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Abdul Al Salam Al Hilal is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] Al Hilal Guantanamo Internment Serial Number is 1463. The Department of Defense lists his place of birth as unknown and his date of birth as January 30, 1968.

As of today Abdul al Salam al Hilal has been confined at the Guantanamo camps for 19 years, 5 months, and 28 days. He arrived there on September 20, 2004.[2][3][4]

CIA detention[]

Al-Hila was captured, in Cairo, on September 19, 2002, while on a business trip.[5] John Sifton, of Human Rights Watch, says that Al-Hila disappeared, for eighteen months, before surfacing in American detention in the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.[6] According to medical records published on March 16, 2007, his "in process date" at Guantanamo was September 20, 2004.[7]

Since his arrival in Guantanamo Bay he is one of the approximately 200 detainees who has had a writ of habeas corpus filed on his behalf. In recently declassified discussions with his lawyer Al-Hila says that after his capture he was sent to Baku Azerbajan for two months, and then spent 16 months in secret bases in Afghanistan, including "the dark prison".[8]

Combatant Status Review[]

Main article: Combatant Status Review Tribunal

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his tribunal. The memo accused him of the following:[9][10][11]

a The detainee is a member of al Qaida.
  1. The detainee is a member of al Qaida.
  2. The detainee assisted member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad through facilitation of movement out of Yemen and by obtaining them passports.
  3. The Egyptian Islamic Jihad is a terrorist organization associated with al Qaida.
  4. The detainee assisted members of the Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya,
  5. The Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya is a designated foreign terrorist organization associated with al Qaida.
  6. The detainee provided false passports to associates of Usama Bin Laden.
  7. The detainee is associated with a convicted terrorist and visited him in prison.
  8. The detainee has had meetings with representatives of al Haramayn.
  9. The detainee arranged the release of imprisoned al Qaida members.
b The detainee supported military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.
  1. The detainee’s brother was extremely close to those who conducted the terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole.
  2. The detainee possessed detailed knowledge of a planned terrorist attack on a U.S. embassy.
  3. The detainee possessed detailed knowledge of a terrorist attack against a western oil company.


Transcript[]

Al Hilal chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[9] On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published an eight page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[12]

Administrative Review Board hearing[]

File:Administrative Review Board hearing room.jpg

Hearing room where Guantanamo captive's annual Administrative Review Board hearings convened for captives whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal had already determined they were an "enemy combatant".[13]

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.

Second annual Administrative Review Board[]

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdul Al Hella's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 24 August 2006.[14] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention:

