IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DIST~CT OF COLUMBIA
BOUDELLAAL HAJJ, et al.
Petitioners,
Civil Action No. 04-CV-1166(RJL)
GEORGEW. BUSH, Presidentof the UnitedStates, et al., Respondents.
DECLARATIONOF JAMES R, CRISF1ELD JR.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I, CommanderJames R. Crisfield Jr., Judge Advocate
General’s Corps, United States Navy, hereby state that to the best of myknowledge, information and belief, the followingis tree, accurate and correct:
1. I am the Legal Advisor to the CombatantStatus ReviewTribunals. In that capacity I amthe principal legal advisor to the Director, CombatantStatus ReviewTribunals, and provide advice to Tribunals on legal, evidentiary, procedural, and other matters. I also reviewthe record of proceedingsin each Tribunal for legal sufficiency in accordancewith standards prescribed in the
CombatantStatus ReviewTribunal establishment order and implementingdirective.
2. I hereby certify that the documentsattached hereto constitute a tree and accurate copy of the portions of the record of proceedings before the CombatantStatus ReviewTribunal related to petitioner BoudellaAI Hajj that are suitable for public release. Theportions of the record that are classified or consideredtaw enforcementsensitive are not attached hereto. I have redacted information that wouldpersonally identify other detainees and the family membersof detainees, as well as certain U.S. Governmentpersonnel in order to protect the personal security of those
5069 individuals. I have also redacted internee serial numbersbecause certain combinationsof internee serial numberswith other information becomeclassified under applicable classification guidance.
I declare underpenalty of perjury that the foregoingi.~s true and correct.
Dated: ~) (~Mf- z~s R."L~eld Jr. -~-Z)R, JAGC, USN
5070 Department of Defense - Director, CombatantStatus ReviewTribunals
OARDEC/Ser: 0304 28 October 2004 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
From: Director, CombatantStatus ReviewTribunal
Subj: REVIEW OF COMBATANTSTATUS REV-IEW TRIBUNAL FOR DETAINEE ISN # ~
Ref: (a) DeputySecretary of DefenseOrder of 7 July 2004 CO)Secretary of the NavyOrder of 29 July 2004
1. I concur in the decision of the CombatantStatus ReviewTribunal that Detainee ISN #~ meets the criteria for designation as an EnemyCombatant, in accordancewith references (a) and Co).
2. This case is nowconsidered final and the detainee will be scheduled for an Adminis~afive Review Board.
RADM, CEC, USN
Distribution: NSC(Mr. Jotm Bellinger) DoS (Ambassador Prosper) DASD-DA JCS (JS) SOUTHCOM(COS) COMJTFGTMO OARDEC(Fwd) CITFFt Belvoir
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 5071 UNCLASSIFfED
2"7 Oct 04
From: Legal Advisor To: Director, Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Subj: LEGAL SUFFICIENCY ~,~EW OF COMBATANTSTATUS REVIEW TRI]3UNAL FOR DETAINEE ISN # ~
Ref: (a) DeputySecretary of DefenseOrder of 7 July 2004 (b) Secretary of the NavyImplementation Directive of 29 July 2004
Encl: (1) AppointingOrder for Tribunal #12 of 29 September2004 (2) Record of Tribunal Proceedings
1. Legal sufficiency review has been completedon the subject CombatantStatus Review Tribunal in accordancewith references (a) and (b). After reviewingthe record of the Tribunal, find that:
a. The detainee was properIy notified of the Tribunal process and madea sworn statement at the Tribunal.
b. The Tribunal was properly convenedand constituted by enclosure (1).
c. The Tribunal compliedwith all provisions of references (a) and (b). Note that information in exhibits R-32 and R-33 was redacted. The FBI properly certifaed in exhibit R-2 that the redacted information wouldnot support a determinationthat the detainee is not an enemycombatant.
d. The detainee requested five wituesses. Three wereproduced and testified at the Tribunal. The U.S. State Departmentsought to locate the other two witnesses but was unable to fred them. Dueto the inab’dity of the State Departmentto locate the Wituesses, the Tribunal President determinedthat they were not reasonably available. In my opinion, the Tribunal President’s decision was not an abuse of discretion.
The detainee also requested two documents.The first was a copy of a Bosniancourt document. The other was a copy of"Humanityof the People." The Recorder and the detainee’s Personal Representative attempted to locate the documentsbut were unable to find them. The Tribunal President therefore determinedthat they were not reasonably available. In myopinion, the Tribunal President’s decision was not an abuse of discretion.
e. The Tribunal’s decision that detainee #~s properly classified as an enemy combatant was unanimous.
UNCLASSIFIED 5072 UNCLASSIFIED
Subj: LEGAL SLFFFICIENCY REVIEW OF COMI~ATANT STATUS REVIEW TRIBLFNAL FOR DETAINEE ISN #~
f. The detainee’s Personal Representative was given the opportunityto review the record of proceedings and declined to submit commentsto the Tribunal.
2. The proceedingsand decision of the Tribunal are legally sufficient and no corrective action is required.
3. I recommend that the decision of the Trib~~considered final.
Jl~:~ R. C~-’IELD JR. CDR~, JAGC, USN
2 UNCLASSIFIED 5073 Departmentof Defense Director, Combatant Stares Review Tribunals
29 Sep 04 From:Dh’e~tor, CombatantS~atus Re’Aew Tribunals Subj: APPOINTMENTOF COMBATANTSTATUS REV~EW’ITUBUNAL#12
Ref: (a) ConveningAuthority AppointmentLetter of 9 July 2004 Bythe authority given to mein reference (~), a CombatantStatus ReviewTribunal established by "Implementationof CombatantStatus Review Tribunal Proceduresfor EnemyCombatants Detained at GumxtanamoBay Naval Base, Cuba"dated 29 July 2004 is herebyeb~V~ned. It shall hear such cases as shall be broughtbefore it withoutfurther action of referral or otherwise. The following commissionedOfficers shall serve as membersof~he Tribunal:
i Colonel, U.S. MarineCorps Reserve; President ~Lieatenant Colonel, JAGC, U.S. Army; Member (JAG)
~ Lieutemmt Colonel, U.S. Air Force; Member
J. M. MeGARRAH RearAdmiral Civil EngineerCorps United States Navy
5074 HEADQUARTERS, OARDEC FORWARD GUANTANAMOBAY, CUBA APOAE 09360
22 October 2004 MEMORANDUMFOR DIRECTOR, CSRT
FROM: OARDEC FORWARDCommander
SUBJECT: CSRT Record of Proceedings ICO ISN# ~
1. Pursuant to Enclosure (1), paragraph (I)(5) of hnplementation of Combatant Stat us Review Tribunal Procedures for EnemyCombatants Detained at GuantunamoBay Naval Base, Cuba dated 29 July 2004, I am forwarding the CombatantStares ReviewTribunal Decision Report for the above mentionedISN for review and action.
2. If there are any questions regarding this package,point of con~s matter is the undersigned at DSN660-3088.
5075 SECRET/fNOFORN//X1
(U) CombatantStatus Review Tribunal Decision Report Cover Sheet
(U) This Documentis UNCLASS]/~IEDUpon Removal of Enclosures (2) and (4).
(U) TI~IBUNALPANEL: #12
(U) ISN#:
Ref: (a) (U) ConveningOrder for Tribunal #12 of 29 September2004 (U) Co)(U) CSRTImplementation Directive of 29 July 2004 Cur) (c) (U) DEPSECDEFMemo of 7 July 2004 (U)
Encl: (1) (U) Unclassified Summaryof Basis For Tribunal Decision (U~OUO) (2) (U) Classified Summaryof Basis for Tribunal Decision (S/NF) (3) (U) Summaryof Deta’mee/Witness Testimony (U/FOUO) (4) (U) Copies of DocumentaryEvidence Presented (S/NF) (5) (U) Personal Representative’s Record Review(U)
1. (U) This Tribunal was convenedon 18 October 2004 by references (a) and (b) to a determinationas to whetherthe detainee meets the criteria to be designated as an enemy combatant,as defined in reference (c).
