Hambali

Riduan Isamuddin

ISN: 10019

Nationality: Indonesian

The following is a summary of the allegations against Hambali found in publicly available US military documents. If US military documents about this prisoner are inaccurate or misleading then this summary will be as well. The introduction to this set of summaries explains some of the terms used below.  

Hambali’s DAB says that he is a member of Jemaah Islamiya (JI) and Al Qaeda. Hambali was wanted for arrest by Indonesian authorities in connection with a series of coordinated bombings of Indonesian churches in Jakarta and eight other cities. The bombings took place on December 24, 2000 and killed 18 people. Hambali told US interrogators he was involved in the December 2000 Indonesia church bombings. He said his actions were just because of injustices being committed towards Muslims in Indonesia.

According to a JI member, Hambali was also involved in the bombing of the residence of the Philippine ambassador to Indonesia on August 1, 2000. That bombing killed two people and seriously injured the Philippine ambassador.

Hambali was sentenced by a Cambodian court, in absentia, to life imprisonment for planning strikes against the US and British embassies in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Al-Hadi said that Hambali was responsible for the October 2002 bombing of two nightclubs in Bali that killed 202 people.

Hambali’s DAB says that he told Zubair to case Israeli El-Al flights out of Muang airport in Bangkok and to purchase a surface to air missile. His DAB also says that he surveyed the Israeli Embassy himself in 2002.

The US government believes that there was an aborted part of the 9/11 attacks to high-jack planes belonging to US airlines and crash them into US military facilities in Asia. Hambali’s DAB says two members of Al Qaeda stayed at his house while they prepared for the attack.

Hambali’s DAB says that he sent money to be used in the bombing of the J.W. Marriot hotel and the Australian Embassy in Indonesia. The August 2003 bombing of the Marriot hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia killed 12 people.

Hambali was captured in August 2003 in Thailand through a joint US-Thai operation. He was sent to Guantanamo in September 2006. Hambali is one of the high value detainees which are held in a separate part of Guantanamo away from the general population. Hambali was recommended for prosecution by Obama’s Guantanamo task force in January 2010. 

The prosecution of Sufyian Barhoumi

Sufyian Barhoumi was charged in the first version of the military commissions. But those charges were dropped after the Supreme Court ruled that version of the military commissions was unconstitutional in Hamdan v Rumsfeld. In May 2008 Barhoumi was charged in a military commission with conspiracy and material support for terrorism. Those charges were dismissed in October 2008. In January 2009 he was once again charged with conspiracy and material support for terrorism.

Barhoumi almost secured a plea deal with a 20 year sentence. The plea deal was not reached due to a disagreement over whether Barhoumi should get credit for time served.

In October 2012 the DC appeals court overturned the conviction of Salim Hamdan for Material Support for terrorism because the law that gave military commissions jurisdiction over that crime was enacted in 2006, years after Hamdan was captured. In January 2013 the DC appeals court overturned the conviction of Ali Ah-Bahlul for material support for terrorism and conspiracy for the same reason.

As a result, the charges against Barhoumi were dismissed in January 2013. Barhoumi’s lawyer Justin Swick told Wall Street Journal reporter Jess Bravin that, “for years your ticket out of Guantanamo was being found guilty, now there’s nothing to be found guilty of.”

In his article, Bravin explained that, “elsewhere in the American justice system, suspects go free unless prosecutors file charges. In Guantanamo, the opposite is true: Detainees who aren’t charged […] nevertheless face indefinite detention because the Pentagon has classified them as enemy combatants.”

Barhoumi was dismayed when he learned the charges against him were dropped. He told prosecutors he would plead guilty to any charge and ask for leniency in the sentencing phase of the trial.  

Barhoumi’s lawyers told Bravin that prosecutors won’t file charges against him unless he agrees to testify against other detainees. Barhoumi declined their offer, saying he will not help convict someone in a system he sees as illegitimate.

Barhoumi has been at Guantanamo for over 11 years. 

