- Ramzi Binalshibh
Infobox WoT detainees
subject_name = Ramzi Binalshibh
image_size =
image_caption = | date_of_birth = Birth date|1972|05|01cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch5.htm |title=9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 5 |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |year=2004]
place_of_birth =Ghayl Bawazir ,Yemen
date_of_arrest =
place_of_arrest= | arresting_authority=
date_of_release = | place_of_release=
date_of_death = | place_of_death =
citizenship = | detained_at =CIA black sites , Guantanamo
id_number = 10013
group =
alias =
charge = Charged before a military commission, not yet convicted or acquitted
penalty =
status =
csrt_summary = [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/ISN10013.pdf#1 allegations]
csrt_transcript= [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/transcript_ISN10013.pdf#1 transcript]
occupation = | spouse = | parents = | children =Ramzi Binalshibh ( _ar. رمزي بن الشيبة of which Binalshibh is an erroneous latinization; also erroneous is the transliterated version of Ramzi bin al-Shibh, the correct approximation of the Arabic original is Ramzi bin ash-Shaiba. Several other ways are possible, but the Arabic final H is in fact a teh marboutah (as can be seen above); born
May 1 ,1972 [http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/moussaouiindictment.htm Indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui] , with supporting conspirators, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Filed in theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia .] ), is a citizen ofYemen and according to theUnited States ,Germany , and several other countries, a keyal-Qaeda member who helped in planning theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks . Binalshibh was the first to be publicly identified as the "20th hijacker ," of whom there were several individuals thought to have consecutively been tasked to fill out the single missing slot among the four terrorist teams.Background
Ramzi Binalshibh was born in 1972, in the Yemini province of
Hadhramaut .cite book |title=Perfect Soldiers |author=McDermott, Terry |publisher=Harper |year=2005 |pages=p. 39] At an early age, his family moved to a working class neighborhood in the capital,Sana'a .cite book |title=Perfect Soldiers |author=McDermott, Terry |publisher=Harper |year=2005 |pages=p. 41] In 1987, Ramzi's father died and he was then cared for by his older brother, Ahmed, and his mother. In 1987, while still in high school, Binalshibh worked part-time as a clerk for the International Bank of Yemen.cite book |title=Perfect Soldiers |author=McDermott, Terry |publisher=Harper |year=2005 |pages=p. 42] He continued working there until 1995.Binalshibh applied for U.S. visa in 1995, but his request was denied. He then went to
Germany where he requestedpolitical asylum , claiming that he was a political refugee fromSudan . He lived inHamburg until 1997 when the judge refused his asylum request. Binalshibh returned to theHadramaut region ofYemen , but a short while later Binalshibh received a German visa under his real name. While he was inGermany , Binalshibh used the name Ramzi Omar. In 1997, Binalshibh metMohamed Atta , the leader of theHamburg cell , at a mosque.cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2257456.stm |title=Ramzi Binalshibh: al-Qaeda suspect |publisher=BBC |date=September 14 ,2002 ] For two years, Atta and Binalshibh were roommates in Germany.Al Qaeda training
In late 1999, Binalshibh traveled to
Kandahar inAfghanistan , where he received training atAl Qaeda camps, and met others involved in planning theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks .Attempts to come to the United States
