Moath Hamza Ahmed al Alawi

Muaz Hamza Ahmad Al Alawi is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] His detainee ID number is 028. Guantanamo analysts estimated he was born in 1977, in Bajor, Yemen.

Moath Hamza Ahmed al Alawi
Muazhamza al-Alawi's Guantanamo identity portrait, showing him wearing the white uniform issued to "compliant" individuals
Arrested2001
Pakistani border
Pakistani officials
CitizenshipYemen
Alternate name
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Al Alawi
  • Muazhamza al-Alawi
  • Muaz al Alawi
ISN28
Charge(s)extrajudicial detention
Statusa "forever prisoner"

Al-Alawi arrived at Guantanamo on January 17, 2002, and has been held at Guantanamo for 18 years, 6 months and 18 days.[2]

In January 2010, the Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended he should be classed as a "forever prisoner", one who has not committed a crime but is too dangerous to release. In his 2015 Periodic Review Board hearing, intelligence analysts no longer alleged that he was one of Osama bin Laden's bodyguards, now claiming that he "had spent time" with some of those bodyguards.

Al-Alawi's petitions for release have been rejected by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Al-Alawi is a long-term Guantanamo hunger striker, who has described his force-feeding as "an endless horror story."[3] In March 2015, he weighed just 98 pounds.

Detention

In the week after the September 11 attacks, Congress enacted the Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001, which empowered the President to wage war against those "he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks."[4] In November 2001, President George W. Bush issued the Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism military order, which authorized the detention of al-Qaeda members and supporters of the Taliban.[4] Al-Alwi was captured in Pakistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in January 2002.[5]

Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants
Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 3x5 meter trailer where the captive sat with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.[6][7]

In Rasul v. Bush (2004), the Supreme Court of the United States found that Guantanamo detainees were entitled to being informed of the allegations justifying their detention, and were entitled to try to refute them. Following the Supreme Court's ruling, the Department of Defense set up the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants.[8]

Scholars at the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, listed the captives still held in Guantanamo in December 2008, according to whether their detention was justified by certain common allegations:[9]

  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... are associated with both Al Qaeda and the Taliban."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... traveled to Afghanistan for jihad."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges that the following detainees stayed in Al Qaeda, Taliban or other guest- or safehouses."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... took military or terrorist training in Afghanistan."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... fought for the Taliban."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... were at Tora Bora."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives whose "names or aliases were found on material seized in raids on Al Qaeda safehouses and facilities."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges that the following detainees were captured under circumstances that strongly suggest belligerency."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... served on Osama Bin Laden's security detail."[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the captives who was an "al Qaeda operative".[9]
  • Muaz Hamza Ahmad Alawi was listed as one of the "82 detainees made no statement to CSRT or ARB tribunals or made statements that do not bear materially on the military's allegations against them."[9]

Habeas corpus petitions

Al-Alwi first petitioned the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for a writ of habeas corpus in 2005, arguing he was not an enemy combatant.[4] The court did not consider the petition until after the Supreme Court of the United States in Boumediene v. Bush (2008) determined that Guantanamo prisoners had a constitutional right to bring such petitions.[4] On December 30, 2008, District Court Judge Richard J. Leon denied Al Alawi's petition.[10]

In a separate ruling, the court also found that Hisham Sliti, "were part of or supported the Taliban", and thus could continue to be held in US custody.[11][12][13] The New York Times called the two rulings: "the first clear-cut victories for the Bush administration", while Andy Worthington noted they represented a "disturbing development".[14] Glaberson reported that Leon stated he did not have to take a position on the Bush administration's claim Al Alawi was an Osama bin Laden bodyguard, that there was enough evidence he had supported the Taliban to confirm his designation as an "enemy combatant".[11]

In July 2011, a unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed, in an opinion by Circuit Judge Merrick Garland which concluded Al Alwi was in fact an enemy combatant lawfully detained under the 2001 AMUF.[15][16]

In December 2014, President Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.[4] Al-Alwi then filed a new petition for habeas corpus, arguing that the government's authority to detain him “unraveled” when President Obama declared an end to hostilities.[4] In February 2017, District Judge Leon again denied Al Alwi's petition, finding that hostilities were nevertheless ongoing.[4][17]