2. (U) On 18 October 2004 the Tribunal determ’med,by a preponderanceof the evidence, that Detainee gs properly designated as an enemy combatant, as defined in reference (c).
3. (U) In particular, the Tribunalfinds that this Detaineeis part of, or supporting,forces associated with Al-Qaeda,which is engagedin hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners, as morefully discussed in the enclosures.
4. (U) Enclosure(1) provides an unclassified account of the basis for the Tfibunal’s decision. A detailed account of the evidence consldered by the Tribunal and its findings of fact are containedin enclosures(1) and (2).
U.S.] Tribunal President
DERV FM: Multiple Sources SECRET//NOFORN//X1 DECLASS: XI 5076 U~N CLASS]~I]~D/fFOUO
UNCLASSIF~D SU’M1VLkRY OF BASIS FOR TRIBUNAL, DECISION
(Enclosure (1) to CombatantStatus Review Tribunal Decision Report)
TRJ.BUNAL P~,,,,,~ #12 ISN #: ~
1. Introduction
As the CombatantStares ReviewTribunal (CSRT)Decision Report indicates, the Tribunal has determinedthat this Detainee is properly classified as an enemycombatant because he is considered as being part of, or supporting, forces associated with A1-Qaeda, whichis engagedin hostilities against the UnitedStates and its coalition partners. In reaching its conclusions, the Tribunal considered both classified and unclassified information. The following is an account of the unclassified evidence considered by the Tribunal and other pertinent information. Classified evidence considered by the Tribunal is discussed in Enclosure (2) to the CSRTDecision Report.
2. Synopsis of Proceedings
The unclassified evidence presented to the Tribunal by the Recorderasserted that the Detaineewas affiliated with associated forces engagedin hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners. The Detaineechose to participate in the Tribunal process. He requested five witnesses (three of which were produced), requested two unclassified documentsbe produced, and madea sworn verbal statement. The Tribunal President found three requested wimessreasonably available and two not reasonably available. For the two not reasonably available, alternative meansof producingthe witness’s testimony were also not reasonably available. The Tribunal President ordered the uncIassified documentrequested by the Detainee to be produced but the Recorder was unable to complybecause the documentcould not be located. The Tribunal President directed the Recorderand Personal Representative to continue searching for the requested documentand, if they weresuccessful in locating it, mbring it to the Tribunal’s attention so it could be introduced and considered as an exhibit on behaifofthe Detainee. The Detainee, in his verbal statement, denied being affiliated with any terrorist organization. He also denied any involvementin any plan to attack the U,S. embassyin Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.The Tribunal President’s evidentiary and Witness rul’mgs are explained below.
3. Evidence Considered by the Tribunal
The Tribunal considered the following evidence in reaching its conclusions:
a. Exkibits: D-a and D-b, and R-1 through R-33.
UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO Page1 of 5 5077 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
b. Tesfimon of the following persons: ...... and~ The internment seriiiI ~i~Sg-rs of these three detainees are includedin the classified enclosureto ~his report (Enelosure(2)).
c. Swornstatement of the Detainee.
4. Rulings by the Tribunal on Requests for Evidence or Witnesses
The Detainee requested the following wimessesbe produced for the hearing (Note: Exhibit D-b denotes the Tribunal President’s approval of the request as he deemedthese witnesses relevant):
Witness President’s Decision Testified?_
Reasonably Available Yes Reasonably Available Yes Reasonably Available Yes Not Reasonably Available No Not Reasonably Available No
!is the Detainee’s father in law and has been since 1993. He was expected to testify as to the Detainee’s background and activities. ~as expected to testify as to the Detainee’s backgroundand work habitsZ-C66rdinationwas madewith the Departmentof State in an attempt to secure these witnesses but aceurding to the Departmentof State they could not be located. The other witness were fellow detainees and therefore were produced
The Detainee requested the following additional evidence be produced:
Evidence President’s Decision Produced?
1. Copy of Court DocumentNot Reasonably Available No (apparently, a Bosnian Supreme Court Decision declaring him not guilty)
2. Copyof Humanityof Not Reasonably Available No The People Document (Bosnia) dealing with his detention in Cuba
The Detainee insisted that he had seen these documentssince his detention in Cuba. The Personal Representativesaid he had tried to locate them but was told they were not here. The Tribunal President directed the Recorder and Personal Representative to conduct additional searching for this document,and for it to be producedif found.
U~CLASSIFIED//FOUO Enclosure (1) Page 2 of 5
5078 UNCLASSIFIED/,rFouo
5. Discussion of Unclassified Evidence
The Tribunal considered the following unclassified evidence in makingits determinations:
a. The Recorder offered Exhibits R-1 and R-2 into evidence during the unclassified portion of the proceeding. Exhibit R-I is the Unclassified Summaryof Evidence. Whilethis summaryis helpful in that it provides a broad outline of what the Tribunalcan expect to see, it is not persuasive in that it provideseunclusory statements without supporting unclassified evidence. Exhibit R-2 provided no usable evidence. Accordingly,the Tribunal had to look to additional unclassified exhibits and classified exhibits for support of the Unclassified Summaryof Evidence.
b. The Tribunal considered the Detainee’s sworn testimony, a summarized transcript of whichis attached.as CSRTDecision Report Enclosure (3). In sum, the Detaineetestified that he denied being affiliated with any terrorist organization. He also denied any involvementin any plan to attack the U.S. embassyin Sarajevo, Bosnia- Herzegovina.
c. (U) Exhibit R-3, "The Suspects, a B0sniunsubplot," by AndrewPurvis, Sarajevo, page 10 (excerpt ~omTime Magazine, November12, 2001). This exhibit appears to be a newsarticle or a book excerpt. As an account of the "Algerian Six" individuals accused of plotting to attack the U.S. embassyin Sarajevo, Bosnia- Herzegovina,it is quite interesting and appears to support paragraph3a.2 of Exhibit R-l, the unclassified summaryof evidence. Yet it does not identify the Detainee by name. The oniy way the Tribunal knowsthat the Detainee is involved in this because his p/ace of employmentis identified (the Tribunal madethe connection between the Detainee and his place of employmantfi’om other exhibits). However,on page 4 of 12, the article notes that Al-Qaeda"acts as an umbrella group, financing and subcontracting operations to local networks like Algeria’s ArmedIslamic Group(GIN)." This exhibits provides information concerning a direct connection between Al-Qaedaand the GIA;therefore, this exNbit was quite persuasive to the Tribunal that the GINqualified as a force associated with A1-Qaeda.
d. (U/FOUO)Exhibit R-4, Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation SupremeCourt Doeument~11 Januea-y.2001. This document,an apparent "investigation order" against the °~AlgerianSix" individuals, was helpful to the tribunal in ascertaining with which offenses the Detaineeand the other individuals originally were chargedal~er their apprehension in Bosnia. However,it provides no evidence as to whether the Detainee himself committedany of the offenses with whichhe Wascharged. For that reason, in and of itself, this exhibit wasnot helpful to the Tribunalas it co~asideredits decision as to whether the Detainee was properly classified as an enemycombatant.
UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO ISN #~ Enclosure(1) Page3 of 5
5079 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
e. (U) Exhibit R-5, Counterterrorism Analysis Team(CTAT) document, 2. April 2002. This documentannounces the arrest of the "Algerian Six" individuals "on suspicion ofbeing linked with international terrorism," including the Deta’mee.Also, the exhibit notes, °~here are unconfirmedreports from Americanintelligence sources that the detained Algerians are part of the Europeannetwork of the Algerian GIA(Algerian Islamic Group)militant organization." Althoughhelpful in familiarizing the Tribunal with the backgroundof the ease, it provides insufficient supportingevidence as to the Detainee’s involvement,and, accordingly, was not helpful to the Tribunal as it considered its decision as to whetherthe Detainee was properly classified as an enemy combatant.
