UNCLASSIFIED
Department of Defense Office for the Administrative Review ofthe Detentionof Enemy Combatants at US Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
September 2005
TO AL ZAHRANI, YASSERTALAL
SUBJECT UNCLASSIFIED SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD INTHE CASE OF AL ZAHRANI, YASSER TALAL
1. An Administrative Review Boardwill be convened to review your case to determine if your continued detentionis necessary.
2. TheAdministrativeReviewBoardwillconduct a comprehensivereviewofallreasonably availableandrelevantinformationregardingyour case. At the conclusionofthis reviewthe Boardwillmakea recommendationto: (1 releaseyou to your home state; (2) transferyouto your home state, with conditionsagreeduponby the UnitedStates andyour homestate; or ( 3) continueyour detentionunderUnitedStates control.
3. The following primary factors favor continued detention
a . Commitment
1. The detainee finished the 11thgrade anddecided on hisown, around August of 2001, to go to Afghanistan to fight inthejihad . Heheard sheiks say that it was a duty for goodMuslim men to fight the jihad alongside the Taliban .
2. A manidentifiedby the detaineeas AhmedAl Salamitoldhimthatheshouldgo to Karachi, PakistanandmeetupwithSariaAl Makkito get to Afghanistan. Al Salamitraveled mosquesand saidthat it was the duty ofgoodMuslimmento help establishanIslamicarmy. Theenemyofthis Islamicarmywas the NorthernAlliance.
3. Al-Salami is the deputy Chief ofthe Political Department for the Yemeni Socialist Party.
4. AlSalaamis a close associate of al QaidacommanderAbdAlHadi. Al HadiAl Iraqi is one ofUsamaBinLaden'sclosest commandersandthe personin chargeofal Qaida fighters inthe AfghaniNorthernFront.
5. Around August or September of2001, the detainee flew from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Dubai and on to Karachi, Pakistan He purchased a round trip ticket for about $ 300 United States Dollars.
6. Al Makki picked up the detainee at the airport in Karachi and took him to a rented room where he stayed for two days. Al Makki eventually bought tickets for him and the detainee to fly to Quetta, Pakistan .
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SUBJECT : UNCLASSIFIED SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEWBOARD INTHE CASE OF AL ZAHRANI, YASSER TALAL
7. The detainee and Al Makkiultimatelymade itto Afghanistan, via Spin Boldak , Kandahar, Kabuland then Konduz.
8. The detainee was very important on the Northern line inthe Arab group and carried a radio .
9. The detainee was identified as someone who was a money courier.
10. For three months the detainee was assigned as a guard to a second line post between Konduz and Taloqan that was referred to as Issam or Issam Al Bin, which was located about 6 kilometers from the front line. He served there with about 25 other people.
11. The Taliban fighters said that the group ofArabs includingthe detainee and Uzbeki's should leave the city andthe Talibanwould surrender later. However, their plan did not work andthe entire group of about 400 were sent to the prison at Mazar e' Sharif.
12. The detainee arrived atMazar e' and was taken into an undergroundroom . The following day theprisoners, includingthe detainee were intheprison yard when fighting broke out.
13. The detainee was immediately shot in the leg and foot when the fighting broke out and fell to the ground. When the prisoners gave up and surrendered , he was one of the first removed .
14. The surviving prisoners were put into trucks and taken to a prison at Sheberghan , Afghanistan where they were kept for one month .
b . Training
1. The detainee and Al Makki stopped at the Taliban Center in the city of Konduz. Al Makki told the detainee that this is where he would receive his training. The detainee said the center was basically a one room building on a large field with shooting targets.
2. The detainee trained with two Saudi and three Afghani men at the center for onemonth They were trained in the use of the Kalashnikov rifle, the Makarov pistol, and hand grenades, plus fieldtraining.
3. Thedetaineepurchasedweaponsforthe Talibanandtrainedat alFarouqcamp.
4. Weapons training was conducted on numerous weapons at al Farouq and students learned how to assemble and disassemble eachweapon . They received training on the AK -47, AKM and PKmachine gun and would fire a total of 30 rounds in the sitting, kneeling and standingpositions. They also familiarized themselves with the RPG .
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: UNCLASSIFIED SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE FORADMINISTRATIVE REVIEWBOARDINTHE CASE OFAL ZAHRANI, YASSER TALAL
Connections / Associations
1. The detainee was recognized as Al-Batar and was knownto carry an AK - 47 as part of the MarwanGroup whose leader was a Yemeni man .
2. Abu Ali Al-Yafi, a.k.a. Marwan , is an educated Yemeni who was known to be a very active Taliban and al Qaida recruiter in Yemen . He had experience fighting inboth Chechnya and Afghanistan
3. The leader of thesecond line post was Moullah Thaker or Zaker . He was the commander of other posts as well and traveled from post to post with two or three guards.
4. MullahZakirwas a TalibanCommanderforunitsnorthofTakharistanandwas last seen withMullahFazel, the TalibanMinisterofDefense.
5. The detainee's instructor was Allah who was the former governor ofHerat Province, former Taliban leader in Iran.
d . Other RelevantData
1. The detainee was involved with food services and always on the front line base camps. He was known to have retreated to Konduz, Afghanistan where he was helping in the kitchen at the Arab guesthouse working with the cook .
2. The detainee was identified as a Saudi who fought in Abu Dujanah's group . Abu Dujanah , is a Sudanese who fought on the front lines and carried a Kalashnikov .
3. The detainee's name was found in a document that listed324 Arabic names, aliases and nationalities. The document was recoveredfrom raids on safehouses associated with suspected al Qaida in Karachi, Pakistan. He was in possession ofa Saudi passport.
4. The followingprimary factor favors release or transfer :
The detainee said he did not engage in any fighting.
5. You willbeaffordeda meaningfulopportunityto beheardandto presentinformationto the Board; this includesan opportunityto be physicallypresentat theproceeding. TheAssisting MilitaryOfficer( AMO) willassistyouinreviewingallrelevantandreasonablyavailable unclassifiedinformationregardingyour case. TheAMOis not anadvocatefor or against continueddetention, normaythe AMO forma confidentialrelationshipwithyouor represent youinanyothermatter.
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