Original plans for the 9/11 attacks called for Binalshibh to be one of the hijacker pilots, along with three other members of the
Hamburg cell , includingMohamed Atta ,Marwan al-Shehhi , andZiad Jarrah . [cite book |title=Perfect Soldiers |author=McDermott, Terry |publisher=Harper |year=2005] From Hamburg, Binalshibh applied to take flight training in the United States. At that time, he also applied to Aviation Language Services, which provides language training for student pilots. [http://cryptome.org/usa-v-zm-030706-02.htm Zacarias Moussauoi v. the United States] , trial testimony onMarch 7 ,2006 .] Binalshibh applied for an entry visa to theUnited States , four times, and was refused each time. He made visa applications in Germany onMay 17 ,2000 , and again in June, onSeptember 16 , andOctober 25 ,2000 . According to the9/11 Commission , this refusal of a visa was out of general concern by U.S. officials that people from Yemen would illegally overstay their visit and seek work in the United States. His friend,Zakariyah Essabar , was also denied visas. After he failed to enter the United States, Binalshibh took on more of a "coordinator" role in the plot, and a link between Atta in the United States andKhalid Sheikh Mohammed in Afghanistan.cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s689774.htm |title=Al-Jazeera reporter speaks on terrorist plans |date=September 30 ,2002 |publisher=Lateline / ABC (Australia)] cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/09/60II/main524947.shtml |title=The Mastermind |date=March 5 ,2003 |publisher=CBS News]Connections to 9/11 attacks
aeed al-Ghamdi
According to
al-Jazeera reporterYosri Fouda 's documentary "Top Secret: The Road to September 11", three weeks prior to the attacksSaeed al-Ghamdi is believed to have used the name 'Abdul Rahman' to message Ramzi Binalshibh (who was posing as a girlfriend) online, where he messaged"The first semester commences in three weeks. Two high schools and two universities. ... This summer will surely be hot ...19 certificates for private education and four exams. Regards to the professor. Goodbye."
This was said to be a reference to two military targets and two civilian, 19 hijackers. [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html] ]Mohamed Atta
Similarly, Binalshibh later said that
Mohammed Atta had phoned him on the morning ofAugust 29 ."He said, "A friend of mine gave me a puzzle and I want you to help me out." I said to him, "Is this the time for puzzles, Mohammed?" He said, "Yes, I know, but no one else but you could help me." He said, "Two sticks, a dash and cake with a stick down. What is it?" I said, "Did you wake me up just to tell me this?" As it turns out, two sticks is the number 11. A dash is a dash. And cake with a stick down is the number nine. And that was
September 11 . [ [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0209/14/smn.09.html http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0209/14/smn.09.html] ]Ziad Jarrah
In August 2000,
Ziad Jarrah attempted to enroll Binalshibh in a Floridaflight school .Marwan al-Shehhi
Binalshibh sent money
wire transfer onSeptember 25 ,2000 toMarwan al-Shehhi in Florida.Zacarias Moussaoui
In August 2001, Binalshibh sent approximately $14,000 to
Zacarias Moussaoui , using the alias Ahad Sabet, [cite news |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/08/07/inv.moussaoui.stolen.id/index.html |title=Motion: 9/11 conspiracy suspect may have used ID of Arizona doctor |date=August 7 ,2002 |publisher=CNN] a few days after receiving transfer of $15,000 fromHashim Abdulrahman in theUnited Arab Emirates .20th hijacker?