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee said he was selected to join the Yemeni Political Security Organization in the mid nineties.
  2. The detainee said he participated in a Yemeni government deportation operation from approximately 1995 to 1999.
  3. The detainee said that he traveled to Germany three times each year since 1996, to procure passports. On each trip the detainee received new and used Portuguese passports.
  4. The detainee said he was forced to use the cover of deportation to facilitate the transfer of Yemeni extremists to Pakistan and Afghanistan. These deportees were to deploy with al Qaida networks to received training and to prepare for onward assignments.
  5. According to a foreign government service, the detainee was responsible for confiscation of Libyan and Algerian student's passports. These passports were give to people whom the Yemeni Political Security wanted to send to Europe from Yemen.
  6. Yemeni security authorities arrested a known terrorist facilitator for counterfeiting documents and passports for the Mujahedin in Yemen. The detainee arranged to cancel the deportation of the known terrorist facilitator living in Yemen who was arrested. The detainee also provided the terrorist facilitator a forged Iraqi passport.
  7. The detainee said the Yemeni government assigned him to track key members of Aden Abyan Islamic Army and befriend these individuals.
  8. The Aden Abyan Islamic Army, emerged publicly in mid-1998 when the group released a series of communications that expressed support for Usama bin Laden and appealed for the overthrow of the Yemeni Government and operations against United States and other Western interests in Yemen.
b. Connections/Associations
  1. According to a foreign government service, the detainee met with the director of the Non-governmental organization al Haramayn in Zeneca, Bosnia sometime during 3 to 13 July 1999.
  2. The al Haramayn Foundation is under sanction by United States Executive Order 13224 blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit or support terrorism.
  3. The detainee said that he discussed a plan that an acquaintance had developed to attack the British and American Embassies.
  4. The detainee said that in April or May 2002, the detainee and the Deputy Chief of the Yemeni Political Service Organization, were paid by the prisoners' family members to release extremists held in Yemeni prisons.
  5. According to a Yemeni newspaper, the detainee persuaded an individual to confess the charges against the individual relating to the British Embassy Bombing on 13 October 2000 in Sanaa Yemen. The detainee assured the individual that he would not stay in prison more than six months. The individual said he succumbed because he was with the group and did not want to be branded a coward.
  6. The detainee traveled to Italy to participate in the activities of the annual Milan Islamic Cultural Institute summer camp conference.
  7. The Islamic Cultural Institute was shut down by Italian authorities for housing the Sami Essid Ben Khemais Network, which is the core for the Tunisian Combat Group in Italy.
  8. Sami Essid Ben Khemain is under sanction by United States Executive Orde 13224 blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit or support terrorism.
  9. The Tunisian Combatant Group, also known as the Jamaa Combattante Tunisienne, reportedly is seeking to establish and Islamic regime in Tunisia and targets United States and western interests. Tunisians associated with the Tunisian Combatant Group are part of the support network of the broader international Jihadist movement. According to European press reports, Tunisian Combatant Group members or affiliates in the past have engaged in trafficking falsified documents and recruiting for terror training camps in Afghanistan. Some Tunisian Combatant Group associates are suspected of planning an attack against the United States', Algerian, and Tunisian diplomatic missions in Rome in January 2001. Some members reportedly maintain ties to the Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.
  10. The detainee met with the alleged chief of the Egyptian Network, during the summer of 2000 when the Islamic Institute in Milan, Italy organized a camp for Islamic fundamentalists. Wire taps by Italian Police link the alleged Milan al Qaida cell to the 11 September 2001 massacres in the United States. During the wiretaps the detainee said: "Well, I am studying airplanes! If it is God's will, I hope to bring you a window or a piece of a plane next time I see you... We are focussing on the air alone... It is something terrifying, something that moves from south to north and from east to west: the man who devised the program is a lunatic, but he is a genius. It will leave them stunned... we can fight any force using candles and planes. They will not be able to halt us, not even with their heaviest weapons. We just have to strike at them, and hold our heads high. Remember, the danger at the airports. If it comes off, it will be reported in all the world's papers. The Americans have come into Europe to weaken us, but our target is now the sky."
c. Other Relevant Data
  1. A foreign government reported that the detainee was an al Qaida member who traveled to Afghanistan prior to November 2001.
  2. The detainee visited a Yemeni prisoner in July 1999 while in Bosnia.
  3. The detainee's brother is serving a six year prison term in Bosnia for involvement in a 1997 car bombing in Mostar, Bosnia.
  4. A source reported that the detainee's brother had been extremely close to the USS Cole bomber and the failed USS Sullivans bomber.


The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a. The detainee said that he did not work for the Yemeni Political Security Organization.
b. The detainee said that Italian newspaper article reporting he had foreknowledge of the 11 September 2001 attacks in August 2000 was false because the article stated he traveled to Italy using his diplomatic passport. The detainee said that he never traveled anywhere in Europe using his diplomatic passport.
c. The detainee said that he had no prior knowledge of the 11 September 2001 attacks and had no desire to participate in or plan any terrorist activity because one day he may be the victim.
d. The detainee said that he never participated in any terrorist action and had nothing but loathing for terrorism as a whole.
e. The detainee said that he never acted in any capacity as a travel facilitator for al Qaida or the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.


Habeas corpus petition[]

Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman Al Hela v. George W. Bush had a writ of habeas corpus filed on his behalf.[15][16] In September 2007 the Department of Justice published dossiers of unclassified documents arising from the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of 179 captives. His documents were not among those the Department of Defense published.