£ (U) Exhibit R-6, Affidavit off(Wife of ISN ~, This documentindicates to the Tribunal that the Deta’meeis represented by counsel. His wife, acting as "next friend" of her detained husbmadprovided interesting backgrounddetail as to the circumstances that led to her husband’s detention. The Tribunal wouldexpect a wife to provide favorable commentsconcerning her husband, which she did. Nevertheless, the exculpatory information in paragraphs6, 7, and 8 was of particular interest and was taken into account by the Tribunal. Certainly any future Administrative ReviewBoard convenedin the future concerning this Detainee should consider the information contained therein.
The Tribunal also relied on certain classified evidencein reaching its decision. A discussion of the classified evidence is found in Enclosure(2) to the CombatantStatus ReviewTribunal Decision Report.
6. Consultations with the CSRTLegal Advisor
No issues arose during the course of this hearing that required consultation with the CSRTlegal advisor.
7. Conclusions of the Tribunal
Uponcareful review of all the evidence presented in this matter, the Tribunal makesthe following determinations:
a. The Detainee was mentally and physically capable of participating in the proceeding. No medical or men~l health evaluation was requested or deemednecessary.
b. The Detainee understood the Tribunal proceedings. He asked no questions regard’rag his rights and actively participated in the hearing.
UNCLASSI~IED//FOUO ISN #1l~l~ Enclosure(1) Page4 of 5
5080 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
c. The Detainee is properly classified as an enemycombatant because he is considered as being part of or supporting, forces associated with AI-Qaeda,which is engagedin hostilities against the UnitedStates or its coalition partners.
d. The Detainee acquitted himselfweli at the hearing. He was particularly respectful, appearedsincere, and apologized to the Tribtmal for someof the responses given, and atti~des displayed, by his wi~messes.He asked the Tribunal to consider his record of cooperative behavior while detained in GuantanamoBay. He claims he does not consider the United States as an enemyand offered that he had had numerou~ opportunities to engagein terrorist aqfivities against the UnitedStates (whichhe claims he has not done) or to elude custody while in B-H(which he cla’nns he could have done but did not do). The Tribunal recommendsthat any Admiuistrative ReviewBoard convenedin the future concerningth~s Detainee consider these matters, and, should the Boardconclude that he no longer represents a dangerto the UnitedStates or its allies, that he be consideredfor release to his homecountry.
e. As a side note, this Tribunal was originally scheduledfor the panel for which Colonel ~ was Tribunal President (hence ~s approval of the witness requests as indicated in Exhibit D-b). However, due to Colonel~ departure fi:om GuantanamoBay, Cubaon 16 October 2004 at the conclusion of his assignment, this case was reassigned to the panel for whichI am Tribunal President.
8. Dissenting Tribunal Member’sreport
~qone. The Tribunal reached a unanimousdecision.
Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps Tribunal President
UNCLASSI:FIED//FOUO Enclosure(1) Page5 of 5
5081 ~CLASSIFI~D//FOUO
SummarizedSworn Detainee Statement
With the permission of the Tribunal President, I wouldlike to say somethingbefore I respond to the accusations.
In the nameof Allah, when I was in Bosnia, everybody knowsI was very moderate and very nice. I was not an extremist. This is very well known.I was brought up not to harmanyone, but to be just and fair, that’s howI grewup. I learned that myreligion forbids harm’mgothers. In our Koran, it says it is absolutely forbidden to kill a human being. The Koransays killing one person is like killing all of humanity.If you bring one person to life, it’s like giving life to all of humanity.You can check this in the English version of the Koran.
WithGod as mywitness, if you believe meor not, it’s not important, but I absolutely never supported and always condemnedany terrorist act against the United States or anybodyelse.
As I love life for myself, myfamily and mykids, I love that for everybodyelse. I believe all religions shouldlive in harmonyand in peace.
For these reasons, I amagainst any and all terrorist attacks. That’s whyI’m surprised i’m in this camp,in prison now, classified as a terrorist or enemycombatant.
The Detainee responded to each point in the Unclassified Summaryof Evidenc6
¯ 3(a) .The Detainee is associated with AI Qaeda.
This is absolutely not true. I’ve never heard of themuntil the 9/1 I incident. I heard about it through the media. Howcan you associate me with an organization I’ve never heard of?. As I said before, I’m against any terrorist attacks.
I’ve lived in Bosniafor a long time, and you can check and see that I’ve never been associated with or belongedto any terrorist or criminal organizations. Further, all the years I spent in Bosnia, I never broke the law, not even for one day. I’ve never harmedBosnians, or foreigners, ever.
Yousay I’m associated with this organization, so if you have any proof just bringit.
~SN# Enclosure(3) Page) of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5082 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
3(a)(1) The Detainee was arrested with~~ll~ a known AI Qaedaassociate, for International Terrorismby the Bosnia-Herzegovina authorities.
I’ve never met this person and I’ve never s~en him in mylife. Interrogators asked mebefore about his nameand I told them I don’t knowthis person. Youcan ask my wife, mywork, people I’ve associated with, ask themif they’ve ever seen mewith this person, if this person cameto visit me, if I’ve talked to this person. Youcan ask. I’ve never had anything to do with this person.
Yousay I was captured with this person and this is not hue. I surrendered myself to the police; they didn’t capture me. I went myself and surrendered.
Doesthe President of this Tribunal think that if someonewould surrender himself if he weren’t innocent? I don’t think so.
3(a)(2)~had phone conversations with Abu Zubaydah, senior aide to UsamaBin Laden, whowas in charge of screening recruits for AI Qaedatraining campsin Afghanistan.
I don’t knowthe first person or the second person. Youcan ask either one of them, I don’t knowthem. Youcan ask the second gay, I believe you have him in jaiL Ask him if he knowsme.
The second one,1 didn,t hea~ about him until t was here: I’~re never heasd ...... his namebefore. Howcan I hear of him here, and be accused 0f knowing this person?
3(a)(3) The Detainee and others acted as an organized terrorist group they were in contact with a knownAI Qaeda member,Abu Zubaydah.
This is not true. I don’t knowanyone except the three namesI gave you, that are going to be mywitnesses. All three of these were workingin international organizations and humanitarian organizations. Wehave no relation whatsoeverwith terrorism, so howcould we have contact with people that have relations with terrorism?
It doesn’t makesense and it’s not logical that we’d be workingwith humanitarian organizations and then be doing terrorism. It doesn’t make sense. Each one of us has a family and kids.
I’ve been living in Bosniafor 10 years. If mygoal was terrorism, why wouldn’tI have done that a long time ago? Whydid I wait until the end? isN# Enclosure(3) Page 2 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5083 IfI was thinking of terrorism, I wouldhave thought about it for a while, not just at the last moment.
Youhave these people’s names. You can double check with them. I have no relations with terrorists whatsoever.
¯ 3(a)(4) Detainee was arrested by Bosnianauthorities in connectionwith planned attack on the Americanembassy.
First, that’s not tree. WhenI heard about the accusations, I wentto the police myself. They didn’t capture me, I went myself.
I never walkedthe streets the Americanembassy was on, I never observed or watchedit or anything ever. If you have any proof of this, it’s no problem, please bring me proof and con.front me with it.
Also, the SupremeCourt of Bosnia found us innocent because there was. no proof and nothing to susta’mthe allegation that we wereplotting to attack. They set us free. Wewere found innocent by the SupremeCourt of Bosnia.
Plus, ifI wasreally a terrorist, or ifI wereto do any terrorism act, instead of goingto the police, I could’veeasily escapedand left the country.
I knewthat the three that were going to be witnesses were captured, so I had plenty of time. Before I wentto the police, I heard of their capture and I went mys_e~. ~y ~ere captured 2 or 3 days before I went to talk to ...... ~~i~ ~o I had plenty of time if I wanted to do something. I still went to the police on myown. I could have easily escaped ifI wantedto because I had mypassport and I had money.
The papers from the Court that say we are innocent do exist. Whenthe Bosnian Commissionwas here, they showedme the papers and I read them myself. It said the international HumanRights Organization was suing the Bosnian governmentfor our treatment.
They went to court on our behalf because they treated us badly. The documentdidn’t just showthat we were innocent, but they also gave us compensationfor our families. They gave us 10,000 marks each. I saw the documentshowing that amount.
