Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel

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Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel
Citizenship Yemen

Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1][2] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 043. The Department of Defense reports Moqbel was born on December 1 1977, in Ta'iz, Yemen.

On April 15, 2013, the New York Times published a Op-ed by Moqbel, where he described the current hunger strike.[3] His Op-Ed stirred wide commentary.[4][5][6]

Background

Moqbel arrived at Guantanamo on January 11th, 2002, and has been held at Guantanamo for Template:For year month day.[7]

In the Op-Ed Moqbel described traveling to Afghanistan to look for work, as he only earned $50 USD per month in Yemen.[3] He said he was mislead, could not find work in Afghanistan. He denied any association with terrorism.

Historian Andy Worthington noted that Moqbel mocked the extensive justifications offered for his detention, that he had been an Osama bin Laden bodyguard; that he had travelled all over Afghanistan -- when he had only arrived in Afghanistan a month prior to his capture.[8]

In his April 2013 Op-ed Moqbel described what it was like to be a hunger striker.[3] Glen Greewald, writing in The Guardian, praised the New York Times for publishing Moqbel's Op-Ed, which he described as one of the most powerful his readers would ever read.[9] The Daily Mail repeated Moqbel's description that the force-feedings he was being made to endure had triggered him to vomit blood.[10]

[11]

a. The detainee was an associate of the Taliban and/or Al-Qaida.
  1. The detainee is a Yemen citizen who traveled to Afghanistan via Karachi, Pakistan; Kandahar, Afghanistan and finally to Kabul, Afghanistan.
  2. The detainee decided to travel to Afghanistan to fight the Jihad.
  3. The detainee arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan and stayed in a house owned by the Taliban.
  4. The detainee became a bodyguard for Usama Bin Laden in August 2001.
b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.
  1. The detainee traveled north of Kabul, Afghanistan to a military camp approximately two miles from the front line fighting with the Northern Alliance.
  2. The detainee was issued a Kalashnikov rifle with ammunition.
  3. The detainee was assigned a post, performed guard duty on the front line, and could hear gunshots and fighting in the distance.
  4. The detainee made several trips from the front line to the guesthouse in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  5. The detainee learned about the 11 September 2001 attack on American during his last two months in Afghanistan.
  6. The detainee surrendered to a Pakistani security force at the border.

Official status reviews

Originally the Bush Presidency asserted that captives apprehended in the "war on terror" were not covered by the Geneva Conventions, and could be held indefinitely, without charge, and without an open and transparent review of the justifications for their detention.[12] In 2004 the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Rasul v. Bush, that Guantanamo captives were entitled to being informed of the allegations justifying their detention, and were entitled to try to refute them.

Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants

Following the Supreme Court's ruling the Department of Defense set up the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants.[12] Memos containing the allegations that the DoD thought justified his detention were prepared for formal administrative hearings in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. These memos were all published under the Freedom of Information Act.

[13][14][15][16][17]

Transcript

The Department of Defense published a seven page summarized transcript from the unclassified session of his Tribunal.[18]

Samir testified that the allegations on the Summary of Evidence memo were brand new to him. He estimated that he had about thirty different interrogators, and none of them had ever asked him any questions related to the allegations on the memo.

He acknowledged traveling to Afghanistan in early 2000. He had been working in a factory in Yemen, for $50 per month, when a friend from his childhood Mawan Jaawan told him that it would be easy to live a good life in Afghanistan, that he could help him find a good job there, and would pay for his ticket. He testified he agreed to accept Mawan's offer, only to decide Mawan had lied to him. Afghanistan was a very poor country, not rich. There were no good jobs. Mawan wanted him to serve on the Taliban's front line, which he Samir refused to do. He was able to earn a little bit of money, in the mosque, but he was not able to save for a return ticket, and Mawan would not return his passport.

He acknowledged being driven to the front lines, by Mawan. But he didn't know where he was being driven, he objected upon arrival, when he learned where they were, and that he returned to Kabul as soon as he could, which was three days later.

He acknowledged being issued a Kalashnikov during the three days he was stranded on the front line, but stated that this was over a year before the US invasion.

When the US invaded he was able to travel to the Pakistani border with other refugees.

He said that when he fled the US bombardment, and crossed into Pakistan, the first thing he did was go to the local Police headquarters and ask for assistance to return to Yemen. He thought the Pakistani police would contact the Yemen embassy on his behalf, because he was a distressed traveler. He disputed that he was arrested.

He testified that he fled to Pakistan through Khost.[19]

He said the allegations were "like a movie". He suggested they were inconsistent, that he had only been in Afghanistan for a month and that he was not as powerful as Superman to accomplish everything he was accused of during that one month.

