Abdul Al Salam Al Hilal Explained

Abd al-Salam al-Hilah
Birth Date:30 January 1968[1] [2] [3]
Id Number:1463
Alias:Al Hela, Abdulsalam
Status:Still held in Guantanamo

Abd al-Salam al-Hilah is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[4]

The Department of Defense lists his place of birth as Sanaa, Yemen and his date of birth as January 30, 1968.

As of today, Abd al-Salam al-Hilah has been confined at the Guantanamo camps for . He arrived there on September 20, 2004.[5] [6] [7]

CIA detention

Al-Hilah was captured, in Cairo, on September 19, 2002, while on a business trip.[8] John Sifton, of Human Rights Watch, says that Al-Hilah disappeared, for eighteen months, before surfacing in American detention in the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.[9] According to medical records published on March 16, 2007, his "in process date" at Guantanamo was September 20, 2004.[10]

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-Hilah says that after his capture he was sent to Baku Azerbaijan for two months, and then spent 16 months in secret bases in Afghanistan, including "the dark prison".[11]

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] [13]

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:[14]

Habeas corpus petition

Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman Al Hela v. George W. Bush had a writ of habeas corpus filed on his behalf.[15] [16]

Joint Review Task Force

On January 21, 2009, the day he was inaugurated, United States President Barack Obama issued three Executive orders related to the detention of individuals in Guantanamo.[17] [18] [19] [20] 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.[21] Abd al-Salam al-Hilah was one of the 71 individuals deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release.Obama said those deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release would start to receive reviews from a Periodic Review Board.

Periodic Review Board

The first review was not convened until November 20, 2013. Hilah was approved for transfer on June 8, 2021.[22]

Hunger strike

Al-Hilah was reported to have participated in a hunger strike that led to a deterioration in his health.[23]

Children's death

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.[24] [25] [26] 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.[26]