I believe you can get these documentsbecause the BosnianDelegation showedthem to me. It shouldn’t be too hard to get it back from them or to get a copy from them.
IsN# ~ Enclosure(3) UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO Page 3 of 25 5084 UNCLASSIFIED//FOU0
The Tribunal Presideut advised the Detainee we would contiuue to try to find those docaments.
3(a)(5) Detainee is a memberof the Mujahadinnetwork. Also, Detainee likely a memberof ArmedIslamic Groupof Algeria, a militant organization.
What do you mean by Mujahadin? Where? When?What do you mean by this? This is not clear. It is just a generalstatement.
First, this is not true. Theaccusation is not clear, saying I’m part of Mujahadin. Yousay I’m a memberof this Islamic Algerian Armedorganization. I left Algeria in 1990, and from whatI know,this organization was formed long after I left Algeria. Youcan contact the officials in the Algerian governmentand ask themif I really belongedto this organization and they will be able to give you the right answer.
3(a)(6) Armedlslamic Groupof Algeria is on the list of sympathizers helpers of UsamaBin Laden’s AI Qaeda.
As I mentionedbefore, I amagainst any terrorist acts. Howcould I belong to an organization that I strongly believe harmedmy people in Algeria?
This is all I have to say. I’m convincedand I believe thai you will look at myresponses and accusations with an eye of justice and fairness. Myresponse to the accusations has ended, but I wouldlike to bring the witnesses.
T.h¢ !~r~hu~_!alP_fesident advised the Detaineethat the wiOtesses,viii be broughtin later, but the Tribunal Membershave some questions to ask.
Tribunal MembersQuestions to the Recorder
The Detainee mentioned he had seer a documentfrom the SupremeCourt of Bosnia that indicated he was innocent of the charges against him. I presumethat refers to exhibit R-4. Do you have any knowledgeof the documenthe is speaking of?.
A: I amfamiliar with this document[R-4], but I don~t believe it is the documen~the Detaineeis referring to.
Tribunal MembersQuestions to the Personal Representative
Q: Are you familiar with the documentthe Detainee has spoken of?.
I amfamiliar that it was a requested piece of evidencethat was unable to be located.
Enclosure (3) Page 4 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5085 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
Q: Do you happento knowwhat efforts were madeto locate it?
A: No, I don’t.
Q: As the President said, we’d like the Recorderand the Personal Representative to worktogether at the conclusionof these proceedingsto try to locate that document.
Tribunal MembersQuestions to the Detainee
Howlong have you been living in Bosnia?
From1992 until I was captured.
Youare married with five children?
I nowhave seven. I’ve had two since I was captured.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
I presume you movedfrom Algeria to Bosnia in 19927
Yes, but not directly. First I studied in Pakistan and then I movedto Bosnia. I finished mystudies, got mydegree, got certified and then I wentto Bosaia.
you are a clergyman.
A: Yes.
Q: That is your primary occupation?
A: Yes, that is myjob.
Q: Youwere able to makea sufficient living as an Imam?
A: As I said, I was workingwith a humanitarian organization and I was making decent money. According to the Bosnian income, it was very good money.
Q: Canyou describe what duties you had with this organization in Bosnia?
I workedwith orphanedboys that don’t have fathers.
Enclosure(3) Page 5 of 25 UNCLA$$IFIED//FOUO 5086 UNCLAS SIFIED[/FOUO
Q: Did you live in Sarajevo the entire time, or wereyou in different places in Bosnia?
A: Mostof that period wasin Sarajevo, but I lived in other places too.
Q: Can you give examples?
A: I lived in a city catled Tesanj, then Tuzla and then Sarajevo. Fromi996 on, I was in Sarajevo,
Q: Werecall that during that time Bosniawas in the midst of a terrible civil war.
A: Yes, before 1995, not after.
Prior to 1995, while the war was still going on, people ha Sarajevo suffered terribly, as I understand.
A: AI1 Bosnianssuffered from the war.
Q: Did anyoneever approachyou to assist the Bosnianarmy to fight against the Serbs or the Croats?
A: I eniisted in the Bosnianmilitary because as a Bosnian,I ammarried to a Bosnlan and her family was Bosnian. I had to enlist. For example,ifI was living in the United States and I ama nationalized American,if there was an attack agalust the UnitedStates, and every manhas to enlist, I shouldenlist. It’s the sametb_ing here ......
Q: Did you volunteer to serve in the Bosnlanmilitary or is it mandatoryservice?
A: Youcan’t really say if it was volunteeror not. Everybodyhas to, it’s not explicit, by force or obligation, but everybodyfeels that way.
Q: Howlong was your term of service with the Bosnian milita~?
A: I don’t rememberexactly. It was from the beginning of 1994 until the end of 1995. Fromthe beginning of 1992 1 was working with them, teaching. They consider me one of them since 1992. I was a clergy person and they knowme and I was part of them.
Q: Did you have those duties while you wereserving in the military as well, or only before that?
A: WhileI was in the military that’s what I was doing. Just as a teacher, Imamand a clergy person.
ISN# ~ Enclosure(3) Page 6 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED/fFOUO 5087 UNCLASSIF~ED//FOUO
Q: Did the Bosniansgive you regular military training, commonto all soldiers?
A: In the beginning it was not a regular army. There was no training and it was not organized. At the end of 1995 whenthe Europeannations and the United States intervened, they formeda regular army.
Q: Noone trained you on basic military skills, weaponsor an3Naingof that nature?
A: No, I never sat downwith someoneand got trained.
They didn’t issue you weaponsfor protection?
A: Weaponswere available, but they didn’t give me one because I was a teacher and a clergy. I didn’t go to the fighting lines. I wasjust a teacher and clergy.
Q: Werethose the only responsibilities you had during your term of service in the military?
A: That’s all. Just teacking, nothingelse.
Q: Prior to movingto Bosnia, whenyou were in Algeria, do they also have mandatorymilitary service?
A: Yes.
...... Q: Yog w_ere _rg_q~91 ~~ s~e in the Algerian military? .... A: Yes, it’s a law; everybodyhas
Q: Howlong did you serve during that time?
A: Twoyears.
Q: What~e of training did they rye you there?
A: Wedidn’t have too manyweapons, we only trained on the Russian Kalashnikov. Wedidn’t have any other training.
Whatwere your responsibilities as an Algerian soldier?
A: I used to workin the administration. I was the postmanin the military. I took care of mail, bringingletters to soldiers.
Q: What years did you serve there?
Enclosure (3) Page 7 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5088 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
A: I believe 1987 to 1989.
Q: Prior to the it~surgency of the ArmedIslamic Group?
A: Waybefore that. The problemsstarted in the 90’s. I believe the problemsin Algeria started in 1992.
Q: While you were in Algeria, you decided to becomean Imam, conducted your studies in Algeria and Pakistan, and decidedto settle in Bosnia?
A: That is true.
Whydid you choose to go to Bosnia, as opposed to any other place you could go?
A: The Humanitarianorganization needed people to go work for them in Bosnia. That’s howI ended up in Bosnia.
Q: Howdid you first knowabout this organization?
A: I first workedwith this organization in Pakistan for a little while. Mystudies matchedwhat they needed, so I went with them to Bosnia.
Q: Did you do the same type of workin Pakistan that you did in Bosnia?
A: Yes, it was the same.
Q: The reason you chose to go to Bosnia was because they had a greater need for you there?
A: I wouldn’tsay the need wasgreater, it was just because I finished mystudies. They needed someoneto work for them and I went.
Q: So, from 1992 until 2001, your primary duty was as an Imamon one hand and assisting this organization on the other?
A: Yes. Mymain job was working with the orphans, but I volunteered to be an Imamand to teach. Myjob was to work with the orphans.
Q: What kind of things would you do for them [orphans]?
A: Our job...we had people who sponsored the orphans. They would bring money and clothing and things like that. Our job was to see that things wererun properly and the orphans got what was meant for them.
ISN# ~ Enclosure(3) Page 8 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5089 UNCLASSIFIED/fFOUO
IfI understoodyou earlier, did you say that no one ever approachedyou about a plot to attack the Americanembassy?
