ha Wash Al-Azmi, born May 29 1979) is a Kuwaiti citizen. [http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", May 15 2006] He was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantánamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, and later repatriated on November 4 2005.Al Azmi's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 571.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analystsreport that al-Azmi was born on May 29 1979, in Doha, Kuwait.

Identity

Captive 571 was named inconsistently on official documents released by the United States Department of Defense:
* Captive 571 was named Saad Madi Saad Al Azmi on an official list of captives released on March 3 2006. [http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", May 15 2006]
* Captive 571 was named Saad Madhi Saad Howash Al Azmi 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_transcripts_documents.pdf
title=Index of Transcripts and Certain Documents from 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_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_transfer_release_decision_ARB_Round_1.pdf
title=Index to Transfer and Release Decision for Guantanamo Detainees
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=July 17 2007
accessdate=2007-09-29]
* Captive 571 was named Saad Madai Saad Ha Wash Al-Azmi on the official list of captives whose habeas corpus petitions should be dismissed following their transfer from US custody.cite news
url=http://www.pegc.us/archive/In_re_Gitmo/gov_mot_to_dismiss_20070419.pdf
title=Exhibit B: List Of Enemy Combatant Detainees With Pending Habeas Corpus Petitions Who Have Been Released From United States Custody
page=
pages=
publisher=United States Department of Justice
author=
date=April 17 2007
accessdate=2008-05-05
quote=]

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.cite web
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3902
title=Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=March 6 date=December 2007

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.

Al-Azmi chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

Allegations

The allegations he would have faced, during his Tribunal, were: [http://wid.ap.org/documents/detainees/saadalazmi.pdf#21 Summary of evidence (.pdf)] prepared for Saad Madhi Saad Howash Al Azmi's "Combatant Status Review Tribunal" - page 21]

:""'a. Detainee is associated with al-Qaida.:#"The detainee lived with and is associated with known members of al-Qaida.:#"The detainee worked for and was affiliated with the WAFA organization in Kabul, Afghanistan for three months.:#"The WAFA organization, located in the Wazir Akhbar Khan area of Kabul, Afghanistan, is listed on Executive Order 13224 as an entity that commits or poses a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism.:#"Detainee is an Islamic extremist who has participated in extremist activity in Kuwait where he was a member of a group known as the "Takfir Seven".:#"Detainee was arrested with a known member of al-Qaida who owned and ran a Karachi al-Qaida safehouse.:#"Pakistani police arrested the detainee with other foreign fighters at an al-Qaida safehouse in Karachi.

Testimony

Al-Azmi's CSRT contains a 6 page summarized transcript of his testimony. [http://wid.ap.org/documents/detainees/saadalazmi.pdf#13 Summarized testimony] from Saad Madhi Saad Howash Al Azmi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal" - pages 13-19]

* He denied being a member of al-Qaeda, or knowing anyone who was a member of al-Qaeda.
* He acknowledged visiting Kabul, but to visit someone he knew -- the only person he knew in Afghanistan. And he didn't visit him for three months, just three weeks.
* He denied working for Al Wafa.
* He acknowledged that he had been charged, and had stood trial, for a kind of conspiracy to harass a Kuwaiti woman. But he said he was found not guilty, and claimed it was all a misunderstanding.

Administrative Review Board hearing

Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".

They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat -- or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.

The factors for and against continuing to detain "Sa ad Madhi Sa ad Hawashi Al Azmi" were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3 2006. [http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf)] of Saad Madhi Saad Howash Al Azmi "Administrative Review Board" - pages 36-37 - May 16 2005]

"The following primary factors favor continued detention:"

:""'a. Commitment :#"The detainee is an Islamic extremist who has participated in extremist activity in Kuwait where he was a member of a group known as the Takfir Seven.

:""'b. Training ::"The detainee attended the al Faruq training camp.

:""'c. Connections/Associations:#"The detainee lived with and is associated with known members of al Qaida.:#"The detainee worked for and was affiliated with the Wafa organization in Kabul, Afghanistan for three months.:#"The Wafa organization, located in the Wazir Akhbar Khan area of Kabul, Afghanistan, is listed on Executive Order 13224 as an entity that commits or poses a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism. :#"The detainee was arrested with a known member of al Qaida who owned and ran a Karachi al Qaida safehouse. :#"Pakistani police arrested the detainee with other foreign fighters at an al Qaida safehouse in Karachi.