Binalshibh was the first to be publicly identified as the "20th hijacker", of whom there were several individuals, including Essabar, who were thought to have consecutively been tasked to fill out the single missing slot among the four terrorist teams. The one spot was never filled, and consequently
United Flight 93 ended up short by one hijacker, which is believed to have led in part to the success of the passenger revolt, and which in turn resulted in the crash of the plane into the ground nearShanksville ,Pennsylvania .Travel
London
Ramzi Binalshibh traveled to
London for approximately a week in December 2000, from Hamburg.Videos
After
January 14 ,2002 Ramzi Binalshibh was found to be among five suspected al-Qaeda members delivering whatUnited States Attorney General John Ashcroft described as "martyrdom messages from suicide terrorists" on five discovered videos.NBC News said that the five videos had been recorded after theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.On
September 8 ,2006 , a video was released by al-Qaeda that shows Osama bin Laden and some of the 9/11 hijackers. The tape identifies Ramzi Binalshibh as the "coordinator of the 9/11 attacks" in its own English subtitles.cite news|title=Video shows Osama and killers |publisher=New York Daily News |date=09-08-06 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/450616p-379142c.html] The video goes on to show Binalshibh and other hijackers training in kickboxing as well as disarming and concealing weapons at a terrorist training camp in or near Kandahar, Afghanistan. [cite news|title=Al-Qa'ida releases film showing Bin Laden with the hijackers |publisher=Belfast Telegraph |date=09-08-06 |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=705570]FBI Most Wanted Terrorist List
On
January 17 ,2002 the FBI published the first Most Wanted Terrorists Seeking Information list (now known as the FBI's "Seeking Information - War on Terrorism" list), in order to profile the five wanted terrorists about whom very little was known, but who were suspected of plotting additional terrorist attacks in martyrdom operations. [ [http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/seekinfo/seek.htm Most Wanted Terrorists Seeking Information] ,January 17 ,2002 , (dead link)] (see current version displaying photos of five terrorists on the remaining martyrdom videos FBI list, as of June 2006) [ [http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/terseekinfomartyr.htm Martyrdom Messages/video, Seeking Information Alert] video clips published by the FBIJanuary 17 2002 , and photos of remaining 5 terrorists, FBI archival after September 2002]Ramzi Binalshibh was one of the four known names among the five. The other three are still featured in compiled video clips, in order of appearance, "Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan, Abd al-Rahim", and "Khalid Ibn Muhammad al-Juhani". [ [http://www.fbi.gov/mpg/persons.mpg FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism, Martyrdom Messages/video Seeking Information Alert] , VIDEO 2 minutes 11 seconds, mpg (29.1 mb)] [ [http://mfile.akamai.com/6066/rm/www.fbi.gov/mpg/persons.rm FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism, Martyrdom Messages/video Seeking Information Alert] , VIDEO 2 minutes 11 seconds, rm (229 kb - stream)] [ [http://www.fbi.gov/mpg/persons_asf.asf FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism, Martyrdom Messages/video Seeking Information Alert] , VIDEO 2 minutes 11 seconds, asf (371 kb - stream)] The fifth was identified a week later as "Abderraouf Jdey", alias: "Al-Rauf bin al-Habib bin Yousef al-Jiddi".
Ashcroft said the five videotapes, shown by the FBI without sound, had been recovered from the rubble of the home of
Mohammad Atef outside ofKabul, Afghanistan . Ashcroft called upon people worldwide to help "identify, locate and incapacitate terrorists who are suspected of planning additional attacks against innocent civilians." "These men could be anywhere in the world", he said. The sound was left out to guard against the possibility that the messages contained signals for other terrorists. Ashcroft added that an analysis of the audio suggested "the men may be trained and prepared to commit future suicide terrorist acts." Ashcroft said not much was known about any of them except Binalshibh.Other attacks
Ramzi Binalshibh is also suspected to be involved in the attack on 2000
USS Cole bombing , and the 2002Ghriba synagogue bombing in Tunisia.Capture and detention
Binalshibh was captured in
Pakistan onSeptember 11 ,2002 , after a gunbattle inKarachi . OnSeptember 14 ,2002 he was subsequently turned over to the United States, which transferred him to an undisclosed location forinterrogation . [cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/16/alqaeda.pakistan/ |title=Binalshibh to go to third country for questioning |publisher=CNN |date=September 17 ,2002 ] His profile was removed from the FBI Seeking Information wanted list byOctober 17 ,2002 . [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20021017112003/http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/terseekinfo.htm FBI Seeking Information archive] , Internet Archive Wayback Machine,October 17 ,2002 ]Binalshibh remained a prisoner of the U.S., at an undisclosed CIA led location, until September 2006. On
September 6 ,2006 U.S. President George Bush announced Binalshibh and other CIA held prisoners have been transferred toGuantanamo Bay, Cuba .Binalshibh is also wanted by German courts where he shared a
Hamburg apartment withMohammed Atta , the suspected ringleader of the September 11 hijackers. However, Germany has deferred a request forextradition pending resolution of Binalshibh's legal status by the United States.CSRT-No [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/transcript_ISN10013.pdf#1 Redacted transcript (.pdf)] , from
Ramzi Binalshibh 's "Combatant Status Review Tribunal " - pages 1-8,March 9 2007 ]The transcript for Guantanamo captive 10013 was eight pages long. It said that he choose not to attend to his Tribunal. The first two pages of the transcript were consumed with the Tribunal's officers swearing oaths, and the reading out of the Tribunal mandate and authority.
