Adel Hassan Hamad

Infobox WoT detainees
subject_name = Adel Hassan Hamad

---

image_size =
image_caption =
date_of_birth = Birth year and age|1958
place_of_birth = Port Sudan, Sudan
date_of_arrest = July 18, 2002
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
detained_at = Guantanamo
id_number = 940
group =
alias =
charge = no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
penalty =
status = repatriated
csrt_summary =
csrt_transcript=
occupation = Hospital administrator
spouse =
parents =
children =

Adel Hassan Hamad is a citizen of Sudan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 940.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate he was born in 1958, in Port Sudan, Sudan.

Identity

Captive 940 was identified inconsistently on official Department of Defense documents:
*Captive 940 was identified as Adel Hassan Hamed on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his [Combatant Status Review Tribunal on November 19 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000600-000699.pdf#68
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Hamed, Adel Hassan
publisher=United States Department of Defense
author=OARDEC
date=19 November 2004
pages=page 69
accessdate=2007-10-09]
*Captive 940 was identified as Hassan Adel Hussein on the official list released on April 20 2006.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/detainee_list.pdf
title=List of detainee who went through complete CSRT process
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=April 20 2006
accessdate=2007-09-29] This spelling was used on several official lists released in 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_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_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_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 940 was listed as Adel Hassan on the official list released on May 15 2006.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf
title=List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=May 15 2006
accessdate=2007-09-29]
* Captive 940 told his Tribunal's President his name was Adel Hassan Hamad.

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 Presidency 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 Presidency's definition of an enemy combatant.

ummary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Adel Hassan Hamed'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal, on
19 November 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000600-000699.pdf#69
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal - Hamed, Adel Hassan
date=19 November 2004
author=OARDEC
pages=page 69
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-02-26] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

:

Transcript

Guantanamo captive 940 chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing. [http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/ARB_Transcript_Set_9_21017-21351.pdf#244 Summarized transcript (.pdf)] , from Adel Hassan Hamad's "Administrative Review Board hearing" - page 244-260]

Responses to the factors

* Captive 940 confirmed that he had joined the Muslim Brotherhood when he was a student, during the early 1980s. He confirmed he joined when all his friends joined. He stated that the Muslim Brotherhood had no program of violence when he was a member -- that their program then was a peaceful one, emphasizing participating in the electoral process.
* Captive 940 contirmed he left the Muslim Brotherhood decades ago, because he was concerned the group was starting to attract fanatics.
* Captive 940 confirmed he worked for the Hira Institute up until 1996. He said: "...I am proud of that because my students have now graduated from universities like medical school and others.
* Captive 940 confirmed that the Hira Institute was run by the Lajnat Al-Da'wa al Islamia. quotation|LDI is a Kuwaiti organization that falls under the Kuwait Association for Reform, which is registered with the Ministry of Social Awareness, and it is a quasi-governmental organization that represents humanitarian charity work and has projects in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is also registered in Pakistan under the Commission for Refugee Affairs. We also got VISAs to Pakistan through this commission.
* Captive 940 denied that the LDI had any association with Osama bin Laden, or with terrorism.
* Captive 940 denied working in public relations.
* Captive 940 acknowledged being laid off by the LDI -- he attributed this to budget cutback which were an after effect of the first Gulf War's impact on Kuwait. He confirmed he was then hired to be an administrator for a hospital run by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY). He denied any knowledge of WAMY having ever providing any ideological support for terrorism or aggression.
* Captive 940 confirmed that, after al Qaeda's attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001, the Taliban warned foreign non-governmental organizations like the WAMY that it "...would not be able to provide them with protection when the war started and that it would be best for everyone to leave Afghanistan."
* Captive 940 denied any knowledge of a September 23, 2001 "brotherhood letter", and he denied any knowledge of the Muslim Brotherhood Information Center the factor claimed published it.
*Captive 940 denied that his home contained any identity documents beyond the legitimate documents that belonged to him. He denied the allegation that he possessed his downstairs neighbor's refugee card.
*Captive 940 said the description of the Muslim Brotherhood as a violent group was at odds with his own experience of it. He repeated that when he was involved with the group it was committed to political change through the electoral process. He said that, to the best of his knowledge, other groups in Egypt were violent, like Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
*Captive 940 denied ever meeting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, or that he had any personal relationship with him. He acknowledged seeing him from a distance.
*Captive 940 responded to the factor that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's older brother Zahid Al Sheikh was the director of the Jelazee Refugee Camp and LDI -- stating that Zahid Al Sheikh was a former manager of the LDI, but had not been the manager of the camp.
*Captive 940 responded to the allegation that Zahid Al Sheikh had been identified as an extremist by saying: "...that their relationship was purely an administrative one, but I do not think he is an extremist."
*Captive 940 confirmed he was familiar with the Shamshatu Refugee Camp. He said everyone who worked in the charity sector was familiar with it because of all the homeless refugees displaced by the Afghan-Russian war. He confirmed he did distribute food there twice.
*Captive 940 denied knowing Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, or that Gulbuddin Hekmatyar knew him.
*Captive 940 confirmed he took a vacation to Sudan in June 2002. He cited his return from his vacation as proof of his innocence. quotation|Yes, I traveled to Sudan in June 2002 during a vacation from work that lasted for one month and I left my wife and daughters in Sudan for the sake of education. I returned to resume my work at the hospital in Afghanistan after calling the manager and hearing his eagerness for me to return and that is proof that I am innocent. If I had anything to do with terrorism, or if I had done anything wrong, I would not have returned from my country to Pakistan, and if I was helping the Taliban or if I had any relationship with the al Qaida organization, I would not have agreed ot return to my job at the hospital inside Afghanistan in Karzai's government. That confirms that we do humanitarian relief work that has nothing to do with governments and politics. Our goal is to help the poor of mankind and the people who have been harmed by wars and famines and natural disasters.
*Captive 940 confirmed that he had said that Osama bin Laden and his organization action were in contradiction to the teachings of Islam.
*Captive 940 confirmed that he did not know of any connection between the World Assemby of Muslim Youth and al Qaeda.
*Captive 940 confirmed that he did like what al Qaeda stood for.
*Captive 940 confirmed that he did not know any members of al Qaida.

