Difference between revisions of "Khalid Rashid Ali Al-Mari"

Revision as of 07:58, 24 January 2011

Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri is a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 505. The Department of Defense reports he was born on September 9, 1975, in Khafji Saudi Arabia.

Identity

Al Muri's name is spelled differently on two official lists:

• His name was spelled Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri on the list the Department of Defense released on May 15, 2006.^[1]
• His name was spelled Khalid Rashid Ali Al-Mari on the Saudi press release that announced his repatriation on May 19, 2006.^[2]

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to Guantanamo captives. But they also asserted that the detainees could not be tried in civilian courts. This cynical manipulation of the legal system has counterparts in other Bush administration usurpation of standing traditions for its own gain.^[3] The captives were kept in an artificially created legal limbo with this Catch-22 for quite some time.

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. The Supreme Court cut straight through the bullshit, getting to the heart of the matter, that detainees were being held without due process and habeas corpus. It did not matter whether they were POWs, or civilians charged with crimes, they had to be represented in a court of law, given legal representation, and see the evidence against them.^[4] (Even Fox News picked up the story about the Supreme Court ruling, hoping, no doubt, that Americans would hate the detainees' freedoms)^[5] Law may ultimately be an Inner Circle magic show making state power appear out of thin air, but at least it is internally consistent.

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

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 30 September 2004.^[6] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is a member of al Qaida:

1. The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan via the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan in August 2001.
2. The detainee received military training at an al Qaida camp near Kabul, Afghanistan in August and September 2001.
3. The detainee's name was found on a list of "Trust Accounts" found in raids conducted on al Qaida safe houses in Pakistan.
4. One of the detainee's known aliases was on a list of captured al Qaida members that was discovered on a computer hard drive associated with a senior al Qaida member.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.

1. Individual manned a fighting position in the Tora Bora mountain region from mid-November through mid-December 2001.
2. The detainee surrendered to coalition forces near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

Transcript

There is no record that Al Muri chose to participate in his Tribunal.

Template:ARB

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri's Administrative Review Board, on 24 May 2005.^[7] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment

1. The detainee expressed his desire to fulfill his religious obligation by going to Afghanistan and fight in the Jihad.
2. The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan via the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan in August 2001.
3. Individual manned a fighting position in the Tora Bora mountain region form mid-November through mid-December 2001.

b. Training

1. The detainee said he went to Afghanistan to teach the Koran and to simultaneously fulfill his religious obligation to obtain military training.
2. The detainee received military training at an al Qaida camp near Kabul, Afghanistan in August and September 2001.
3. The camp trained volunteers to fight the Jihad in Chechnya and elsewhere, and provided instruction on basic infantry weapons, crew-served weapons and tactics.

c. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee's name was found on a list of "Trust Accounts" found in raids conducted on al Qaida safe houses in Pakistan.
2. One of the detainee's known aliases was on a list of captured al Qaida members that was discovered on a computer hard drive associated with a senior al Qaida member.

d. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee surrendered to coalition forces near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
2. The detainee surrendered with $2400 in US currency in his possession.
3. The detainee traveled to Bosnia and claims to have worked with an unknown charitable organization teaching the Koran in the summer of 1995.
4. The detainee said it is noble to participate in Jihad to protect one's country.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a.	The detainee denied having any knowledge of the attacks on the U.S. prior to their execution on September 11, and also denied knowledge of any rumors or pland of future attacks on the United States or United States interests.
b.	The detainee agreed to advise interviewing agents if he should learn of planned violence or escape at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
c.	The detainee claims to know no al Qaida members.
d.	The detainee claims to have never met Usama Bin Laden (UBL) or to have met anyone else who claimed to have met UBL.
e.	The detainee admitted it was his greatest mistake to travel to Afghanistan.
f.	The detainee said he did not travel to Afghanistan to participate in Jihad.
g.	The detainee said the United States presence in Saudi Arabia protects his country form Iraq.
h.	The detainee said he intends to find employment as a teacher and marry upon his return to Saudi Arabia.

Transcript

Al Muri's Board convened on 17 May 2005.^[8] A two page transcript summarizing the unclassified session of Al Muri's Board was released. His Assisting Military Officer told his Board that he did not choose to attend. He also said that Al Muri had prepared a statement. Al Muri's statement was not read into the transcript. Nor was it released with his transcript.

Board recommendations

In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.^[9][10] His Board's recommendation was unanimous, but the heavy redactions make it impossible to know what recommendations was made.

His Board considered intelligence assessments from the FBI, the CIA, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs.

Repatriation

Al Muri was repatriated to Saudi Arabia on May 19, 2006 with 14 other men.^[2][11]

References