Mustafa al-Shamyri

Mustafa Abdul Qawi Abdul Aziz Al Shamyri is a citizen of Yemen held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. The Department of Defense reports that he was born on July 7, 1978, in Sana'a, Yemen and assigned him the Internment Serial Number 434.

As of September 15, 2010, Mustafa Abdul Qawi Abdul Aziz al Shamyri has been held at Guantanamo for eight years three months.

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 Tribunal. 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.

Allegations

To comply with a Freedom of Information Act request, during the winter and spring of 2005, the Department of Defense released 507 memoranda. Those 507 memoranda each contained the allegations against a single detainee, prepared for their Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The detainee's name and ID numbers were redacted from all but one of the memoranda. However 169 of the memoranda had the detainee's ID hand-written on the top right hand of the first page corner. When the Department of Defense complied with a court order, and released official lists of the detainee's names and ID numbers it was possible to identify who those 169 were written about. Mustafa Abdul Qawi Abdul Aziz Al Shamyri was one of those 169 detainees.

a. The detainee is a member of al Qaida:

1. The detainee traveled from Yemen to Afghanistan via Pakistan in January 2001, following a fatwa.
2. While in the front lines near Konduz, Afghanistan, the detainee attended a lecture given by Usama Bin Laden.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the coalition:

1. The detainee served approximately six months in the front lines at Omar Saif Center.
2. The detainee served approximately six months in the front lines in the vicinity of Kunduz, Afghanistan.
3. The detainee retreated with his unit from Konduz to Mazar-e-Sharif, where coalition forces captured him approximately 26 November 2001.

Testimony

There is no record that Al Shamyri chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

Administrative Review Board

Detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal labeled them "enemy combatants" were scheduled for annual Administrative Review Board hearings. These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee may pose if released or transferred, and whether there are other factors that warrant his continued detention.

The factors for and against continuing to detain Al Shamyri were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3, 2006.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment

1. In January 2001, the detainee decided to travel from Yemen to Afghanistan during Ramadan, following the fatwa of Sheik Hamoud Al Ukla Aqula. He flew from San'aa, Yemen to Karachi, Pakistan after buying a plane ticket with his own money and money from Salam Al Hadrami.
2. Sheik Hamoud al Uqqula is a Saudi Mufti who issued fatwas and encouraged people to fight Jihad against Christians and Jews. Al Uqqula condoned the 11 September 2001 attacks against the United States. In addition, he helped raise money for Usama Bin Laden until his death in Saudi Arabia in 2001.
3. While in the frontlines near Konduz, Afghanistan, the detainee attended a lecture given by Usama Bin Laden.
4. The detainee retreated with his unit from Konduz to Mazari Sharif, where coalition forces captured him approximately 26 November 2001.

b. Training

1. A detained al Qaida official identified the detainee as a Yemeni national who participated in the Bosnian Jihad and received specialized training in Kabul, Afghanistan. Furthermore, he stated the detainee was a frequent visitor of an al Qaida guesthouse in Kabul.
2. The detainee received ten days of small arms training at a volunteer camp near Shabour, Yemen. Training was performed on the AK-47, DSHK-38, RPG's and the PK machine gun.

c. Connections/Associations

1. When the detainee arrived in Kandahar he was received by Abdul Salam al Hadrani, his facilitator from Yemen.
2. Abdul Salam al Hadrani was identified as a Yemeni al-Qaida Member, who was believed to be in Afghanistan as of 15 December 2001.
3. The detainee fully admits he was supposed to attend training at al Farouk Camp, but training was not mandated because al Hadrani vouched for detainee's previous training.

d. Intent

1. The detainee served approximately six months in the frontlines at Omar Saif Center.
2. The detainee served approximately six months in the frontlines in the vicinity of Konduz, Afghanistan.
3. The detainee stated that, killing in the name of Jihad is acceptable and that his friends had killed more people than he had.

e. Other Relevant Data

The detainee was part of the Taliban surrender at Konduz, Afghanistan and subsequently was taken to Mazari Sharif for detention but did not witness the uprising.

f. Detainee Conduct

The detainee assaulted the guards by throwing food on the guard force. The detainee was cited for harassing guards, inciting disturbances and several hostile acts.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

The detainee denied having any knowledge of the attacks in the U.S. prior to their execution on September 11, and also denied knowledge of any rumors or plans of future attacks on the U.S. or U.S. interests. The detainee was queried regarding any knowledge or planning of internal uprisings at the Guantanamo detention facility, with negative results.

External links

• Who Are the Remaining Prisoners in Guantánamo? Part Two: Captured in Afghanistan (2001) Andy Worthington, September 17, 2010

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