Military Commissions Act[]

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 mandated that Guantanamo captives were no longer entitled to access the US civil justice system, so all outstanding habeas corpus petitions were stayed.[17]

Boumediene v. Bush[]

On June 12, 2008 the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Boumediene v. Bush, that the Military Commissions Act could not remove the right for Guantanamo captives to access the US Federal Court system. And all previous Guantanamo captives' habeas petitions were eligible to be re-instated. The judges considering the captives' habeas petitions would be considering whether the evidence used to compile the allegations the men and boys were enemy combatants justified a classification of "enemy combatant".[18]

Main article: Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman Al Hela v. George W. Bush

Hunger strike[]

Al Hila is reported to be participating in a hunger strike that has led to a deterioration in his health.[19]

Children's death[]

"His mother died, his father died, his two sons died, and now his uncle has died. Do they want us to all be dead before they bring him back home again?

—Hila's sister, April 2010.[20]

On April 23, 2009, Yemeni newspapers reported two of the four children of Guantanamo captive "Abdul-Salam al-Hilam" were killed, in his home, by the explosion of a hand grenade.[21][22][23] The two boys were reported to be nine and eleven years old, and ten and eleven years old. They were reported to have died when playing with the grenade.

In 2008 camp authorities started to allow compliant captives to make an annual phone call home. The Yemen Post reports that Al Hila's sons died just two days after his call.[23]

Assassination fears[]

On August 1, 2009 the Saba News reported that in a phone call after his son's death he told his family that he fears he will be assassinated in Guantanamo.[24] He told his family not to believe accounts that he committed suicide if he should die in Guantanamo.

On May 17, 2010, Saba News reported Abdul's family had recently received a letter where he wrote he believed camp authorities had a new plan to assassinate him.[25]

See also[]

File:P vip.svg Biography portal

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. JTF-GTMO (2007-03-16). "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba". Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/measurements/. Retrieved 2008-12-22.  mirror
  3. "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version)". Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, from DoD data. Archived from the original on 2009-12-21. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhumanrights.ucdavis.edu%2Fresources%2Flibrary%2Fdocuments-and-reports%2Fgtmo_heightsweights.pdf&date=2009-12-21. 
  4. Guantanamo Docket: Abdul al Salam al Hilal [1] 2008-11
  5. Al-Hila: Another 'ghost prisoner' rendered, Al Jazeera
  6. Cairo to Kabul to Guantanamo, Human Rights Watch
  7. Heights, weights, and in-processing dates [2] JTF-GTMO 2006-03-16
  8. U.S. Operated Secret 'Dark Prison' in Kabul, Reuters, December 19, 2005
  9. 9.0 9.1 Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdul Al Salam Al Hilal's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 19-26 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "CsrtAlHilal" defined multiple times with different content
  10. OARDEC (9 November 2004). "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Hilah, Abd Al Salam". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 20–21. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_4818-4946.pdf#20. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  11. OARDEC (9 November 2004). "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Al Hilah, Abd Al Salam". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 71–72. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000700-000783.pdf#71. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  12. US releases Guantanamo files [3] April 4, 2006
  13. Review process unprecedented [4] Spc Timothy Book Friday March 10, 2006
  14. OARDEC (24 August 2006). "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Al Hella, Abdul". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 88–91. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_2_Factors_900-1009.pdf#88. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  15. OARDEC (August 8, 2007). "Index for CSRT Records Publicly Files in Guantanamo Detainee Cases". United States Department of Defense. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_publicly_filed_CSRT_records.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
  16. "Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman Al Hela v. George W. Bush". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 1–33. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_4818-4946.pdf#1. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  17. NOTICE OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS ACT OF 2006 [5] Peter D. Keisler, Douglas N. Letter 2006-10-16 mirror
  18. Lawyers debate 'enemy combatant' [6] Farah Stockman 2008-10-24 mirror
  19. Yemeni prisoners in Guantanamo refuse to be sent to any other country [7] 2009-04-01 mirror
  20. In Yemen, Anger Toward U.S. Grows Over Detainees [8] Kelly McEvers
  21. Hand grenade kills sons of Guantanamo detainee [9] 2009-04-23
  22. Two children of Yemeni detainee in Gitmo killed in house blast [10] 2009-04-23
  23. 23.0 23.1 Yemeni Gitmo Inmate's Sons Die as House Bomb Goes off [11] 2009-04-23
  24. Yemeni Gitmo detainee says faced assassination plots [12] 2009-08-01
  25. U.S. to try five Yemeni Gitmo detainees [13] 2010-05-17 mirror

External links[]


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