A: Never.
But, you heard the police were looking for you or concernedabout your possible involvement?
A: Whathappened is, whenthey [Bosnian authorities] captured those three people, they [Bosnia authorities] asked them about me. Theytold the Bosnianauthorities that I had nothing to do with it and neither did they. Theygave the Bosnian authorities mynumber and told them to call me. The police contacted me and I said okay, I was coming.
Q: Whydid they mentionyour nameif you didn’t have anything to do with it?
I don’t know, by mistake or whatever. I want you to knowone thing. If I really had anything to do with it, I had plenty of iime and there was a great opportunity for me to leave and escape easily to any neighboring country ifI wantedto. That showsyou that I’m not guilty.
The three people you said gave them your name, are these people knownto you?
Yes, they are the three people I called as witnesses.
Q: So, you heard the police wantedto speak with you, you turned yourself in and ...... ~ ~y ~sted you? ......
A: Yes. They called me and asked meifI could cometo the station and I said sure. But, before that I had heard about those People being captured through the news.
Q: So, whenthey said please comein, you went in, and then what?
I wentin, found an investigator, and he said they wantedto investigate mefor a few hours and after that I’d leave. I said, sure, go ahead, no problem.After that, whenhe finished with me, he said he had to check with his superiors to see the status. His superiors said I couldn’t go, I had to go to court. I said no problem, becauseI have nothing, so I went. After that, we wentto court.
Q: Did you have one court proceeding or more than one?
Only one time. The investigator stayed with me about 8 hours at one time and then we went to court. It was only one session and that was it.
ISN# ~ Enclosure(3) Page 9 of 25 U3qCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5090 UNCLASSIFIED/fFOUO
Wereyou originally found guilty and the verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court, or did the Court you were at find you not guilty?
A: Fromthe beginning, our case went straight to the SupremeCourt. Fromthe beginning the SupremeCourt decided that we were innocent.
Q: Youwere declared innocent and what happenedafter that?
A: After that, they said we werefree, we left, went outside the prison and found the Bosnian Special Police with the Americansand they captured us and we ended up here.
Q: Howlong have you been here?
A: Almostthree years.
Q: Howmany others were taken with you?
A: Wewere six. I knowabout the six from reading the newspapers and watching TV. Whenthey took us, we were blindfolded and couldn’t see anything,
Q: But, this person who’s name we were given,~~ he was not one of the six?
A: The mediasaid he was one of the six, but I don’t knowhim. I’ve not seen him. Maybehe’s here, I don’tknow. I’m sure he’s here because they’ve asked me ...... ~hQU~him manytimes in interrogations and they told me he was here, so he-must be here, but I don’t knowhim.
Q: Younever met him in Bosnia or ever heard his namementioned?
A: Never. I first heard his namehere in this prison. In the beginning, whenwe were in the old spot, in the old jail, they put all of us there. Theyhad us all in one area and they were saying the Algerian or Bosnian Six. He was there and I saw him there.
With permission, I’d like to say somethingI forgot to mentionearlier. I’ve been here for t~ee years and these accusations were just told to me. Nobodyor any interrogator ever mentionedany of these accusations you are talking to me about now, I’ve been here for three years, been through manyinterrogations and no interrogator ever mentionedany of these accusations, so howdid they just come now?Not even one mentionedthe embassything, the terrorist organization, this Algerian Islamic organization. It’s weird howthis just cameup now.
ISN#~ , Enclosure(3) Page l0 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED/~OUO 5091 UNCLASSIFIED/~OUO
Wecannot answer that because we ourselves don’t have any access to any other information at this point except whatyou’re telling us nowand the accusations told to you.
A: I was just observing and makinga point.
Q: Weunderstand. That is whyit is necessary for us to ask you these questions.
I don’t object to any of your questions. Askany question you want, I’m just mentioningwhat I observed, I just can’t understand howaccusations cameout and nobodytalked about it in investigations or interrogations. It just seems strange to me.
Q: At this point, we don’t knowwhy you’re being accused of being a memberof the ArmedIslamic Group. Do you have any idea why you are being connected with this group?
¯ I don’t know.All I knowis that after the horrible problemwith 9/11, all of the nations in the world wantedto help because it was a big problem. I think that Bosniadidn’t fred anything to give to the UnitedStates, so they said okay, let’s give them these six Algerians; they are Muslims.We were sacrificed just to show they gave something.There is no other wayto look at this.
I’m asking you. Youare just people, ifI did a crime in the United States, would you take meto the courts in the United States? Of course. Youare not going to deliver meto another country. If you find meinnocent you’d let me go free, if ...... not, you’d take ine to.jail.. If I was irmocent, it is impossible that you would give me to another nation.
Even though we were innocent, we were delivered to another nation and we don’t know why.
Q: Wedidn’t realize you had never been confronted with these allegations.
A: No, nobody ever mentioned an~g about any of these things. I should admit, that one time one investigator asked meifI walkedby the street the embassyis located on. I sai6 no, I never walkedon that street; I never wentthere.
Q: I don’t meanto recount three years of interrogations, but can you give us a brief summaryof things you have been asked about?
A: I was askedabout mylife story, fi’om the day I was born until the day I got here. I asked the interrogator if he’d give mea copy of that, it wouldbe great[ I would not have a chanceto go throughmy life story again. I asked for it as a souvenir.
mISN# Eaclasure(3) Page 11 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5092 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
Thenthey asked me whereI worked, wheredid I go, all the details. I was very cooperative and told them everything freely. Youcan ask, I always cooperated and always told them whatever they asked for.
I want to makean observation, also. I have a lawyer in the United States and he sent mea letter. He urged menot to participate, but to showyou mygood faith, I said I wantedto participate and I want to showyou that I amreally innocent and I want you to see. I can defend myself. If you’re innocent, no matter howpeople try to cover your innocence,it will comeout.
Q: we appreciate your decision to participate.
A: Thank you.
Do you happento knowif any of the other people in the so-called BosnianSix have connections with the ArmedIslamic Groupof Algeria?
As I told you, I only knowthree of them. Thosethree, I can guarantee you 100% it i.s impossiblefor anyoneof them to be a memberof any organization, especially terrorist. I knowthem as they knowme. I knowvery well they are not part of this organization.
Q: You’requite sure of this?
A: I amcertain. Theyare myfriends and if I had even the slightest doubt that they might be membersof those organizations, I wouldnot be their friend and I would ...... not be associated with~them. I. do not want to be dragged in things- that are-against the law or associated with things that are against the law. Plus, I condemnall things like that.
You said you were released by the Bosnian SupremeCourt and you walked outside the doors. Youwere g~eeted by the BosnianSpecial Police and the Americans?
Yes, because we saw the Bosnian Police and other people wearing Bosnlan clothes, but they couldn’t speak Bosnian, they were speaking English, so they were obviously Americans. I knowBosnia very well, and just by looking at them it’s easy to tell they are not Bosnians.
Q: Do you have any idea what organization the Americansbelonged to?
No, I don’t knowthese things. The only thing I knowis we were taken by the Bosnlans, delivered to the Americansand the next thing we knew, we were here.
ISN#~ Enclosure(3) Page 12 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5093 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
Wespent four days with our eyes closed, with bandageson our eyes, tape on our mouths, with shackled hands and feet. Tuesday through Sunday.
Q: Youwere not in the sameprison or jail you were in while you were waiting for the SupremeCourt?
A: No, we were separated. Each of us was in one ceil.
Q: But it was a different jail? Wasit a different jail than whenyou werewaiting for the SupremeCourt trial?
A: ~o response. The Detainee did not appear to understand the question.]
Q: Before the SupremeCourt trial happened,you were in jail.
A: Wewere in Sarajevo prison.
Q: Youwere not placed in Sarajevo prison after you were released by the Special Police and the Americans?
A: No, they took us to an Americanplace, I don’t knowthe name, or whegeit is.
Q: No one asked anything about your innocence from the Bosh.Jan SupremeCourt decision?