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 feared he would be assassinated in Guantanamo.[27] 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 Al Hilah's family had recently received a letter where he wrote he believed camp authorities had a new plan to assassinate him.[28]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 24 September 2008 . Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN US9YM-001463DP (S). live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220614200923/https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/82929-isn-1463-abdul-al-salam-al-hilal-jtf-gtmo/5c1fb83543d6a177/full.pdf . 14 June 2022.
  2. Web site: 1 December 2015. Guantanamo Detainee.
  3. Web site: 30 September 2016. Guantanamo Detainee.
  4. Web site: List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006. OARDEC. OARDEC. United States Department of Defense. 2006-05-15. 2007-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184034/http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. 30 September 2007 . live.
  5. Web site: Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba . . JTF-GTMO . JTF-GTMO . 2007-03-16 . 2008-12-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090125010428/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/measurements/ . 25 January 2009 . dead.
  6. Web site: 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 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100613004352/http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/resources/library/documents-and-reports/gtmo_heightsweights.pdf . 2010-06-13 . dead.
  7. News: Guantanamo Docket: Abdul al Salam al Hilal. The New York Times. November 2008. 2010-04-18.
  8. http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2005%20Opinion%20Editorials/April/4o/Al-Hila%20Another%20'ghost%20prisoner'%20rendered%20By%20William%20Fisher.htm Al-Hila: Another 'ghost prisoner' rendered
  9. http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/03/28/usint10379.htm Cairo to Kabul to Guantanamo
  10. News: Heights, weights, and in-processing dates . . JTF-GTMO . JTF-GTMO . 2006-03-16 . 2008-12-25 . 2009-01-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090131162300/http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/reports/heights-weights-and-in-processing-dates . dead.
  11. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/05bee6d5f916310a6f68909e2e67ecf7.htm U.S. Operated Secret 'Dark Prison' in Kabul
  12. News: U.S. military reviews 'enemy combatant' use . . 2007-10-11 . 2007-10-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071023220558/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-11-guantanamo-combatants_N.htm . live . 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. News: Q&A: What next for Guantanamo prisoners? . . 2002-01-21 . 2008-11-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081123204530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1773140.stm . 23 November 2008 . live.
  14. Web site: The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study. The Brookings Institution. 2008-12-16. Benjamin Wittes. Benjamin Wittes. Zaathira Wyne. 2010-02-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20170519100934/https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1216_detainees_wittes.pdf. 2017-05-19. live.
  15. Web site: Index for CSRT Records Publicly Files in Guantanamo Detainee Cases. OARDEC. OARDEC. United States Department of Defense. August 8, 2007. 2007-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20071026130525/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_publicly_filed_CSRT_records.pdf. 26 October 2007 . live.
  16. Web site: Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman Al Hela v. George W. Bush . 1–33 . . 2008-11-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081117120002/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_4818-4946.pdf#1 . 2008-11-17 . dead.
  17. News: Who Are the 55 Cleared Guantánamo Prisoners on the List Released by the Obama Administration?. Andy Worthington. Andy Worthington. 2012-10-25. 2015-02-19. I have already discussed at length the profound injustice of holding Shawali Khan and Abdul Ghani, in articles here and here, and noted how their cases discredit America, as Khan, against whom no evidence of wrongdoing exists, nevertheless had his habeas corpus petition denied, and Ghani, a thoroughly insignificant scrap metal merchant, was put forward for a trial by military commission — a war crimes trial — under President Bush..
  18. Web site: Andy Worthington. Does Obama Really Know or Care About Who Is at Guantánamo?. June 11, 2010. July 21, 2010. 2010-06-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20100616161842/http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/06/11/does-obama-really-know-or-care-about-who-is-at-guantanamo. live.
  19. News: Justice task force recommends about 50 Guantanamo detainees be held indefinitely . Peter Finn . Washington Post . January 22, 2010 . July 21, 2010 . 2015-05-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150504225142/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012104936.html . live.
  20. News: Most Guantanamo detainees low-level fighters, task force report says . Peter Finn . Washington Post . May 29, 2010 . July 21, 2010 . 2015-05-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150510052105/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/28/AR2010052803873.html . live.
  21. News: 71 Guantanamo Detainees Determined Eligible to Receive a Periodic Review Board as of April 19, 2013 . . 2013-04-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150519230955/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1020057-guantanamo-parole-list.html . May 19, 2015 . 2015-05-18 . dead.
  22. https://www.prs.mil/Portals/60/Documents/ISN1463/SubsequentFullReview2/210608_UPR_ISN1463_SH2_FINAL_DETERMINATION.pdf Unclassified final determination
  23. News: Yemeni prisoners in Guantanamo refuse to be sent to any other country . . 2009-04-01 . 2009-04-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090403035135/http://www.sabanews.net/en/news179959.htm . 2009-04-03 . A number of Yemenis in Guantanamo are still under hunger strike, among of them Abdul-Salam al-Hila whose health has deteriorated. . dead. mirror
  24. News: Hand grenade kills sons of Guantanamo detainee . 2009-04-23 . . https://archive.today/20240524090151/https://www.webcitation.org/5gG0cIgio?url=http://www.alsahwanet.net/view_nnews.asp%3Fsub_no=401_2009_04_23_70101 . 2024-05-24 . dead.
  25. News: Two children of Yemeni detainee in Gitmo killed in house blast . 2009-04-23 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20091210142736/http://www.newsyemen.net/en/view_news.asp?sub_no=3_2009_04_23_7729 . 2009-12-10 . dead.
  26. News: Yemeni Gitmo Inmate's Sons Die as House Bomb Goes off . 2009-04-23 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20090425132433/http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=607&MainCat=3 . 2009-04-25 . dead.
  27. News: Yemeni Gitmo detainee says faced assassination plots. 2009-08-01 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716054944/http://www.sabanews.net/en/news190336.htm . 2011-07-16 . 2009-08-02 . dead.
  28. News: U.S. to try five Yemeni Gitmo detainees . . 2010-05-17 . 2010-05-17 . Meanwhile, Abdul Salam Al-Hila, another Yemeni detainee, has told his family that he faced a new assassination attempt at the U.S. Bay which the U.S. President Obama ordered to be closed as soon as possible. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100518181034/http://www.sabanews.net/en/news214477.htm . 2010-05-18 .

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