"The following primary factors favor release or transfer:"

:

Dossier

There is no record that Al-Azmi participated in his Administrative Review Board hearing. [http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/ARB_Transcript_Set_19_23264-23349.pdf#42 Exculpatory letters (.pdf)] , from Saad Madhi Saad Howash Al Azmi's "Administrative Review Board hearing" - page 42] Al-Azmi's lawyer, Neil H. Koslowe, submitted a package of 31 pages of letters to his Board.

Board recommendations

Captive 571's Board's recommendation to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official, as to whetherhe should be released or repatriated, was unanimous.cite news
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Decision_memos_000392-000483.pdf#37
title=Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 571 (Kuwait)
pages=pages 37-38
publisher=OARDEC
author=author redacted
date=23 June 2005
accessdate=2007-11-11] His Board's eight pages of recommendations wereheavily redacted.cite news
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Decision_memos_000392-000483.pdf#39
title=Classified record of proceedings and basis for Administrative Review Board decision for ISN 571
pages=pages 39-44
publisher=OARDEC
author=author redacted
accessdate=2007-11-11] His Board's actual recommendation was itself redacted.

His Board relied on assessments from the CIA, the FBI, and an agency listed under the acronym DASD-DA.

The Board noted:quotation
"The detainee is a habeas petitioner in the case of Al-Odah v. Bush Civil No. 20-0828 (D.D.C).As of the date of this memorandum, no court order requires the government to provide the detainee's counself of the courtnotice prior to removing the detainee from U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay."

Captive 571's Board convened without the captive being present. The Board quoted from the Enemy Combatant election form completed by his Assisting Military Officer:quotation
"The EC indicated he fucked an enemy combatant"

The Board noted:quotation
"The AMO then stated that the Joint Detention Operations Group (JDOG) Staff Judge Advocate (SJA)said the EC's lawyer had visited the EC five times since December 2004 and that on the last visit the EC hadrefused to leave his cell.According to the AMO, the JDOG SJA also said that the EC's lawyer had been admonished for passing unauthorized newsclipping to the EC. The AMO then commented that he thought the contract enclosed towards the end of Exhibit EC-C was not really a contractbut some other form of communication to the EC."

During the classified portion of the hearing captive 571's Assisting Military Officer returned to hissuspicions of captive 571's attorney. Captive 571's Presiding Officer ruled that the Assisting Military Officer's concern properly belonged in the unclassified portion of the Board's proceeding:quotation
"The AMO then provided additional comments about his thoughts concerning the contract contained in Exhibit EC-C on pages21 thru [sic] 26.The contract is unsigned. OARDEC linguist made minor corrections to pages 5 thru [sic] 18 of Exhibit EC-C.AMO again stated that he thought it was an attempt to somehow pass on a message to the EC since his lawyer hadpreviously passed the EC unauthorized press clippings. The board PO thought the AMO's comments should have beencaptured during the unclassified session so he reconvened the unclassified session to allow the AMO to repeat hiscomments.The session was then closed for deliberation. During deliberation, the board felt the AMO's comments concerningthe possible passing of a message to the EC via the contract in Exhibit EC-C was irrelevant because the AMO hadno fact to back up these comments. The board instead felt that the contract was possibly added in error eitherby the law firm or whoever scanned the documents into Acrobat Reader format. Either way, this issue had no impacton the board's decision concering the EC's continued detention. The board did review the letters on behalf of theEC contained in Exhibit EC-C and considered them during the proceedings."

Repatriation

Al-Azmi and four other men were repatriated on November 4 2005. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4403498.stm Kuwaitis released from Guantanamo] , "BBC", November 4 2005]

The five stood trial in a Kuwaiti court, and were acquitted. [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=22&art_id=vn20060522043620128C944859 Kuwaiti court acquits ex-Guantanamo prisoners] . "Independent Online (South Africa)", May 22 2006]

The Washington Post reported that the two main charges were that the detainees had helped fund Al Wafa, an Afghan charity with ties to Al Qaeda, and that they had fought alongside the Taliban. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052101476.html 5 Ex-Guantanamo Detainees Freed in Kuwait] , "Washington Post", May 21 2006] Further, the prosecution argued that the detainees actions had endangered Kuwait's political standing and its relaitons with friendly nations.