A: I tried to clarify this to all of the interrogators, but they keeptelling meit’s not ...... their job.for me to convince them.ofmyinnocence. It’s the~job to interrogate me,
Q: At any time, did you admit to anything that you did not do, hopingthat it might makeit easier for you?
A: No, I never admitted or confirmedanything, because I bad nothing to admit or confirm. I am innocent.
Q: Yousaid you never even walked by the Americanembassy and you also said you never watched the Americanembassy. Whydid you say you never watched the American embassy?
A: I never needed a visa or an3ahing. I have nothing to do with the American embassy, so whywould I go and look at it? That’s what I meant. I have no business there and I don’t need anything, so whywould I go?
Whenthe witnesses are broughtin, is it possible to salute them?
Enclosure (3) Page 13 of 25 UNCLASS1FIED//FOUO 5094 UNCLASSI~IED//FOUO
Tribunal President: Of course.
The Personal Representative called~~ ~).
Detainee’s Questions to the Witness~
The Witness,~~ was sworn.
Q: Hello,~ Do you know ifI belong to any terrorist organization or ifI ama terrorist?
A: All I knowabout this person [Detainee] is that he is a very nice and a very good person. He takes good care of his family. He is a family man. He works for a humanitarian organization.
Our case is very well knownbecause we are called Algerian/Bosnians. Everybodyknows that we have nothing really. Wehave no terrorism cormecfions or anything. Weare just wrongly accused.
This is fife truth, he [Detainee]is not a terrorist, becauseif he is a terrorist, that meansI am a terrorist too. I knowhe is a straight and good person. He has nothing to do with terrorism. I knowhim very well, as muchas I knowmyself or even more. IfI knewhe had anything bad about him, I would not be his friend. I would not be associated with him. Godis mywitness.
Personal Re resentative uestions to the Witness SN
Q: What did he do[Detainee] for the htunamsarian orgarazatlon..... 9 Can you describe it?
A: He workedwith the orphans, that was his job with this organization.
~Tribunal Members’ Ouestions to the Witness,~ ~SN~I
Q: So, you were arrested, along with this Detainee here?
A: I was detained before him. He was detained after me.
Q: Whatcharges did they makeknown to you that you were being accused of 7
A: All I knowis through the media. Theysaid we were planning a terrorist attack against the Americanembassy in Bosnia. This is not tree. The SupremeCourt of Bosnia found us innocent and whenthey took us out, they brought us here.
ISN#I~ Enclosure(3) Page 14 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5095 UNCLASS]~I~D/~OUO
Q: Describe the circumstances whenyou were released by the court and then ended up here. Tell us what happened.
Weheard the news Fxke everybodyelse. The SupremeCourt found us innocent. There was news and media. Wewent outside the jail, our families were waiting for us, and as soon as we walkedout, they captured us and the next thing we knew, we were here. This is briefly what happened.
Q: Do you know who ~~:is?
A: He was jailed with us, but I don’t knowhim as a person. I just knowhe was captured with us.
Q: Is he AlgeriardBosnianalso?
Theysay that he is Algerian, but I don’t know.The only people I knoware those
Q: Do you knowanything about the ArmedIslamic Group of Algeria?
All I knowabout this organization is through the media. Fromthe mediaI know they are labeled as a terrorist organization and they kill people and they do bad things. Wedon’t approvedof these things; we are against these kinds of acts.
Q: Have you ever been accused of being involved with them?
A: .When? Before, or-when I got to Cuba? ......
Q: At any ffme.
A: Yes, here I was accused of that. The interrogator cameand said I was a member and I said no, that wasnot ~rue.
Q: Whywould someoneaccuse you of being a memberof this group when you say you are not a member?
A: I don’t know.Throwing accusations is so easy, but you have to have the proof. It is impossible for meto belong to this organization. Evenin Bosnia, they were saying we might have connections to these organizations. They contacted the Algerian governmentand the Algerian governmentconfirmed that we have no relation with this organization, whatsoever.
ISN# g Enclosure Page 15 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5096 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
TheAlgerian governmenttold f~’.em, if you found theminnocent for what you ~e accusing them of, you have to k~t them go, because there is nothing against them.
You’venever had any associations with Al Qaedaor any other people?
NO,it’s impossible because from what I know,A1 Qaedais a terrorist organization andthey killinnocent people. Wedon’t approve of killing inuocem people or killing anybody,~.o I can’t belongto such an organization.
Youinvestigated mefor three years, and I’m sure you found out I have nothing to do with it. Evenif you continue to investigate mefor another ten years, you will fund out that I have no relations with them.
Before you were captured in Bosnia, what was your occupation?
I used to workwith the RedCrescent.
Howlong have you lived in Bosnia?
Almostfive years.
Howlong have you and Hajj [Detainee] been friends?
I met him as soon as I got to Bosnia, in 1997.
You’re very good friends?
Yes, he’s a good fr/end. He’s very straight and a very good human.That’s why we’re friends. Since I’ve been friends with him, I’ve never seen anything bad from him.
Mytestimony is said before God.I’m not saying it for anyt.hing, jnst to tell the
In yourfree time, what wereyour favorite things to do together?
I used to cometo Sarajevo only once a monthbecause I lived far ~omwhere he lived. WheneverI’d come,we just talked about business, life and thlugs 1~e that.
Q: Howlong would you stay? One day, three days?
It depends. The organization I workwith was there, so sometimesit’d be one day, sometimestwo days. It dependedon the need.
Youstayed at his house?
Enclosure(3) Page 16 of 25 UNCLASS~IED//FOOO 5097 UNCLASSIFIED//FOU0
A: No, I just used to go visit him becausewe have an office there. I’d go and visit himand havecoffee, that’s it.
The wituess,~~ ,.as excuse(L
Detainee’s Questions to the Witness~ I -- ! ~ fISN ~)
The Wimess,~~wassworn."
Q: Hello,~ Do you knowifI am a terrorist, or ifI belong to any terrorist organizations, or anything that is close to that? Doyou knowif anything of this nature has to do with me2If I had the intention of doing any terrorist acts against the embassy,or anyfl~ng else?
First, I wotfldlike to talk aboutthis tribunal, if it’s possible, then I wantto reply to what he asked me.
Tribunal President: Youare here only to testify on behalf of the Detainee.
I knowA1Hajj very well, as well as I knowmy pocket right here [pointing toward pocket on shirt]. If he is accusedof terrorist acts, that meansI amalso accusedof that.
...... ~ith regard to the Americanembassy in Bosnia, if you don~t believe the Bosniah~ governmentwho told you that we are innocent, howare you going to believe me? Howare you going to believe Hajj?
The Bosnian governmentdeclared us innocent and we h~/ve the document. You took those documentsand you brought us here. You have the documentsto prove that we are innocent and we have no relation with this embassy,period. It is impossible to believe me if you don’t believe the Bosnlangovernment.
Now,I’m going to talk to you about what the investigators said. All the investigators told methis just a play, just a joke. There is no Americanembassy and nothing that has any relation to terrorism in regard to us.
The Bosnian governmenttook moneyfrom the Americangovernment to deliver terrorists. So the Bosnian governmenttook that moneyand delivered six ofns, just to showand we have nothing to do with all that. These are not mywords, these are the wordsof the investigator. A tape of this does exist. That’s what they told me. I don’t knowif they told Hajj the samething.
Enclosure(3) Page 17 of 25 I~NCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5098 UNCLASSIFI~D/~OUO
The investigator told mepersonally that they have a big problemwith us. In Bosniathey said they have classified proof against us and here they say they have nothing against us. The problemis that they cannot return us to Bosnia because they will ask wherethe proof is. If they keep us for three years in prison and tell us to go home, somebodywho is plott’mg to bombardthe Americanembassy should not stay only three years, he should stay the rest of his life. Nowthey have a prob!emwith us, they don’t knowif they should release us or if they are going to keep us here. Therefore, this investigator kept telling methat we can’t leave here until they find somethingagainst us.
I’m talking about myself, but I’m also talking about him [Detainee]. Wehave the sameissue and the sameproblem. As I told you, I knowHajj very well, just as I knowmy pocket. If you think he’s a terrorist, that meansI’m a terrorist. If he thought about putting explosives in the Americanembassy, that meansI thought about it too. If you’re going to keep him in jail, I want to stay with him. I know him to the level I knowmy wife and my.kids.
