Salam Abdullah Said

Salam Abdullah Said is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba. [http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", May 15 2006] Said's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 126.The US Department of Defense reports that Said was born on February 13 1981, in Tabokh, Saudi Arabia.

Identity

Captive 126 was named inconsistently on official Department of Defense documents:
*Captive 126 was named Salim Abdallah Said Bayahsh on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 22 September 2004, and on five official lists released in September 2007.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000101-000200.pdf#37
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Bayahsh, Salim Abdallah Said
date=26 September 2004
author=OARDEC
pages=page 37
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-03] 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]
*Captive 126 was named Salam Abdullah Said on the Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his first annual Administrative Review Board, on 16 September 2005, and on official lists released on April 20 2006 and May 15 2006. [http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/detainee_list.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", April 20 2006] cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000099-000196.pdf#51
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Said, Salam Abdullah
date=16 September 2005
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 51-52
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-03]
*Captive 126 was named Salim Abdallah Said Al Bayahsh Al Shihri on the Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his second annual Administrative Review Board, on 23 May 2006.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_2_Factors_200-298.pdf#1
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Shihri, Salim Abdallah Said Al Bayahsh
date=23 May 2006
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 1-2
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-03]

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 a 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.

ummary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Muhammad Hussein Ali Hassan'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal, on 28 September 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000101-000200.pdf#36
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Hassan, Muhammad Hussein Ali
date=28 September 2004
author=OARDEC
pages=page 36
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-03] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

:""'a. Associations:#"The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan via Pakistan in August 2001 to join the Jihad and fight with the Taliban.:#"The detainee received 10 days of weapons training while in Kandahar.

:""'b. The detainee participated in military operations against the coalition.:#"The detainee joined the Taliban on the front line following training.:#"The detainee was given a Kalashnikov when the front lines withdrew to Konduz.:#"The detainee surrendered between Konduz and Mazar-e-Sharif sic.:#"The detainee was sent to the Al-Janki prison sic in Mazar-e-Sharif sic, where he was present for the prison uprisings.

Transcript

Said chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. [http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/Set_41_2665-2727.pdf Summarized transcripts (.pdf)] , from Salam Abdullah Said's "Combatant Status Review Tribunal" - pages 48-53]

Response to the allegations

*In response to the allegation that he traveled to Afghanistan to participate in jihad captive 126 replied::quotation|"I did not say I went there (Afghanistan) for the Jihad or to fight with the Taliban. I. went for the fatwa from the clergy to promote and search for things. I didn't hear of fatwa I read of fatwa calling for people going there to help people."
*Captive 126 denied ever telling any interrogators that he received weapons training.
*Captive 126 denied serving on the front lines or participating in hostilities.
*Captive 126 acknowledged fleeing with other individuals, and acknowledged receiving an AK-47 during his flight. He said it was necessary to protect himself from robbers.
*Captive 126 said he returned the AK-47 when he arrived safely in Konduz. He said he was arrested with regular people, and he was unarmed when he was captured.
*Captive 126 acknowledged being present at the Al-Janki prison during the prison riot, but said he did not participate.

Response to Tribunal questions

*Captive 126 stated that he had never been a member of any armed forces.
*Captive 126 stated he traveled on his Saudi Arabia passport, and paid his own travel expenses.
*Captive 126 stated he had many brothers, but none of them had traveled to Afghanistan.
*When captive 126 was asked what kind of help the fatwa had recommened, he replied::quotation|"Helping people because they were in need of help. I'm prepared to explain it further if you are prepared to listen. It's a lot of words. During the Afghan Jihad, everyone was helping the Jihad at that time. Even America was helping the Jihad. So after a while, there's fighting between the people there. So the picture to us was tainted and the reputation was not good. And after a while, there was fighting in Afghanistan and then the fighting started to slow down and people were united for one government. We had the sheiks and normal people started saying to us that there are people there who need your help and you should go help them. The situation was now better than it was before. So these are the reasons that caused me to go over there."

alam Abdallah Said v. George W. Bush

A writ of habeas corpus was submitted on Salam Abdallah Said's behalf.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_815-893.pdf#38
pages=pages 38-55
title=Salim Abdallah Said v. George W. Bush
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=May 24 2006
accessdate=2007-12-03] The Department of Defense released seventeen pages of unclassified documents arising from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal on May 24 2006.

Administrative Review Board hearings

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.

First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Salam Abdullah Said's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 16 September 2005.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000099-000196.pdf#51
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Said, Salam Abdullah
date=16 September 2005
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 51-52
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-03] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

econd annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Salim Abdallah Said Al Bayahsh Al Shihri's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 23 May 2006.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_2_Factors_200-298.pdf#1
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Shihri, Salim Abdallah Said Al Bayahsh
date=23 May 2006
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 1-2
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-03] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

Repatriation

Salam Abdullah Said has been repatriated.

eizure of privileged lawyer-client documents

On June 10 2006 the Department of Defense reported that three captives died in custody.The Department of Defense stated the three men committed suicide.Camp authorities called the deaths "an act of assymetric warfare", and suspected plans had been coordinated by the captive's attorneys -- so they seized all the captives' documents, including the captives' copies of their habeas documents.cite web
url=http://www.pegc.us/archive/OK_v_Bush/govt_resp_to_GK_20060815.pdf
title=Respondents' response to Court's August 7, 2006 order
date=August 15 2006
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-06-23 [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pegc.us%2Farchive%2FOK_v_Bush%2Fgovt_resp_to_GK_20060815.pdf&date=2008-08-18 mirror] ] Since the habeas documents were privileged lawyer-client communication the Department of Justice was compelled to file documents about the document seizures.

Military Commissions Act

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 mandated that Guantanamo captives were no longer entitled to access the US civil justice system, so all outstanding habeas corpus petitions were stayed.

Boumediene v. Bush

On June 12] 2008 the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Boumediene v. Bush, that the Military Commissions Act could not remove the right for Guantanamo captives to access the US Federal Court system. And all previous Guantanamo captives' habeas petitions were eligible to be re-instated.

On July 18, 2008 David W. DeBruin filed a renewal for the habeas corpus of two of the five captives in Said v. Bush. The petition stated that "Salim Said" and two other captives had been repatriated.cite web
url=http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2008mc00442/131990/139/0.pdf
title=Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation: Doc 139 -- Civil Action No. 05-CV-2384 (RWR) STATUS REPORT REGARDING SAID V. BUSH
publisher=United States Department of Justice
author=
date=2008-07-18
accessdate=2008-08-18
quote= ]

References