In August 2018, a unanimous panel of the D.C. Circuit again affirmed, in an opinion by Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson.[4][18] She reasoned that the 2001 AUMF had not expired, that the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 had further authorized detentions, and that the international law of war permitted detention of enemy combatants as long as "active combat" continued.[4]

al-Alwi then petitioned for a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court.[5] In June 2019, the Court denied that petition, with Justice Stephen Breyer including a statement arguing that the Court should at some point consider the constitutionality of continued detentions in a later "appropriate case".[5][19]

Formerly secret Joint Task Force Guantanamo assessment

On April 25, 2011, whistleblower organization WikiLeaks published formerly secret assessments drafted by Joint Task Force Guantanamo analysts.[20][21] A thirteen-page Joint Task Force Guantanamo detainee assessment was drafted for him on March 14, 2008.[22] It was signed by camp commandant Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby, who recommended continued detention.

Joint Review Task Force

When he assumed office in January 2009 President Barack Obama made a number of promises about the future of Guantanamo.[23][24][25] He promised the use of torture would cease at the camp. He promised to institute a new review system. That new review system was composed of officials from six departments, where the OARDEC reviews were conducted entirely by the Department of Defense. When it reported back, a year later, the Joint Review Task Force classified some individuals as too dangerous to be transferred from Guantanamo, even though there was no evidence to justify laying charges against them. On April 9, 2013, that document was made public after a Freedom of Information Act request.[26] Al Alawi was one of the 71 individuals deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release. Obama promised that those deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release would start to receive reviews from a Periodic Review Board. Al Alawi was denied approval for transfer on October 26, 2015.[27]

Analysts still continued to assert that he was one of the "dirty thirty", a group of thirty individuals, captured together while fleeing to Pakistan, who analysts maintained were all Osama bin Laden bodyguards.[28]

Periodic Review

Al Alawi's Guantanamo Review Task Force had concurred with earlier review boards, and recommended he be classed as too dangerous to release, although there was no evidence to justify charging him with a crime.[28] Carol Rosenberg, of the Miami Herald, wrote that the recommendation from his Periodic Review Board concluded that he was "probably not" one of Osama bin Laden's bodyguards, but that he seemed to have "spent time with" them.[28]

Medical condition

As of 2015, al Alawi is recognized as one of the camp's long-term hunger strikers.[3] Camp authorities published the weight records from the first four years.[29] Those records show al Alawi's weight being recorded 53 times. His weight was only recorded twice during the camp's first well-known hunger strikes, in 2005, where his weight dropped to 117 and 118 pounds. But a hunger-strike he began in 2013, has left him weighing less than 100 pounds.

Al Alawi described his hunger strike as a form of peaceful protest.[3]

In 2013, a new warden was appointed to the camp, Colonel John Bogdan. Under his administration guards fired upon the captives, for the first time. Al Alawi was one of the captives guards shot.[3] He described being shot with rubber coated steel bullets in April 2013.

Robert Durand, a camp spokesman, asserted guards were provoked, and that they only fired "four less than lethal rounds".[30] Al Alawi described being fired upon without warning when he and other men were preparing for communal prayers.[3] According to al Alawi's account, he was hit by more than four munitions. According to al Alawi, his wounds were either inadequately treated, or not treated at all.

