Mashur Abdallah Muqbil Ahmed Al Sabri: Difference between revisions

Mashur Abdallah Muqbil Ahmed Al Sabri is a citizen of Yemen held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number is 324. American intelligence analysts estimated he was born in 1978, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

As of December 3, 2009, Mashur Abdallah Muqbil Ahmed al Sabri has been held at Guantanamo for seven years seven 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 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.

Allegations

During the winter and spring of 2005 the Department of Defense complied with a Freedom of Information Act request, and released five files that contained 507 memoranda which each summarized the allegations against a single detainee. These memos, entitled "Summary of Evidence" were prepared for the detainee's Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The detainee's names and ID numbers were redacted from all but one of these memos, when they were first released in 2005. But some of them contain notations in pen. 169 of the memos bear a hand-written notation specifying the detainee's ID number. One of the memos had a notation specifying Al Sabri's detainee ID. The allegations he would have faced, during his Tribunal, were:

a. The detainee is associated with the Taliban or al Qaida:

1. The detainee, ########## ########### traveled by plane to Quetta, Pakistan where he contacted the Taliban for assistance in traveling to Afghanistan.
2. The detainee met with an al Qaida recruiter in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
3. The detainee traveled to Jalalabad, Afghanistan and stayed for one year and purchased a Russian Makrof pistol and traveled to the frontlines near Kabul.
4. The detainee's roommate was a suicide bomber responsible for the USS Cole bombing.
5. The detainee fled Jalalabad in order to avoid the United States bombing campaign and later turned himself in to Pakistan forces.

A four page [[Summary of Evidence (ARB)|Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his first annual Administrative Review Board in 2005.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment The detainee was influenced by a fatwa issued by Hammoud al Agla of Quaseem, Saudi Arabia and Sheik Abdulla al Jibreen. The fatwa was encouraging men to go to Afghanistan to assist the Taliban. In the summer of 2000, the detainee decided to travel to Afghanistan. b. Training The detainee's uncle taught him to fire an AK-47 and a pistol c. Connections/Associations The detainee lived with Hassan al Khamari in Yemen. Hassan al Khamari was one of the bombers killed in the USS Cole attack. An acquaintance suggested the detainee go to Afghanistan. The acquaintance fought with the Taliban for two years and was a member of the Jamaat al Tablighi [sic]. The acquaintance helped the detainee get to Afghanistan by providing contacts, a plan and a route. In Karachi, the detainee went to the "Taliban House." The detainee stayed in the Habi Habbash guesthouse in Kandahar for fourteen to fifteen days before departing for Kabul, Afghanistan. During the two days the detainee was in Kabul, Afghanistan, he stayed in an al Qaida safe house run by an al Qaida member. The detainee eventually arrived in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where he lived with a man who was recommended to him by the acquaintance who suggested he go to Afghanistan. The detainee stayed at the guesthouse owned by a man who had been a Taliban fighter and who had been in charge of a defensive fighting line outside Bagram. The detainee was reported to be at the Bin Laden compound and living in the al Qaida guesthouse in Kandahar. The detainee was reported to be living in the Al Ansar guesthouse in Kandahar. The detainee was said to work for Usama Bin Laden. The detainee was observed doing administrative and organizational duties, signing in new recruits and facilitating their moves to the front lines. The detainee was observed wearing a traditional Afghan uniform. The detainee was believed to be a member of at Qaida because he was following Usama Bin Laden' s orders to keep the Kandahar guesthouse up and running. The detainee was said to facilitate the transfer of weapons and other supplies to the frontlines. The detainee was believed to have transferred approximately $20,000 in United States currency to the Kandahar airport around September 2001. The detainee was believed to have sworn bayat to Usama Bin Laden because he and the people around him knew Usama Bin Laden's travel dates and routes. The detainee was reported to be involved in the transport of large sums of money around Afghanistan. He was reportedly on his way to deliver money to Usama bin Laden, but was unable because the war had started. The detainee was reported to return from Tora Bora to the Hajji Habbash guesthouse with Usama Bin Laden. The detainee's name is included in a list of Arabic names, aliases and nationalities recovered from safe house raids associated with suspected al Qaida in Karachi, Pakistan. The detainee' s name is included in a list of individuals from whom money was taken from their safety deposit boxes and added to the budget outlined in a document obtained from an alleged al Qaida residence in Karachi, Pakistan. The detainee was reported to have worked at the Hajji Habbash guesthouse. The detainee was reported to be working at the Nibras guesthouse around May 2001. The detainee was said to help new arrivals (fighters) travel from the Hajji Habbash guesthouse to the airport or to Kabul, Afghanistan and facilitate local travel by helping find a cab. The detainee was reported to assist fighters at the Nibras guesthouse by making reservations for auto or air transportation and identifying weapons and weapons dealers for those interested in purchasing them. The detainee was observed at the Nibras house, carrying messages and moving people around town. The detainee was said to have his own room at the Nibras guesthouse and reportedly was able to travel anywhere without papers. d. Detainee Actions and Statements The detainee began traveling to Bagram to assist Taliban fighters in their efforts against Northern Alliance fighters. The detainee spent a week on the fighting line. The detainee was observed in Tora Bora around September 2001 wearing a commonly issued military vest and carrying an AK-47. When asked about the USS Cole, the detainee initially made a statement to the effect of "what about it" and attempted to rationalize that the individuals involved did nothing wrong.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a.	The detainee stated he would like to get married when he leaves Guantanamo Bay. He stated he is willing to go back to Yemen or any other country upon release.
b.	The detainee denied receiving terrorist training or attending a terrorist training camp.
c.	The detainee denied any involvement or connection with al Qaida or terrorist . activities.
d.	When asked why he went to fight in Afghanistan, the detainee stated that he did not fight anyone in Afghanistan. He went to Afghanistan to see what it was all about. He had heard a lot about the purely Islamic government there, and the safety of Afghanistan.
e.	The detainee stated he did not know who the Northern Alliance was, and did not care to know. He swore that he did not know them and has heard of them since he has been in prison.
f.	The detainee stated he went to Afghanistan to find a wife and denied going to escape any involvement with the planning of the attack on the USS Cole.
g.	With regard to the USS Cole, the detainee stated that he was not involved in that attack or any other terrorist attack.
h.	The detainee stated he was shocked when he heard the news regarding Hassan al Khamari's involvement in the USS Cole bombing. The detainee stated be thought it was wrong for al Khamari to bomb the USS Cole.
i.	The detainee stated he did not know anybody involved in terrorist activities against the United States.
j.	The detainee was approached about joining al Qaida but he refused the offer because he does not believe in jihad.