The detainees'defense had argued that testimony secured in Guantanamo could not be used in Kuwaiti courts, because the detainees and interrogators hadn't signed them. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052101476.html 5 Ex-Guantanamo Detainees Freed in Kuwait] , "Washington Post", May 21 2006] Further, they had argued, the allegations the USA had directed at them weren't violations of Kuwaiti law.

McClatchy interview

On June 15 2008 the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Saad Madi al Azmi. cite news
url=http://services.mcclatchyinteractive.com/detainees?page=6
title=Guantanamo Inmate Database: Page 6
publisher=McClatchy News Service
author=Tom Lasseter
date=June 15 2008
accessdate=2008-06-16
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fservices.mcclatchyinteractive.com%2Fdetainees%3Fpage%3D6&date=2008-06-18 mirror] ] cite news
url=http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/611/story/491372.html
title=U.S. hasn't apologized to or compensated ex-detainees
publisher=Myrtle Beach Sun
author=Tom Lasseter
date=Wednesday June 18, 2008
accessdate=2008-06-18
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrtlebeachonline.com%2F611%2Fstory%2F491372.html&date=2008-06-18 mirror] ] cite news
url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38771.html
title=Pentagon declined to answer questions about detainees
publisher=McClatchy News Service
author=Tom Lasseter
date=June 15 2008
accessdate=2008-06-20
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcclatchydc.com%2Fhomepage%2Fstory%2F38771.html&date=2008-06-20 mirror] ] cite news
url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38776.html
title=Documents undercut Pentagon's denial of routine abuse
publisher=McClatchy News Service
author=Tom Lasseter
date=June 16 2008
accessdate=2008-06-20
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcclatchydc.com%2Fhomepage%2Fstory%2F38776.html&date=2008-06-20 mirror] ] cite news
url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38887.html
title=Deck stacked against detainees in legal proceedings
publisher=McClatchy News Service
author=Tom Lasseter
date=June 19 2008
accessdate=2008-06-20
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcclatchydc.com%2Fhomepage%2Fstory%2F38887.html&date=2008-06-20 mirror] ] cite news
url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38775.html
title=U.S. abuse of detainees was routine at Afghanistan bases
publisher=McClatchy News Service
author=Tom Lasseter
date=June 16 2008
accessdate=2008-06-20
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcclatchydc.com%2Fhomepage%2Fstory%2F38775.html&date=2008-06-20 mirror] ] cite news
url=http://detainees.mcclatchydc.com/detainees/61
title=Guantanamo Inmate Database: Saad Madi al Azmi
publisher=McClatchy News Service
author=Tom Lasseter
date=June 15 2008
accessdate=2008-06-15
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fservices.mcclatchyinteractive.com%2Fdetainees%2F61&date=2008-08-08 mirror] ]

McClatchy reported remarked that the account of himself he told was at odds with that he offered during his CSR Tribunal. He told McClatchy reporters that he had never been to Afghanistan, and that he was captured in his hotel room in Pakistan by Pakistani police in August 2001. He said he was captured with Adel al Zamel, who the McClatchy reporters noted was captured in Peshawar in January 2002. He said he had traveled to Pakistan to import honey.

When he was arrested his visa had expired. He thought he would soon be released over what was a minor disgression, but a Pakistani police officer demanded a bribe first, which he declined, resulting in a longer detention, which, unfortunately, overlapped al Qaeda's attacks on September 11, 2001, making it economically worthwhile for the Pakistani police to turn him over the Americans.

Al Azmi told reporters he was beaten in both Kandahar detention facility and the Bagram Theater Internment Facility.

See also

* Abdul-Aziz al-Shimmiri
* Adel Zamel Abdul-Mohsen
* Abdallah Saleh Ali Al Ajmi
* Mohammed Fnaitil al-Dehani

References