Muhammed Yahia Mosin Al Zayla

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Muhammed Yahia Mosin Al Zayla is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] Al Zayla's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 055. The Department of Defense reports that Al Zayla was born on July 25, 1977, in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

1 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
- 1.1 allegations
- 1.2 testimony
2 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.

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

[edit] allegations

The allegations Al Zayla faced during his Tribunal were:^[2]

a. Association

Detainee traveled from his home in Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan via Kuwait and Pakistan in March 2001.
Detainee received training in the use of AK-47 and rocket propelled grenades at the Al-Farouq training camp.

b. Hostile activity

Detainee voluntarily left the training base at Al-Farouq to engage in military operations against the Northern Alliance.
Detainee carried a weapon on the battlefield.
Detainee continued to participated in military operations against United States forces [sic] after September 11, 2001.
Detainee retreated from the battlefield to Pakistan where he surrendered, as part of a group of thirty individuals, to Pakistani forces.