This is all I knowabout his case, but regarding this terrorism and putting explosivesin the embassy,this is all faise and all lies.
I’m goIngto tell you further things the interrogators are telling us about this issue. WhenI stopped talking to the interrogators, they asked me whyI stopped talking. I stopped talking until I was told whywe are here. He told meyou still don’t knowthe accusation against you? I said I dida’t know. He asked what they accused me of in Bosnia. I told him they say we intended to think of doing this. I intended to think of putting explosives in the Americanembassy in Bosnia.
Forget about this. All of this is not tree. He asked meif there wereany other accusations besides this. I told him they said we are membersof the Algerian Islamic Military organization. Forget this one, too.
There was another accusation, I forget. MaybeHajj will remember.
Q: Did I ever talk to you about his ~lll~lli!!~that is mentioned in the accusations? HaveI ever mentionedthis person to you? HaveI ever spoke to you about tlfis 9erson?
A: First of all, this guy ~~1111~] is with us here. He is one of the six that were brought here. I’ve never seen him with Hajj and Hajj never even once mentionedhis name. I am sure if Hajj knowsthis person, I wouldknow this person too because I’m with Hajj almost every day in Bosnia. Weare always together. It is impossible for him to knowthis person and for menot to knowhim. I wouldhave at least seen him with trim and he never talked to meabout this person.
Enclosure(3) Page 18 of 25 UNCLASS]~IED/~OUO 5099 UNCLASSIFIEDI~OUO
They asked me about tNs person in Bosnia, but I didn’t knowhim. I met himhere in this prison.
Do you knowof me knowing anybodybelonging to A1 Qaeda, or have I ever mentionedansNaing to you about thJ~?
A: Absolutely never.
Tribunal Members’ Questions to the Witness, ...... i ~.(ISN
Q: As I understandit, you deny being associated with any terrorist organization at any time?
A: Are you asking me about myself?.
Q: Yes.
A: I thought this wasa tribunal for Hajj, not mytribunal. Whenit is mytribunal, then you ask me.
Q: I was listening closely to your testimony and I thought you said you were not affiliated with these groups, so I just wantedto makesure I understandwhat you said.
A: I don’t want to answeryou. If you ask me about Hajj I will answeryou, but if you ask me about myself, I’m not answering, Mytribunal is over, and I already ...... ~e.d to_them aboutmy case ......
Q: Howlong have you knownHajj?
A: I believe I met him in Tuzla in 1996, whenI movedthere.
Q: Beenvery good friends ever since?
A: Yes.
Q: In your free time, whatis your favorite thing to do together?
A: Wehad somefree time, but unfortunately his free time is different than mine. Me, personally, I don’t have a lot of free time. I workin the morningand in the evening I ama coach for a team. Mostlywe just go have coffee. We’ll go to Sarajevo to a sidewalk place and just have coffee or go to the Mosque. Sometimeswe’d go to Friday prayer.
Enclosure(3) Page 19 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5100 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
Q: Youknow Hajj as well as your wife and ldds, always together. Whatwas Hajj’s favorite tl~ng to do?
He likes to buy cars and he likes soccer.
Tribunal President’s Ouestions to the Witness. (ISN
Q: Did your families ever get together for celebrations or festivities?
A: Yes.
Q: Whatis your occupation?
A: I’m a computerdesigner. I programand repair computers, software and hardware.
Q: What sport did you coach?
A: Karate. I am memberof the national team ia Bosnia.
The witness, ~t~~ was excused.
Detainee: I apologize for the waythe he answeredyour questions.
Tribunal Member: Thank you.
The PersonalRepresentative called ~_j.... "-- [- .._ ~ _ ~
Detainee’s Questionsto the Witness~~[-- "’ :- .. "- -- ’"]flSN--
The witness was reluctant to take the oath. He explained that he did not kuowwhy he was hera He said he woMdtestify and take the oath, if Hajj had asked for him. It was explained to the witness that Haj] did ask for him and the Tribunal President apologized for not makb~git knownto the witaess why he was here.
rite wiOless, ~~~t~ was sworn.
Q: ~ do you know of me being part of any terrorist group, or have I ever mentioned anything to do with terrorism? Do you knowof me associating with anything to do with terrorism or any terrorist organization?
A: Never.
ISN#~ Enclosure(3) Page 20 of 25 UNCLASSIFIEDIfFOUO 5101 UNCLASSFIED//FOUO
Q: HaveI ever talked to you about anybodythat belonged to A1 Qaeda, or to Muslim Algerian Military organization, or anything of this kind?
A: Never.
Tribunal MembersQuestions to the Wimess, I!1 ~
Q: Do you knowwhy anyone would accuse A1 Hajj of being involved with terrorist organizations?
A: No, I don’t knowl
Q: Youwere apprehendedwith him in Bosnia and taken here as well?
A: Yes.
Q: Youwent through the sametrial in Bosnia with the sameresult?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you kno~~_~?.
A: Duringthe investigations, they have talked to me about him.
Q: Do you knowwhether or not he is associated with A1 Qaeda?
A: I don’t know.
Q: Do you knowif he is associated with the ArmedIslamic Groupof Algeria?
A: Are you talking about him [Detainee] or the other guy
Q: The other gay.
A: No, I don’t know.
Q: Do you knowif A1 Hajj has any enemies that might have accused him of being involved with any of this?
A: No, I don’t know,but he is a very nice person and I don’t think he wouldhave enemies.
Q: Do you consider yourself a friend of his?
Enclosure(3) Page21 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5102 UNCLASSIF~D/~OUO
Yes, he is mybrother.
Howlong have you knowneach other?
Fromthe fmae I got to Bosnia?
Which was when?
1997.
Howoften did you see him in Bosnia?
I don’t have a number.I didn’t write downevery time I saw him, but I used to see him. I don’t knowhow manytimes.
I don’t need to knowexactly, but I’m looking for frequently...occasionally...what?
He’s not mywife, so I’m not going to tell you I see him every day. I see him once in a while, yes. I don’t see him every day.
Did you socialize together?
Weused to visit each other,
What were someof the things you enjoyed doing together?
Weused to like to eat, drink and watch soccer on T.V.
What was your line of work in Bosnia before you came here?
I workedwith a humanitarianorganization that deals with orphans, the Red Crescent.
Q: This is a d’rfferent organizationthan Hajj is associated with?
Yes.
Hajj coached a sport. Whichsport?
Detainee: That was~, not me.
You were good friends. He coached a sport. Do you knowwhich sport that was?
Weused to play soccer, but he wasn’t the coach.
ISN#~ EnclosureO) Page 22 of 25 U~NCLASSIFIEDI/FOUO 5103 UNCLASSIFIEDI/FOUO
Q: He also had a part-time job, exchangingthings, buying and selling things. Do you knowwhat that was?
A: No, I don’t know.
Trib.nal Pr¢sident’s Questions to the Witness,
Q: Youindicated you workedfor the Red Crescent?
A: Yes.
Q: Did anyone else work with the Red Crescent that was captured with you?
A: Yes.
Q: Whowas that?
Q: Your occupation, did you have any other occupation besides your work with o~hans?
A: No.
Whatelse can you tell us about A1 Hajj that could convinceus that he has nothing to do with any terrorist organization?
A: Well,to tell youthe troth, this is just like a play. This i~ all poetics. First of all, mayI ask a question? If you knowyou are a terrorist and you knowpeople are looking for you, are you going to escape or not? Answerme.
Q: You’re posing the question to us?
A: Yes, I’m asking you. Yousaid you want me to convince you, so I’m asking you.
Q: Youwould have reasonable thought that a person wouldtry to flee, yes.
A: Good. Whenthey captured me and told me the accusations, I was surprised. I was actually shocked. Whenthey asked me about people I knowor not, on the list was AI Hajj’s name. I thought for sure there was confusionon the subject. I asked the head of the investigation the samequestion I asked you. He told me, of course, if accusedof this and the police werelooking for him, he’d flee.