Samir wasn't asked to confirm or refute whether he had ever seen or heard Osama bin Laden. But he did say that prior to fleeing to Pakistan he spent all his time in Kabul.

Habeas corpus petition

A writ of habeas corpus was filed on Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel's behalf.

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.[20]

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".[21]

Protective order

On 15 July 2008 Kristine A. Huskey filed a "NOTICE OF PETITIONERS’ REQUEST FOR 30-DAYS NOTICE OF TRANSFER" on behalf of several dozen captives including Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel.[22] Template:ARB

First annual Administrative Review Board hearing

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his first annual Administrative Review Board in 2005.[23]

Second annual Administrative Review Board hearing

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his second annual Administrative Review Board in 2006.[24]

Statement

Samir drafted a statement for his Board.

Third annual Administrative Review Board hearing

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his third annual Administrative Review Board in 2007.[25]

References

  1. "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 2006-05-15.  16x16px 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. Margot Williams (2008-11-03). "Guantanamo Docket: Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel". New York Times. http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/43-samir-naji-al-hasan-moqbel. Retrieved 2010-10. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel (2013-04-14). "Gitmo Is Killing Me". New York Times. p. A19. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2013%2F04%2F15%2Fopinion%2Fhunger-striking-at-guantanamo-bay.html%3F_r%3D0&date=2013-04-15. "I could have been home years ago — no one seriously thinks I am a threat — but still I am here. Years ago the military said I was a “guard” for Osama bin Laden, but this was nonsense, like something out of the American movies I used to watch. They don’t even seem to believe it anymore. But they don’t seem to care how long I sit here, either." 
  4. Abby Ohlheiser (2013-04-15). "The Guantánamo Hunger Strike Gets a NYT Op-Ed". Slate magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slate.com%2Fblogs%2Fthe_slatest%2F2013%2F04%2F15%2Fguantanamo_hunger_strike_op_ed_samir_naji_al_hasan_moqbel_describes_detainment.html&date=2013-04-15. "Documents from 2008 published by the Times indicate that Moqbel was captured in December of 2001 and identified as a guard for Bin Laden. Moqbel obviously disputes this claim. It's not clear from the editorial what his current status is in the eyes of the government, but his story, dictated by phone, illustrates just how desperate he and other striking prisoners are for some movement on their cases." 
  5. Joe Coscarelli (2013-04-15). "What It’s Like to Be Force-Fed at Guantánamo Bay". New York Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fdaily%2Fintelligencer%2F2013%2F04%2Fguantanamo-hunger-strike-new-york-times-op-ed.html&date=2013-04-15. "This morning, the prisoners' side of the larger battle is laid bare in a New York Times op-ed titled "Gitmo Is Killing Me" by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, who delivered the dispatch over the phone, through a translator, to his lawyer. It is harrowing. "I’ve been on a hunger strike since Feb. 10 and have lost well over 30 pounds," he writes. "I will not eat until they restore my dignity."" 
  6. "'Guantanamo is killing me': inmate". Agence France Presse. 2013-04-15. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhostednews%2Fafp%2Farticle%2FALeqM5iPsgrwAw4Tykiofdy9FtppFs-rKA%3FdocId%3DCNG.be9760fa9833114470f710c2bc1277d1.5a1&date=2013-04-15. "An inmate detained at Guantanamo for over a decade without charge on Monday gave a graphic account of his participation in a two-month-old hunger strike at the US-run military prison. In an op-ed published in the New York Times entitled "Gitmo Is Killing Me," Samir Naji al-Hasan Moqbel said he had lost over 30 pounds since going on hunger strike February 10 and that a fellow inmate weighed just 77 pounds." 
  7. "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. 
  8. Andy Worthington (2010-09-15). "Who Are the Remaining Prisoners in Guantánamo? Part One: The “Dirty Thirty”". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.andyworthington.co.uk%2F2010%2F09%2F15%2Fwho-are-the-remaining-prisoners-in-guantanamo-part-one-the-dirty-thirty%2F&date=2013-04-15. "“These accusations make you laugh. These accusations are like a movie. Me, a bodyguard for bin Laden, then do operations against Americans and Afghanis and make trips in Afghanistan? I don’t believe any human being could do all these things … This is me? I have watched a lot of American movies like Rambo and Superman, but I believe that I am better than them. I went to Pakistan and Afghanistan a month before the Americans got there … How can a person do all these operations in only a month?”" 
  9. Glenn Greenwald (2013-04-15). "Obama, Guantánamo, and the enduring national shame: One of the most powerful Op-eds ever published in the NYT, by a Yemeni detainee, underscores the president's role in this travesty". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fcommentisfree%2F2013%2Fapr%2F15%2Fobama-guantanamo-hunger-strike-moqbel&date=2013-04-15. "The New York Times this morning deserves credit for publishing one of the most powerful Op-Eds you will ever read. I urge you to read it in its entire" 