Personal Representative interviews with the captive
The Tribunal's President then called on the captive's Personal Representative to explain his efforts to explain the captive's right to be present at his Tribunal.
Allegations
The allegations prepared for the first 558 captives whose status was examined by Combatant Status Review Tribunals, between August 2004 and January 2005, were all broken into two sections — the allegations that established a connection to terrorism, and the allegations that established hostile activity. The allegations were always numbered, and were generally only one or two sentences in length.
The allegations that Ramzi Binalshib would have faced, during his Tribunal, were:
:"On the morning of 11 September 2001, four airliners traveling over the United States were hijacked. The flights hijacked were: American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77, and United Airlines Flight 93. At approximately 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of the tower at approximately 10:25 a.m. At approximately 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of the tower at approximately 9:55 a.m. At approximately 9:37., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the southwest side of the Pentagon in Arlington Virginia. At approximately 10:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Stoney Creek Township Pennsylvania. These crashed and subsequent damage to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon resulted in the deaths of 2972 persons in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
:"According to court transcripts and evidence from
United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui , the detainee was closely associated with three of the hijackers responsible for the "9/11" attacks,Mohammed Atta (Atta),Marwan Al-Shehhi (Al-Shehhi) andZiad Jarrah while they lived inHamburg ,Germany during the late 1990's and early 2000. The detainee, Atta and Al-Shehhi are know to have lived at or frequented on particular address during the same time period, 54 Marienstrasse 21073, Hamburg, Germany.:"Airline and immigration records indicate that from November 1999 through February 2000, the detainee, Mohammed Atta, Marwan Al-Shehhi and
Ziad Jarrah all traveled fromGermany toPakistan .:"Sayf al-Adl is a senior al Qaida military commander with a long-term relationship with
Usama bin Laden , Sayf al-Adl's role in the organization has been as a trainer, military leader, and key member of Usama bin Laden's security detail.:"The diary of Sayf al-Adl was recovered during a raid in Saudi Arabia in 2004. The diary details the detainee's involvement in the 11 September 2001 terrorist plot and subsequent attack. The detainee is listed as a "highly professional jihadist" along with "9/11 hijackers", Mohammed Atta dn Ziad Jarrah. The diary states that the three were briefed on an operation involving aircraft by Abu Hafs, a senior al Qaida planner. The detainee, Mohammed Atta, and Ziad Jarrah subsequently met with Usama bin Laden about the plan. Following the meeting, al Qaida began arrangements for the detainee, Mohammed Atta and Ziad Jarrah to receive pilot training. The detainee handled administrative details for the "9/11 hijackers" while they were in the United States and the detainee served as an al Qaida Europe based liaison.
:"The detainee was identified in a video tape of potential suicide operatives.
:"The detainee attempted to obtain a United States visa on four occasions from May 2000 to November 2000 for the purpose of attending flight school in the United States. Each application was rejected by "sic" United States Department of State.
:"The detainee attempted to enroll in the Florida Flight Training School, where 9/11 hijacker Ziad Jarrah was a student. The detainee put down a 2,350 United States dollars "sic" deposit for flight training.
:"Ziad Jarrah repeatedly attempted to assist the detainee's travel to the United States and enrollment in the Florida flight training center.
:"The detainee attempted to enroll at the "sic" Florida-based aviation language school.
