Majeed Abdullah Al Joudi
Encyclopedia
Majeed Abdullah Al Joudi is a citizen of Saudi Arabia
who was held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
s, in Cuba
.
His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 25.
American counter-terror analysts estimate he was born in 1967, in Mecca
, Saudi Arabia.
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 a competent tribunal
s 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
s. 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
.
was prepared for Majid Abdallah Al Judi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 17 August 2004.
The memo listed the following allegations against him:
On it his Personal Representative
checked the box that recorded that the captive "Affirmatively Declines to Participate in Tribunal."
The Personal Representative Comments section recorded:
hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".
They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat—or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.
was prepared for Majid Abdallah Al Judi's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 17 November 2005.
The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
was prepared for Majeed Abdullah's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 7 November 2006.
The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
The Board's recommendation was unanimous.
The Board's recommendation was redacted.
England chose to transfer al Joudi to Saudi custody. on February 14, 2007.
Al Joudi's lawyer, Julia Tarver, filed requests with US District Court Judge Gladys Kessler
, over her concern over their medical condition, and the brutality of the force feeding that Al Joudi and her other clients were receiving.
Kessler ordered the DoD to inform Tarver, within 24 hours, whenever they used force-feeding on her clients. She ordered them to file weekly medical reports with Tarver, for the duration of the hunger strike.
The seven men were detained, without charge, in Hayer Prison, while Saudi justice officials determined whether they had violated any Saudi laws.
document, reported that Department of Defense
officials claimed
Majeed Abdullah al Joudi
was one of 74 former Guantanatmo captives who "are engaged in terrorism or militant activity."
On May 27, 2009, the Defense Intelligence Agency
published a "fact sheet" that confirmed Al Joudi had engaged in terrorism after his return.
The DIA listed him as having engaged in "terrorist facilitation".
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
who was held in extrajudicial detention
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
s, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 25.
American counter-terror analysts estimate he was born in 1967, in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Saudi Arabia.
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva ConventionsGeneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
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 a competent tribunal
Competent tribunal
Competent Tribunal is a term used Article 5 paragraph 2 of the Third Geneva Convention, which states:-ICRC commentary on competent tribunals:...
s to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
status.
Subsequently the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
s. 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
Enemy combatant
Enemy combatant is a term historically referring to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. Prior to 2008, the definition was: "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war." In the case of a civil war or an...
.
Summary of Evidence memo
A Summary of Evidence memoSummary of Evidence (CSRT)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of the 558 captives who remained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba in the fall of 2004.-The 2005 release:...
was prepared for Majid Abdallah Al Judi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 17 August 2004.
The memo listed the following allegations against him:
Detainee election form
The detainee election form was dated August 19, 2004.On it his Personal Representative
Personal Representative (CSRT)
The Personal Representative is an officer who serves before the Combatant Status Review Tribunals, convened for the captives the United States holds in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.-History of the Tribunals:...
checked the box that recorded that the captive "Affirmatively Declines to Participate in Tribunal."
The Personal Representative Comments section recorded:
Administrative Review Board hearings
Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review BoardAdministrative Review Board
The Administrative Review Board is a United States military body that conducts an annual review of the suspects held by the United States in Camp Delta in the United States Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba....
hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".
They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat—or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.
First annual Administrative Review Board
A Summary of Evidence memoSummary of Evidence (ARB)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Administrative Review Board hearings of approximately 460 captives in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba from December 2004 to December 2005.-Release of the memos:...
was prepared for Majid Abdallah Al Judi's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 17 November 2005.
The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
Transcript
There is no record that al Joudi chose to participate in his first annual Administrative Review Board.Second annual Administrative Review Board
A Summary of Evidence memoSummary of Evidence (ARB)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Administrative Review Board hearings of approximately 460 captives in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba from December 2004 to December 2005.-Release of the memos:...
was prepared for Majeed Abdullah's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 7 November 2006.
The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
Board recommendations
In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.The Board's recommendation was unanimous.
The Board's recommendation was redacted.
England chose to transfer al Joudi to Saudi custody. on February 14, 2007.
2005 Hunger strike
In 2005 there were two widespread hunger strikes at Guantanamo.Al Joudi's lawyer, Julia Tarver, filed requests with US District Court Judge Gladys Kessler
Gladys Kessler
Gladys Kessler is an American jurist who sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton, and confirmed in July 1994....
, over her concern over their medical condition, and the brutality of the force feeding that Al Joudi and her other clients were receiving.
- Tarver reported that the force feedings resulted in: "...vomiting up substantial amounts of blood."
- Tarver reported that medical personnel were participating in interrogation sessions that used proscribed interrogation techniques.
- Tarver said two of her clients had to be carried to her meetings with them on stretchers.
Kessler ordered the DoD to inform Tarver, within 24 hours, whenever they used force-feeding on her clients. She ordered them to file weekly medical reports with Tarver, for the duration of the hunger strike.
Repatriation
Al Joudi was repatriated on February 21, 2007, along with six other Saudis.The seven men were detained, without charge, in Hayer Prison, while Saudi justice officials determined whether they had violated any Saudi laws.
Pentagon claim he had "returned to the fight"
On May 20, 2009, the New York Times, citing an unreleased PentagonThe Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
document, reported that Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
officials claimed
Majeed Abdullah al Joudi
was one of 74 former Guantanatmo captives who "are engaged in terrorism or militant activity."
On May 27, 2009, the Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
published a "fact sheet" that confirmed Al Joudi had engaged in terrorism after his return.
The DIA listed him as having engaged in "terrorist facilitation".
External links
- The Guantánamo Files: Website Extras (8) – Captured in Afghanistan Andy Worthington