Ohmed Ahmed Mahamoud Al Shurfa

Ohmed Ahmed Mahamoud Al Shurfa
Born	1975 (age 35–36)
Citizenship	Saudi Arabia
Detained at	Guantanamo
ISN	331
Status	Released to Germany in September 2010

Ohmed Ahmed Mahamoud Al Shurfa (born December 26, 1975) is best known for the years he spent in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba after being classified as an enemy combatant by the United States.^[1] Al Shurfa's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 331. The Department of Defense reports that Al Shurfa was born on December 26, 1975, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

According to German media, he is scheduled^[when?] to be released to Germany. The German government has prepared for psychological help and is in negotiation about the transfer condition. They demand that he will not be chained on his flight to Germany like Murat Kurnaz.^[2]

Al Shurfa and Syrian Mahmoud Salim al-Ali were released to Germany on September 16, 2010. Upon his arrival, al Shurfa was sent immediately to the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf for days-long physical and psychological examination because of fears that his long detention at the Guantanamo camps could have damaged his health.^[3][4]

Combatant Status Review

Main article: Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Al Shurfa was among the 60% of prisoners who chose to participate in tribunal hearings.^[5] A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for the tribunal of each detainee. Al Shurfa's memo accused him of the following:^[6]

a. The detainee is a member of Al-Qaida.

1. Prior to his arrival in Afghanistan, the detainee admits being influenced by a known terrorist organization and actively sought to join the jihad.
2. Around July 2001, the detainee arrived in Kandahar and stayed at a known Al-Qaida guesthouse.
3. The detainee received AK-47 training while at a known Al-Qaida run training camp.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the coalition.

1. The detainee was located at the Al-Qaeda training camp when 9/11 occurred, at which time he evacuated to Tora Bora.
2. The detainee was apprehended fleeing into Pakistan from Tora Bora by the Pakistani border guard.

testimony

Administrative Review Board

Detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal labeled them "enemy combatants" were scheduled for annual Administrative Review Board hearings. These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee may pose if released or transferred, and whether there are other factors that warrant his continued detention.^[7]

Al Shurfa chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[8]

Transfer to Germany

Al Shurfa and another man were transferred to Germany in September 2010.^[3][4][9] Al Shurfa was transferred to Hamburg.

According to Der Spiegel Germany's Federal Government had sought the agreement of local authorities prior to completing the transfer.^[4] According to Der Spiegel German officials asserted that American officials had cleared the two men of suspicion of involvement with terrorism. German officials conducted interviews with the two men, in Guantanamo, in March, to confirm their suitability for transfer to Germany. German officials contacted security officials in other European countries, to confirm they had no reason to suspect the men had ties to terrorism.

References

1. ^ OARDEC (2006-05-15). "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006". United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
2. ^ http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,705743,00.html
3. ^ ^{a b} Carol Rosenberg (2010-09-16). "Camps census now 174: Germany takes in two Arab captives from Guantánamo". Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/16/1827559/germany-takes-in-2-guantanamo.html. Retrieved 2010-09-19. "The Pentagon reduced its Guantánamo prison camps census to 174 foreign captives on Thursday, announcing that it had sent two Arabs to resettlement in Germany."  mirror
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Two Former Inmates Arrive in Germany". Der Spiegel. 2010-09-16. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,717911,00.html. Retrieved 2010-09-19. "A spokesman for the Hamburg government confirmed that Ahmed Mohammed al-Shurfa, a stateless man of Palestinian descent born in Saudi Arabia, had arrived in the northern German port city."  mirror
5. ^ OARDEC, Index to Transcripts of Detainee Testimony and Documents Submitted by Detainees at Combatant Status Review Tribunals Held at Guantanamo Between July 2004 and March 2005, September 4, 2007
6. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Ohmed Ahmed Mahamoud Al Shurfa's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 79-82
7. ^ "Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials". March 6, 2007. http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3902. Retrieved November 12, 2010. 
8. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Ohmed Ahmed Mahamoud Al Shurfa's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 67
9. ^ "Deutschland hat zwei Personen aus Guantanamo aufgenommen". Germany. 2010-09-16. http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2010/09/16/10/germantransfer.source.prod_affiliate.56.pdf. Retrieved 2010-09-19.  mirror

External links

• Ayman al Shurafa
• Locked Up Alone
• Germany takes in two Arab captives from Guantánamo
• Who Are the Two Guantánamo Prisoners Freed in Germany? Andy Worthington, September 21, 2010

Persondata
Name	Al Shurfa, Ahmed Mohammed
Alternative names
Short description	Guantanamo detainees known to have been released
Date of birth	1975-12-26
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death