The Allegations against Sufyian Barhoumi

ISN: 694

Nationality: Algerian

The following is a summary of the allegations against Sufyian Barhoumi found in publicly available US military documents. If US military documents about this prisoner are inaccurate or misleading then this summary will be as well. The introduction to this set of summaries explains some of the terms used below.   

Sufyian told US interrogators he attended 3 militant training camps in Afghanistan. Two Guantanamo prisoners, Mohmedou Ould Slahi and Jabran Al Qahtani, said that Sufyian was an explosives trainer. Jabran Al Qahtani also said Sufyian was an electronics trainer. Another Guantanamo prisoner, Ahmed Mohammed Al Darbi, said that Sufyian was a trainer at the Khalden militant training camp. Al Darbi says that Sufyian told him he was only at Khaldan to train before going back to Algeria to fight.

The next few claims about Sufyian Barhoumi in his DAB are sourced to “sensitive reporting.” Two of these claims relate to Abu Zubaydah, which means that “sensitive reporting” may refer to Abu Zubaydah’s torture, up to and including waterboarding. Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded at least 83 times.

According to “sensitive reporting,” Sufyian spoke with Al-Qaeda’s second most senior explosives specialist, Abd Al-Rahman Al Muhajir, in 2001 in Kabul. Sufyian reportedly said that Muhajir was seeking his expertise in the development of remote control devices. The US government believes that Al Muhajir was the bomb-maker in the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Also according to “sensitive reporting” Sufyian met with Abu Zubaydah many times from 1996 to 2002 and disclosed to Al Qaeda leaders that he was a trained remote control devise specialist who had training in car bombs, explosives, and small arms. Sufyian’s DAB says that remote control devises are used for the purpose of detonating explosives.

“Sensitive reporting” also says that Sufyian went to Abu Zubaidah’s residence in Faisalabad Pakistan after fleeing Afghanistan, where they organized a remote control training session. Abu Zubaidah provided the funds to purchase the parts and at least 2 Saudis participated in the training. Based on other US government documents, it is possible these two Saudis were Abdullah al Sharbi and Jabran al Qahtani. Sufyian reportedly claimed to have fought against coalition forces in 2001.

Through his lawyer Barhoumi told the Wall Street Journal he, “was in the wrong place at the wrong time” and that, “he had never seen Mr. Zubaydah before arriving at the safe house.”

Sufyian was captured in March 2002 by Pakistani security forces during a night raid. Abu Zubaidah was also captured during that raid. He was later transferred to US custody. He arrived at Guantanamo in June 2002. 

Jabran Said Wazar al Qahtani

ISN: 696

Nationality: Saudi

The following is a summary of the allegations against Jabran al Qahtani found in publicly available US military documents. If US military documents about this prisoner are inaccurate or misleading then this summary will be as well. The introduction to this set of summaries explains some of the terms used below.   

Jabran said he went to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks to fight the Americans. He told US interrogators that he attended a militant training camp in a camp north of Kabul. He also said he was trained at a camp in Faisalabad, Pakistan on how to construct electronic circuit boards to be used as timing devises in bombs to be used against US forces in Afghanistan. Jabran said if he was released he would immediately return to Afghanisan to fight the Americans. He also said he wanted to kill President Karzai of Afghanistan and King Fahad of Saudi Arabia because, “they were Americans.”

Jabran would later deny any involvement with al Qaeda, other terrorist organizations, going to Afghanistan to obtain training, or bomb making. Jabran was captured in a safe house in Faisalabad, Pakistan by Pakistani forces. Jabran’s ARB summary said that at the time of his capture he was surrounded by electrical engineers, explosives specialists, electronics equipment, and handwritten training manuals. Jabran was later transferred to US custody. He arrived at Guantanamo in August 2002.

Jabran was charged in the first version of the military commissions. The charges were dismissed when that version of the commissions was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Hamdan v Rumsfeld.

In May 2008 Jabran was charged in a military commission with conspiracy and material support for terrorism. Those charges were dismissed without prejudice in August 2008. He was charged again in January 2009. Those charges were dismissed without prejudice in January 2013.