:"The detainee, while in Germany, wired 9/11 hijacker Marwan Al-Shehi, who was in the United States 2708.33 "sic" United States dollars "sic" on
13 June 2000 viamoneygram .:"The detainee, while in Germany, wired 9/11 hijacker Marwan Al-Shehhi, who was in the United States) "sic" 1760.61 "sic" United States dollars on
26 July 2000 viaWestern Union .:"The detainee, while in Germany, wired 9/11 hijacker Marwan Al-Shehhi who was in the United States) "sic" 4,118.13 "sic" United States dollars on
25 September 2000 via Western Union.:"In June 2002, the detainee was personally interviewed by
Yosri Fouda , an investigative journalist forAl-Jazeera television. The interview took place over the course of 48 hours in Karachi, Pakistan. Also present at the meeting wasKhalid Sheikh Mohammed , a senior al Qaida planner. Fouda conducted the interview in person with both the detainee and KSM. The detainee and KSM detailed how the 9/11 attacks were planned and executed during the course of the interview. KSM identified the detainee as the coordinator of the 9/11 attacks. The detainee displayed items he claimed were "souvenirs" of the 9/11 attacks. The items included: an air navigation map of the American eastern seaboard, flight simulator CD-Roms and Boeing manuals and a flight instruction book the detainee claimed had 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta's handwritten notes. The detainee stated Mohamed Atta left them in the Hamburg, Germany, apartment he shared with the detainee. The detainee stated that he later met with Atta in July, 2001 in Madrid, Spain, to finalize the operational details of the 9/11 plot. The detainee stated he received a phone coll on29 August 2001 from Atta that gave the date fro the 9/11 attacks. After learning this, the detainee ordered active al Qaida cells in Europe and elsewhere to evacuate and then he fled to Pakistan.:"An unsigned letter found at the detainee's point of capture, and addressed to the detainee, asks follow on questions related to the detainee's Al-Jazeera interview detailing the 9/11 attacks.
:"An article from the London "Sunday Times" published on
8 September 2002 listed excerpts from a 112 page document entitled "The Reality of the New Crusaders' War". The detainee passed the document to Al-Jazeera Yosri Fouda with a request for the document to be translated into English and entered into the Library of Congress. According to the London "Sunday Times" the document is al Qaida's written attempt to justify the 9/11 attacks through Islamic teaching.:"The London "Sunday Times" article published on
8 September 2002 listed excerpts from "The Realisty of the New Crusaders' War" which contained statements from Taliban leader MullahMohamed Omar and Usama bin Laden which encourages jihad in service of the ousted Taliban regime.:"The detainee was captured in a safe house. Items also recovered at the safe house at the time of the detainee's capture were high explosives, sheet explosives, a large quantity of improvised detonation devices, passports for Usama bin Laden's family members, a handwritten note to a senior al Qaida operative, identification cards for a senior al Qaida operative, identification cards for Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Haznawi, a 9/11 hijacker, and contact information for several known al Qaida operatives.
:"Documents captured in a raid of a separate al Qaida safe house were identical to documents captured alnong with the detainee. The documents included training manuals, security information and combat related subjects.
:"Letters and personal effect of a senior al Qaida operative were discovered in the safe house where the detainee was arrested.
:"Letters found at the detainee's point of capture detailed a plan to egress Pakistan with forged identification. This plan was in conjunction with a senior al Qaida operative.
:"A letter captured on an al Qaida courier detailed a senior al Qaida operative's instructions to the detainee to identify operatives to send to the United States or United Kingdom.
:"The detainee wired approximately 15,000 United States dollars to Zacharias Moussaoui while Moussaoui was enrolled in pilot training."
Habeas petition
On
June 12 2008 theUnited States Supreme Court ruled, inBoumediene v. Bush , that theMilitary Commissions Act could not remove the right forGuantanamo captives to access the US Federal Court system.
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