Fahed Nasser Mohamed

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Fahed Nasser Mohamed is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] Mohamed's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 013. The Department of Defense reports that Mohamed was born on February 25, 1982, in Abaha. Saudi Arabia.

1 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
2 Administrative Review Board hearing
3 References

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a small trailer, the same width, but shorter, than a mobile home. The Tribunal's President sat in the big chair. The detainee sat with their hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor in the white, plastic garden chair. A one way mirror behind the Tribunal President allowed observers to observe clandestinely. In theory the open sessions of the Tribunals were open to the press. Three chairs were reserved for them. In practice the Tribunal only intermittently told the press that Tribunals were being held. And when they did they kept the detainee's identities secret. In practice almost all Tribunals went unobserved.

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 a 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.

Mohamed chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[2]

[edit] Confusion over whether the CSRT was a court of law

Mohamed expressed confusion over whether the Tribunal was a real court. He was informed it was not a court, it was an administrative procedure.

[edit] Allegations

The allegations Mohamed faced during his Tribunal were:

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

The detainee was recruited in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to take part in jihad on or about 26 December 2000.
The detainee traveled from his home in Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and crossed the border into Afghanistan.
The detainee received small arms training at the al Farouq training camp in Afghanistan.
The detainee attended training at al Qaida's al Farouq camp in Afghanistan.
The detainee confirmed that he was present during the uprising at the Al Jenke Prison [sic] in Mazar-E-Sharif [sic].
Usama Bin Laden visited the al Farouq training camp while the detainee was in training.

[edit] Testimony in response to the allegations

Mohamed was allowed to respond to each of the allegations, in turn:

Mohamed the allegation that he was recruited to take part in jihad in Afghanistan. He acknowledged that a stranger had explained jihad to him, planted the idea of jihad in his mind, given him money to travel to Afghanistan for jihad. But, Mohamed said this man shouldn't be regarded as a recruiter because he didn't actually train him.
Mohamed acknowledged traveling to Afghanistan for Jihad.
Mohamed denied attending any training while in Afghanistan. He claimed he changed his mind about participating in jihad. Mohamed said he traveled around Afghanistan, and was in Konduz during the American bombing campaign. The Taliban authorities agreed, when they surrendered, to deliver all Arabs to Mazar-E-Sharif. Mohamed told his Tribunal that he had been administered polygraph tests, that confirmed he was telling the truth.
Mohamed acknowledged that he was present during the prison uprising, but he did not participate.
Mohamed denied the allegation that he heard Osama bin Laden deliver a speech while he attended the al Farouq training camp. He denied ever hearing Osama bin Laden, and repeated his denial that he had ever attended the al Farouq training camp.

[edit] Testimony in response to Tribunal officer's questioning

[edit] Reported torture while in custody

Mohamed reported that he was tortured into uttering false confessions while he was in Afghan custody.

The Tribunal's President asked Mohamed to confirm that the torture ended when he entered American custody. Mohamed replied: "I was talking to the American and explained to him what was going on and the interrogator got upset and just interrupted the meeting.and said that I was lying."

Main article: Guantanamo detainees who reported abuse while in custody

[edit] Alleged to have met Osama Bin Laden

Mohamed is one of the detainees who is alleged to have heard Osama Bin Laden address a group live and in person. Mohamed is alleged to have heard Osama bin Laden speak while he attended the al Farouq training camp. Mohamed denies attending the al Farouq training camp, and denies ever hearing Osama bin Laden.

Main article: Guantanamo detainees alleged to have heard Osama bin Laden

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearing

Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board 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.

Mohamed chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[3]