Hani Abdul Muslih al Shulan

Infobox WoT detainees
subject_name = Abdelaziz Kareem Salim al-Noofayee

---

image_size =
image_caption =
date_of_birth = Birth year and age|1979
place_of_birth = Ibb, Yemen
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
detained_at = Guantanamo
id_number = 225
group =
alias =
charge = no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
penalty =
status = Cleared for release on September 17 2005.
occupation = student, chef's assistant
spouse =
parents =
children =
csrt_transcript= Wikisource-inline|Hani Abdul Muslih al Shulan Summarized Detainee Statement|Transcript
csrt_summary = Wikisource-inline|Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Shulan, Hani Abdul Muslih 10 June 2005|10 June 2005

Hani Abdual Muslih Al Shulan is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. [http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", May 15 2006] [http://www.fox23news.com/news/world/story.aspx?content_id=9EA1DA13-67B5-4C4B-9029-5DB9A66FF675 Details of some hearings involving Guantanamo detainees] , "Fox News", March 6 2006] Al Shulan's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 225.American intelligence analysts estimate that Al Shulan was born in 1979, in Ibb, Yemen.

Al Shulan is notable because one of the justifications for his continued detention was that he was captured wearing a Casio F91W digital watch. [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14026256.htm Details of some Guantanamo hearings] , "San Jose Mercury", March 6 2006]

Press reports

Al Shulan was also accused of being present at Tora Bora, during the American bombardment. [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14026256.htm Details of some Guantanamo hearings] , "San Jose Mercury", March 6 2006]

Al Shulan said he was just a student, who found work as a chef's assistant north of Kabul. [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14026256.htm Details of some Guantanamo hearings] , "San Jose Mercury", March 6 2006]

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 2007
accessdate=2007-09-22] ]

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 a competent tribunal 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.

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Hani Abdul Muslih Al Shulan'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal, on
08 October 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000201-000299.pdf#45
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Shulan, Hani Abdul Muslih
date=08 October 2004
pages=pages 45-46
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-05-05] The memo listed the following allegations against him:Hani Abdul Muslih Al Shulan

:"'a. Detainee supported the Taliban.:#The detainee arrived in Afghanistan in approximately July 2001, from Yemen via Pakistan.:#The detainee resided in Taliban safe houses during his travel to and within Afghanistan.:#The detainee traveled to Afghanistan in response to a [fatwa] for the purpose of fighting coalition forces.:#The detainee had in his possession at capture a Casio watch, model # A159W, which has been used in bombings linked to al Qaida.:#The detainee was proficient with a Kalashnikov sic rife sic.

:"'b. The detainee engaged in hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners.:#The detainee was armed with an AK-47 rifle.:#The detainee was present in the Tora Bora region during the U.S. air campaign.:#The detainee was captured in Pakistan neat the Afghanistan border by Pakistani forces.

Transcript

Al Shulan chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/Set_31_2145-2265.pdf#20
title=Summarized Statement
date=date redacted
pages=pages 20-27
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-05-05] On March 3 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published an eight page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.cite news
url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/US-releases-Guantanamo-files/2006/04/04/1143916500334.html
title=US releases Guantanamo files
publisher=The Age
date=April 4, 2006
accessdate=2008-03-15
quote=]

Al Shulan's testimony in response to the allegations against him:

* Al Shulan acknowledged traveling to Afghanistan via Pakistan, but he could no longer recall whether he arrived in July 2001.
* Al Shulan denied stating that he traveled to Afghanistan in response to a fatwa.
*Al Shulan acknowledged owning a Casio watch, but he couldn't recall the model number.
*Al Shulan acknowledged proficiency with the Kalashnikov, but he pointed out that proficiency with a Kalashnikov was extremely common in Afghanistan, because it was so dangerous there.
*Al Shulan acknowledged having an AK-47, but stated: "...it's not for any enemy activities or to fire at the coalition."
*Al Shulan denied staying in Tora Bora.
*Al Shulan denied that he was captured. He said turned himself over to the Pakistani authorities.