Enemy Combatant election form

When Tribunal transcripts record the Assisting Military Officer reporting on the contents of his Enemy Combatant election form it almost always was read before the factors for and against continued detention were reported on first. However, Captive 940's transcript records the reading the form after the reading of the factors.

Captive 940 Assisting Military Officer said they met on August 1 2005 for 155 minutes, and on August 3, 2005 for 100 minutes. The Assisting Military Officer described Captive 940 as polite throughout both interviews.

Opening Statement

The captive's opening statement usually preceded the dialogue over the factors. But Captive 940's transcript records that he was only invited to give his opening statement following the dialogue over the factors.

The transcript records captive 940 making two opening statments.quotation
I implore your board to take my case into consideration, for I have beenpunished in prison for three years without committing a crime and I have lost my noble job through which I earned a living. I have been taken away from my wife and my family and I do not know what their is until now. I have lost my young daughter (Shifaa), who died of disease because of my separation from her and my family's inability to provide her with medicine in my absence. I have suffered psychologically from imprisonment as well as health-wise. I ask our (sic) Excellencies to unbind my chains and return me to my job, to live with my family and to earn a legal earning, and to live far away from politics. I will not affiliate with any party or political or jihadist organization. I promise you that. I will not assist any organization in any terrorist acts against theUnited States of America or its allies. Finally, I give to you all respect.

During his second opening statement captive 940 described his capture on July 17 2002, the night after his first day back at work following his vacation.

quotation
When I returned and resumed my job in the first day I returned home and after dinner I went to sleep. At 1:30 AM a few men burst in on me armed [with weapons] they came in and raided the house. I woke up scared and disturbed as if I was in a nightmare. I asked them, "What do you want?" I couldn't believemyself. They told me, "Don't talk!" They put chains on my hands and they asked me, "Where is your passport?" I had it in my shirt pocket and I told them, "It's in my shirt pocket." So they took it. When they saw the passport, they saw that I had an extended VISA for two years. The Pakistanis told them to ask the American man, who was with them, "Should we take this man? He lives here officially." He said, "Yes, take him." They asked him another time; he said to them, "Yes, take him."

Captive said he was held in a Pakistani jail, for approximately six months, where his body weight dropped from 90 kilograms to 60 kilograms.

Captive 940 then described spending approximately two months in the Bagram Theater detention facility. Captive 940's detention in Bagram would have been shortly after two captives were beaten to death. Captive 940 described being abused in Bagram.

*He said he was beaten.

*He said he was humiliated by being stripped naked, and then mocked.

*He said he was made to stand for three days, without sleeping -- part of the treatment the GIs at Bagram meted out to the two captives they beat to death.

*He said that dogs were allowed to bite his clothes.

The instructions for every OARDEC officers was that they had to record every allegation of abuse captives offered, for later inquiry. Some of the transcript where captives reports abuse contain a record of the officers telling the captive that they were making note of the abuse, for a later inquiry. But captive 940's transcript does not record any note being made of his reports.

Response to Board questioning

*Captive 940 reported that he joined the Muslim Brotherhood when he was in hgh school.
*Captive 940 confirmed that he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood when Anwar Sadat was assassinated. He said he knew nothing about the assassination and expressed skepticism that the Muslim Brotherhood was involved.
*Captive 940 confirmed that he had worked under Zahid Al Sheikh, recently after he was hired by LDI, and Zahid Al Sheikh was still one of the directors of LDI. Zahid Al Sheikh was then the General Manager, while he was then just a teacher.:

Lawsuit

On May 14 2008 the "Daily Times of Pakistan reported that "Salim Mahmud Adam" and "Adel Hasan Hamad" had announced plans to sue the USA over their detention.cite news
url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C05%5C14%5Cstory_14-5-2008_pg7_31
title=Two ex-Guantanamo detainees to sue US
publisher=Daily Times (Pakistan)
author=Akhtar Amin
date= May 14, 2008
accessdate=2008-05-13
quote=In 2004, Hamad and Adam said they appeared before a Combatant Status Review Tribunal that cleared them of charges of being enemy combatants. However, it was not until September 2007 that a military court finally cleared them of charges of posing a threat to the United States.] The article reports that he told the Daily Times that his 2004 Combatant Status Review Tribunal had cleared him of the allegation that he was an "enemy combatant".

References

External links

* [http://projecthamad.org projecthamad.org -The story of Adel Hamad with an emphasis on the Habeas Corpus]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=D5E3w7ME6Fs Guantanamo Unclassified - Hamad's Lawyer's video featuring interviews with Adel Hamad's co-workers (youtube)]