  10. Daniel Bates (2013-04-15). "Guantanamo hunger striker tells of agony of being forcibly fed through tubes down his nose as he 'vomits blood' in his protest to be released and have his 'dignity restored'". Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-2309409%2FGuantanamo-hunger-striker-tells-agony-forcibly-fed-tubes-nose-vomits-blood-protest-released-dignity-restored.html%23top&date=2013-04-15. "Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel told of his ‘agony’ at being force fed twice a day by guards who have forced a pipe so far down his nose it has gone into his stomach. On one occasion he was strapped to a bed for 26 hours so they could feed him during which time he was not allowed to go to the toilet." 
  11. Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 63-69
  12. 12.0 12.1 "U.S. military reviews 'enemy combatant' use". USA Today. 2007-10-11. Archived from the original on 2012-08-11. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fnews%2Fwashington%2F2007-10-11-guantanamo-combatants_N.htm&date=2012-08-11. "Critics called it an overdue acknowledgment that the so-called Combatant Status Review Tribunals are unfairly geared toward labeling detainees the enemy, even when they pose little danger. Simply redoing the tribunals won't fix the problem, they said, because the system still allows coerced evidence and denies detainees legal representation." 
  13. Carol Rosenberg (2012-09-21). "U.S. names 55 Guantánamo captives cleared for release". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.miamiherald.com%2F2012%2F09%2F21%2F3014519%2Fus-names-55-guantanamo-captives.html&date=2012-09-23. 
  14. Danica Coto (2012-09-21). "U.S. releases list of Guantanamo detainees cleared for transfer". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestar.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Farticle%2F1260726--omar-khadr-not-on-u-s-list-of-guantanamo-detainees-cleared-for-transfer&date=2012-09-23. "The U.S. Justice Department has made public the names of 55 Guantanamo prisoners who have been approved for transfer to the custody of other countries, releasing information sought by human rights organizations. The announcement, which reverses a 2009 decision, was a surprise to organizations that had filed FOIA requests seeking the information." 
  15. "US releases names of 55 Guantanamo detainees approved for transfer". freedetainees.org. 2012-09-23. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffreedetainees.org%2F2012%2F09%2F21%2Fus-releases-names-of-55-guantanamo-detainees-approved-for-transfer%2F%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A%2Bfreedetainees%252FZCdR%2B%2528freedetainees.org%2529%26utm_content%3DYahoo%21%2BMail&date=2012-09-23. 
  16. Fausto Biloslavo (2012-09-23). "Quei reclusi di Guantanamo che possiamo trovarci in casa [Those inmates from Guantanamo that we can find in the house]". Il Giornale. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ilgiornale.it%2Fnews%2Festeri%2Fquei-reclusi-guantanamo-che-possiamo-trovarci-casa-839863.html&date=2012-09-23. 
  17. "Current Guantanamo Bay Detainee-Petitioners Approved For Transfer (Sept. 21, 2012)". Department of Justice. 2012-09-21. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.miamiherald.com%2Fsmedia%2F2012%2F09%2F21%2F17%2F22%2F1dquzf.So.56.pdf&date=2012-09-23. 
  18. OARDEC (date redacted). "Summarized Unsworn Detainee Statement". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 63-69. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/Set_47_3130-3248.pdf#63-69. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  19. Tora Bora is in the Khyber Pass, a more northerly route.
  20. Peter D. Keisler, Douglas N. Letter (2006-10-16). "NOTICE OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS ACT OF 2006". United States Department of Justice. http://natseclaw.typepad.com/natseclaw/files/Hamdan.28j.letter.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-30.  mirror
  21. Farah Stockman (2008-10-24). "Lawyers debate 'enemy combatant'". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/10/24/lawyers_debate_enemy_combatant/. Retrieved 2008-10-24.  mirror
  22. Kristine A. Huskey (2008-07-15). "Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation: Doc 63 -- NOTICE OF PETITIONERS’ REQUEST FOR 30-DAYS NOTICE OF TRANSFER". United States Department of Justice. http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2008mc00442/131990/63/0.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-13.  mirror
  23. OARDEC. "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 57-59. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000001-000098.pdf#57-59. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  24. OARDEC. "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 78-81. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_2_Factors_1-99.pdf#78-81. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  25. OARDEC. "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 25-29. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/08-F-0481_FactorsDocsBates510-650.pdf#25-29. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 



Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel
Born December 1, 1977 (1977-12-01) (age 46)
Ta'iz, Yemen
Other names Samir Nasy Hajan Mukbel

Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1]

External links

  1. "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 2006-05-15.