Ghassan Abdullah al-Sharbi

ISN: 682

Nationality: Saudi

The following is a summary of the allegations against Ghassan al Sharabi found in publicly available US military documents. If US military documents about this prisoner are inaccurate or misleading then this summary will be as well. The introduction to this set of summaries explains some of the terms used below.   

Ghassan stayed at a guest hose run by Abu Zubaydah in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Abdullah says that he arrived at the house in mid-February 2002. He says he taught classes to the other residents of the house in computers and English. Ghassan would later tell US interrogators that he thought the house was being financed by an Arab student society and that if he knew the residents of the house were fighters he would not have stayed there.

Two other prisoners at Guantanamo identified Ghassan as having attended Al-Farouq, an Al Qaeda training camp.

The unclassified summery of one of Ghassan’s Administrative Review Boards says that he was trained on how to construct remote control devises that could be used to detonate car bombs to attack US forces in Afghanistan. The ARB said that another planned use for the devises was to detonate a bomb in the United States with a mobile phone in Pakistan. The evidence for this accusation is not stated.

Pakistani forces captured Ghassan in a raid on the guesthouse on March 28, 2002. He was later transferred to US custody. He was sent to Guantanamo in June 2002.

Ghassan was charged in the first version of the military commissions. The charges were dismissed after that version of the military commissions was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Hamdan v Rumsfeld.

Ghassan was charged with conspiracy and material support for terrorism in January 2009. The charges were dismissed without prejudice in January 2013. 

Zuhail Abdo Anam Said al Sharabi

ISN: 569

Nationality: Yemeni

The following is a summary of the allegations against Zuhail al Sharabi found in publicly available US military documents. If US military documents about this prisoner are inaccurate or misleading then this summary will be as well. The introduction to this set of summaries explains some of the terms used below.   

Zuhail told US interrogators he was a member of Al Qaeda, a claim he later denied. Five Guantanamo prisoners identified Zuhail as being a bodyguard for Osama Bin Laden. Waleed Bin Attash said that he and Zuhail received training in English, reading airline timetables and how to function in western cities in December 1999. The US government believes that this means that Zuhail was part of an aborted part of the 9/11 attacks that involved high jacking planes belonging to US airlines and crashing them into US military facilities in Asia. Zuhail admitted to traveling to Malaysia, where the plot was allegedly being planned. Zuhail admitted he was sent to the front lines in Afghanistan to fight against US and coalition forces. He claims he never used his weapon or killed anyone.

Zuhail was captured in February 2002 during a raid by Pakistan’s ISI on a suspected Al Qaeda safe house in Karachi, Pakistan. He was later transferred to US custody. He arrived at Guantanamo in May 2002. 

Abdu Ali al Haji Sharqawi

ISN: 1457

Nationality: Yemeni

The following is a summary of the allegations against Abdu Sharqawi found in publicly available US military documents. If US military documents about this prisoner are inaccurate or misleading then this summary will be as well. The introduction to this set of summaries explains some of the terms used below.   

Abdu told US interrogators that he sent promising Yemeni Al Qaeda recruits to Afghanistan to become bodyguards for Osama Bin Laden. Abdu’s DAB says he was responsible for moving money and fighters into Afghanistan prior to the fall of the Taliban. His DAB also says that after the Taliban fell, Abdu provided assistance to hundreds of foreign fighters seeking to flee from Afghanistan to Pakistan or to their home countries. Abdu said that if he was released he would likely rejoin Osama Bin Laden. Abdu was captured in a raid by Pakistan’s ISI on a suspected safe house in Karachi in February 2002. Abdu was later transferred to US custody. He arrived at Guantanamo in September 2004.

The unclassified summary one of Abdu’s ARBs said that Abdu stated he did not accept Osama Bin Laden’s claim that American civilians were legitimate targets because they paid taxes and supported the American government. His ARB summary also says that while Abdu stated Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda are against the United States, his support of al Qaeda did not put him in opposition of the United States.

Abdu was recommended for prosecution by Obama’s Guantanamo task force in January 2010.