Al Shulan's response to questions from the Tribunal's officers:

*Al Shulan said he traveled to Afghanistan in search of employment.
*Al Shulan said his father paid his travel expenses.
*Al Shulan stated he had never had any kind of military training.
*Al Shulan was asked if he saw any members of the Taliban or al Qaida in the houses he stayed in in Afghanistan. In response he said he did not hear about al Qaida until he was put in jail.
*Al Shulan acknowledged that when he fled Afghanistan he did not travel alone, and that he and some of his traveling companions were armed.
*Al Shulan said he did not know whether he could find work in Afghanistan, but it was an easy country to travel to, because it wasn't necessary to get a visa.
*Al Shulan said a man named Saleh Al Raeni, who he met at a mosque called Al Forkan, helped him find his way to Afghanistan.
*Al Shulan declined to answer whether he "believed in jihad", because that issue wasn't touched upon in his unclassified summary of evidence.
*Al Shulan failed to find work in Quetta, Pakistan, Kandahar, Afghanistan, Kabul Afghanistan. But he did find work as a cook's assistant in a small place outside of Kabul.
*Al Shulan said he wanted to leave Afghanistan following the attacks on 9-11 because he didn't want to get involved.
*Al Shulan acknowledged passing through Tora Bora during his exit from Afghanistan.
*Al Shulan stated that he thought he turned himself in to authorities in Pakistan on August 1st sic.

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.cite news
url=http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/storyarchive/2007/07octstories/102907-2-oardec.html
title=OARDEC provides recommendations to Deputy Secretary of Defense
publisher=JTF Guantanamo Public Affairs
author=Army Sgt. Sarah Stannard
date=October 29 2007
accessdate=2008-03-26
quote=] 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.

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Hani Abdul Muslih Al Shulan'sfirst annualAdministrative Review Board, on
10 June 2005.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000197-000294.pdf#67
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Shulan, Hani Abdul Muslih
date=10 June 2005
pages=pages 67-69
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-05-05] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

The following primary factors favor continued detention:

:"'a. Commitment:#The detainee traveled to Afghanistan in response to a fatwa for the purpose of fighting coalition forces.:#The detainee arrived in Afghanistan in approximately July 2001 from Yemen via Pakistan.:#The detainee spent two months at a Taliban camp. The detainee stated that his job was to prepare food that was later transported to soldiers fighting on the front lines.:#The detainee was present in the Tora Bora region during the U.S. air campaign.:#The detainee was armed with an AK-47 rifle.

:"'b. Training::The detainee denied receiving any military training while in Kabul. According to the detainee, Taliban officials asked him if he wished ot undergo firearms training. The detainee declined because he already considered himself proficient with a Kalashnikov sic rifle.

:"'c. Connections/Associations:#The detainee's travel to Afghanistan was facilitated by a Yemeni national known to have recruited Yemeni men to fight the Jihad against the Russians in Chechnya.:#The detainee resided in Taliban safehouses during his travel to and within Afghanistan.

:"'d. Other Relevant Data:#The detainee had in his possession at capture a Casio watch, model # A159W, which has been used in bombings linked to al Qaida.:#The detainee was captured in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border by Pakistani forces.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer:

:

Transcript

The Department of Defense did not publish the transcript from the unclassified session from his Board hearing.The Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 225 stated that he did not attend his hearing, but that he had met with his Assisting Military Officer for a pre-hearing interview, and that: "The AMO verbally summarized the Detainee's comments during the interview."

The memo recorded that:quotation
"The Board queried the
DMO on details surrounding the EC's capture, and the AMO concerning the EC's behavior and willingness to cooperate during notification."

The Department of Defense has not explained why the transcript from his hearing was withheld.

Board recommendations

In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Decision_memos_000196-000275.pdf#11
title=Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 225
date=17 September 2005
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-05-05
pages=page 11] cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Decision_memos_000196-000275.pdf#12
title=Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 225
date=20 June 2005
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-05-05
pages=pages 12-16] The Board's recommendation was unanimousThe Board's recommendation was redacted.England authorized his transfer on 17 September 2005.

His Board concluded that he "...continues to be a threat."

An unredacted paragraph in the memos stated:quotation
The "Copies of Documented Evidence" package was reviewed for information from agencies known to perform original intelligence collection (interviews) directly from the EC (CITF, FBI, and others). FOr this reason, and the fact that other documents generally appear to have derived their information from them, the Board primarily cites those original intelligence collection documents. However, the Board carefully considered all provided documents, and cites those that provide differing or additional information as well.

References