Aziz Abdul Naji

Infobox WoT detainees
subject_name = Aziz Abdul Naji

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date_of_birth = Birth date and age|1975|05|04
place_of_birth = Batna, Algeria
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citizenship = Algeria
detained_at = Guantanamo
id_number = 744
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charge = No charge, held in extrajudicial detention
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Aziz Abdul Naji is an Algerian citizen held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba.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
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2006-05-15
quote=] Naji's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 744. American intelligence analysts report that Naji was born on May 4 1975, in Batna, Algeria.

Captive 744 is accused of wanting to fight in Chechnya, and deciding to travel to the disputed territory of Kashmir to fight with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. He lost a leg to a land mine while traveling to Kashmir, and never fought in Kashmir. He is not accused of fighting in Afghanistan, traveling to Afghanistan, or of ever planning to travel to Afghanistan.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

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. However, the Supreme Court eventually ruled these tribunals unconstitutional in "Hamdan v. Rumsfeld".

ummary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdul Azia'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal on 6 August 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000500-000599.pdf#97
pages=pages 97-98
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal --
publisher=United States Department of Defense
author=OARDEC
date=2004-09-06
accessdate=2008-09-26
quote= ] The memo listed the following allegations::

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 Naji were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3 2006. [http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/ARB_Factors_Set_1_944-1045.pdf#71 Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf)] of Aziz Abdul Naji "Administrative Review Board" - page 71]

"Factors favoring continued detention

:""'a. Commitment:#"The detainee traveled from Algeria, to Saudi Arabia, and then to Pakistan to fight the Jihad.:#"While in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the detainee confided in one individual his desire to fight a Jihad.:#"His priority was to fight in Chechnya but learned that the borders were well guarded; instead he decided to volunteer to fight the Jihad in Kashmir.

:""'b. Training:#"The detainee received light weapons training to include the Kalishnikov (rifle) and determining training at a Lashgar-E-Taiba (LET) training camp.

:""'c. Connection:#"The detainee advised he was a member of Lashgar-E-Taiba (LET) for a total of one year and seven months.:#"The Lashgar-E-Taiba is the al Qaida affiliated armed wing of a Sunni anti-US missionary organization, which operates primarily in Kashmir but also facilities the movement of senior al Qaida members.:#"The Lashgar-E-Taiba supported the detainee while he recovered from wounds sustained trying to enter Kashmir.

:""'d. Intent:#"The detainee said, '"that America and Cuba are 'No Good' and that shooting Americans is good. He then raised his arms and pretended to shoot the MPs working the block."

"Factors favoring release or transfer

:*"The detainee stated that he is not a terrorist. He stated that he fought terrorists in 1995. The detainee stated that the interviewers could contact the Algerian Government and they would verify his story.:*"The detainee stated that he would take a polygraph. Prior to becoming a detainee, the detainee stated that he had never met or fought an American. The only Americans that he ever saw were in the movies.:*"The detainee denied ever being in Afghanistan. He stated before he was arrested he never thought about the United States. He stated now he has no words to describe how he feels. He related if he wanted to fight the United States he would go back to Algeria and fight the Americans there. He went on to say that with his disability, it would be impossible for him to actually fight. He did say that he would only fight against those who fight against Islam, using Russia and Indonesia as an example. He did make the comment that it seems the United States is fighting against Islam and not terrorism.

References