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References
  1. OARDEC. "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-05-15. Works related to List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006 at Wikisource
  2. "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version)" (PDF). Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, from DoD data. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-09.
  3. Murtaza Hussain (2015-03-24). "Prison Dispatches from the War on Terror: Gitmo Detainee's Life an "Endless Horror Movie"". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 2015-05-29. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  4. Note, Recent Case: D.C. Circuit Holds the Government’s Authority Has Not Unraveled, 132 Harv. L. Rev. 1542 (2019).
  5. "U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in Habeas Case Brought by Guantánamo Bay Detainee Challenging His Continuing Detention". American Journal of International Law. 113 (04): 849–855. 18 October 2019. doi:10.1017/ajil.2019.64.
  6. Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
  8. "Q&A: What next for Guantanamo prisoners?". BBC News. 2002-01-21. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  9. Benjamin Wittes, Zaathira Wyne (2008-12-16). "The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study" (PDF). The Brookings Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  10. Al-Alwi v. Bush, 593 F. Supp. 2d 24 (D.D.C. 2008).
  11. William Glaberson (2008-12-30). "Judge Agrees With Bush in Ruling on 2 Detainees". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-31. A federal judge in Washington ruled Tuesday that the government was properly holding two Guantánamo detainees as enemy combatants, the first clear-cut victories for the Bush administration in what are expected to be more than 200 similar cases.
  12. "Judge Denies Release For 2 at Guantanamo". Washington Post. 2008-12-31. p. A05. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  13. Randall Mikkelsen (2008-12-31). "U.S. judge rejects release of two Guantanamo inmates". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  14. Worthington, Andy. Judge orders release of Guantanamo's forgotten child Archived 2011-04-30 at the Wayback Machine, December 2008
  15. Al-Alwi v. Obama, 653 F3d 11 (D.C. Cir. 2011).
  16. Thomas Joscelyn (2011-08-02). "Al Qaeda fighter's detention upheld by DC Circuit Court". Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  17. Al-Alwi v. Trump, 236 F. Supp. 3d 417 (D.D.C. 2017).
  18. Al-Alwi v. Trump, 901 F3d 294 (D.C. Cir. 2018).
  19. Al-Alwi v. Trump, 139 S. Ct. 1893 (U.S. 2019) (Breyer, J., statement respecting denial of certiorari).
  20. Christopher Hope; Robert Winnett; Holly Watt; Heidi Blake (2011-04-27). "WikiLeaks: Guantanamo Bay terrorist secrets revealed -- Guantanamo Bay has been used to incarcerate dozens of terrorists who have admitted plotting terrifying attacks against the West – while imprisoning more than 150 totally innocent people, top-secret files disclose". The Telegraph (UK). Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-07-13. The Daily Telegraph, along with other newspapers including The Washington Post, today exposes America's own analysis of almost ten years of controversial interrogations on the world's most dangerous terrorists. This newspaper has been shown thousands of pages of top-secret files obtained by the WikiLeaks website.
  21. "WikiLeaks: The Guantánamo files database". The Telegraph (UK). 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  22. "Muaz Hamza Ahmad Al Alawi: Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Muaz Hamza Ahmad Al Alawi, US9YM-000028DP, passed to the Telegraph by Wikileaks". The Telegraph (UK). 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  23. Peter Finn (January 22, 2010). "Justice task force recommends about 50 Guantanamo detainees be held indefinitely". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-05-04. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  24. Peter Finn (May 29, 2010). "Most Guantanamo detainees low-level fighters, task force report says". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-05-10. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  25. Andy Worthington (June 11, 2010). "Does Obama Really Know or Care About Who Is at Guantánamo?". Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  26. "71 Guantanamo Detainees Determined Eligible to Receive a Periodic Review Board as of April 19, 2013". Joint Review Task Force. 2013-04-09. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  27. http://www.prs.mil/Portals/60/Documents/ISN028/151026_U_ISN28_FINAL_DETERMINATION_PUBLIC.pdf
  28. Carol Rosenberg (2016-09-30). "New Guantánamo intelligence upends old 'worst of the worst' assumptions". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2016-10-01. Retrieved 2016-12-05. Yemeni Moath al Alwi got to Guantánamo the week Camp X-Ray opened and was profiled seven years later as a veteran jihadist, combatant in the battle for Tora Bora and former Osama bin Laden bodyguard — a member of the "Dirty 30." A July 2015 intelligence profile prepared for that file review said that, before his capture by Pakistani forces in December 2001, Alwi was "probably not" one of bin Laden's bodyguards but concluded he was "an al-Qaida-affiliated fighter who spent time with" bin Laden's security detail.
  29. "ISN 2-57's weights from 2002-2006" (PDF). OARDEC. 2007. Archived from the original on December 4, 2007.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  30. Charlie Savage (2013-04-13). "Mounting Tensions Escalate Into Violence During Raid at Guantánamo Prison". New York Times. p. A16. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
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