~SN# Enclosure(3) Page 23 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO , 5104 UNCLASSIFIED//FOU0
I told him, howabout I call him [Detainee] on the phoneand he’ll comehimsel£ At that Re, I thought it was democracyand there was a mistake or a problem. If they wantedto investigate, that was okay. I didn’t knowthat these things were cooked from way up top and they were such a big thing. After that, A1Hajj walkedby himself to the investigator’s office and nowhe is in chains.
It is unreasonablethat a terrorist woulddeliver himself to the police. That doesn’t makesense. I have other things, but this is the most important thing.
TribunalMembers Questions to the Witness~......
Whenyou wereon trial in Bosnia, were all of you on trial at the sametime?
Yes, of course. In Bosnia, we didn’t go to official court, similar to this. Wewere in jail and they mid us that we were acquitted and had official papers that we were acquitted and there was nothing against us. R was announcedon the national T.V. and everywhere.
Q: Did you have representatives on you~behalf7 Anylawyers or anyd-fing?
Yes, we had lawyers.
Did you have to pay for them yourself or did someonepay for them for you?
I’m talking about myself. I don’t knowwho paid for Hajj, but I knowthat the organization I workedwith paid for mine.
~ ~.------,,~. WflS ¢XCUS
Witness: Why,you can ask. It’s no problem.
Tribunal Members:I have no further questions.
the Wituess and the Detaiuee had a conversatiou as the witness was beiug removed. The Witness told the Detaiueethat he woulduot do this for his owntribuual, but for his brother, he wouldtestiS,
Wi~ess: You people who ~e as~g ~ese questions, you don’t ~ow ~at Ha~ is ~ocent?
The witness was removed~omthe Tribunal roon~
De~mee:I apoloNze to ~e T~b~N~d to the Tr~slator for ~e ~mess’ behavior. R was ~ecess~.
Enclosure(3) Page 24 of 25 U2qCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5105 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
Detainee: This is all that I have. But, also those documentsin Bosnia will help mycase.
Tribunal President: Very well.
Detainee: Also, during mytime here, mybehavior with investigators, interrogators, and the guards was exemplary. I was very kind to them and they knowthat. This might also help and showthat I was very kind to everybody.
Tribunal President: We’ll certainly take that into consideration.
Detainee: I knowand I am confident that the Tribunal is experienced in this field and they took the oath and they are just People. I’m sure they will get to the right answerand do the right thing.
Thankyou for listening and for your patience, and also for your patience with the witnesses also. I thank you very much.
AUT]~NTICATION
certify the material contained in this transcript is a true and accurate summaryof the ¯ given during the proceedings.
Colonel, Corps Tribunal President
ISN~. Enclosure O) Page25 of 25 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5106 DETAINEE ELECTION FORM
Date: 28 Sept 2004 Start Time: 1000 End Time: 1130
ISN#: ~
Personal Representative: (Name/Rank)
Translator Required? YES Language? ARABIC
CSRTProcedure Read to Detainee or Written Copy Read by Detainee? BOTH
Detainee Election:
[] Wants to Participate in Tribunal
[] Affirmatively Declines to Participate in Tribunal
[] Uncooperative or Unresponsive
Personal Representative Comments: Detaineewill participate in the Tribtmal. Detaineerequest five (three in the campand two outside of the camp)witnesses: 1. ISN ~ ISN ~and ISN~hey have known the detainee since 1997 and can testify on the detainee’s backgroundand activities. 2. ~etzlnee fzther-in-law since 1993, can also testify on the detainee’s back~otmdand activities. 3. Razy Ai-Monaiad,detalnee’s managerfor his job at The Office of HumanAppeal INT can testify on the detainee’s backgroundand workhabits. Phone number:232398
The detainee has also request a copy of the court documentfrom his trial in Bosnia (American Embassy).There should be a copy of the documenthere. Additionally, he would like a copy of documentfrom Humanityof the People (Bosnia) the documentis dealing with his detention here.
Personal Representative:
U~CLASSEFI~D//FOUO 5107 UNCLASSIFIED
CombatantStatus Review Board
TO: Personal Representative
FROM:OIC, CSRT(6 October 2004)
Subject: Summaryof Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal: ALHAJJ, Boudella i. Under ~e provisions of the Secretary of the Navy Memorandum,dated 29 July 2004, Implementation of CombatantStatus Review Tribunal Procedures for EnemyCombatants Detained at GuantanamoBay Naval Base Cuba, a Tribunal has been appointed to review the detainee’s designation as an enemycombatant.
2. An enemycombatant has been defined as "an individual whowas part of or supporting the Taliban or al Qaidaforces, or associated forces that are engagedin hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners. This includes any person whocommitted a belligerent act or has directly supportedhostilities in aid of enemyarmed forces."
3. The United States Governmenthas previously determined that the detainee is an enemy combatant. This determination is based on information possessed by the United States that indicates that he is associated with al Qaid~ a. The detainee is associated with al Qalda:
1. The detainee was arrested with ~ a known al Qaida associate, for International Terrorism by the Bosnia-Herzegovinaauthorities.
2. ~ad phone conversations with Abu Zubaydah, a senior aide to UsamaBin Laden, whowas in charge of screening recruits for al Qaida training campsin Afghanistan.
3. The detainee and others acted as an organized terrorist group and they were in contact with knownal Qaida member, Abu Zubaydah.
4. Detainee was arrested by Bosnianauthorities in connection with a plamaedattack on the Americanembassy.
Detainee is a memberof the Mujahadinnetwork. Also, detainee is likely a member of ArmedIslamic Groupof Algeria, a militant organization.
ArmedIslamic Groupof Algeria is on the list of sympathizers and helpers of Usama Bin Laden’s al Qalda.
Page ~ of ~2_
UNCLASSIFIED Exhibit5108 ,~- / UNCLASS]:FIED
~’n’" Th,e d.e!,ainee has the opportunityto contest l~is designation as an enemycombatant. The evidencet~unmthat w~ll theendeavor detaineeto arrangedesires forto callthe orpresence introduce of any to prove reasonably that he available is not anwitnesses enemycombatant. or The Tribunal President will determine the reasonable availability of evidence or wimesses.
UNCLASS~IED 5109 Page ~2_ of Memorandum
To Department of Defense Date 09/30/2004 Office of Administrative Review for Detained Enemy Combatants Col. David Taylor, OIC, CSRT
From FBI GTMO Counterterrorism Division Asst. Gen. Counsel
~QUEST FOR REDACTION OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION
Pursuant to the Secretary of the Navy Order of 29 July 2004, ~mplementation of Con~atant Review Tribunal Procedures for Enemy Combatants Detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, Section D, paragraph 2, the FBI requests redaction of the information herein marked z. The FBi makes this request on the basis that said information relates to the national security of the United States ~. Inappropriate dissemination of said information could damage the national security of the United States and compromise ongoing FBI investigations.
CERTIFICATION THAT REDACTED INFORMATION DOES NOT SUPPORT A DETERMINATION THAT THE DETAINEE IS NOT AN ENEMY COMBATANT
The FBI certifies the aforementioned redaction contains no information that would support a determination that the detainee is not an enemy combatant.
The following documents relative to ISN ~ have been redacted by the FBI and provided to the OARDEC:
FD-302 dated 02/27/2002 FD-302 dated 05/02/2003
IRedactions are blackened out on the OARDEC provided document.
2See Executive Order 12958
Exhibit._~_~5110 - Memorandum from ~~to Col. David Taylor Re: REQD~ST FOR REDACTION, 09/30/2004
If need additional assistance please contact Asst. Gen. Counsel ~nce Anal
Inte
-2- Page __ of
5111 Anin-depth look at al-qaeda,the spraw|ing terror network through which Osamabin Laden exploits the bordefless globe with a secretarmy driven bya ruthlessnew brand of extremism
B~ MI6HAELELLIOTT
"You knowthat d-Qaedaexists from Algeria to the MarwanAi-Shehhi and Ziad Samir Jarrah, were also res- Philippines... it’s everywhere." idents of the Hamburgregion, The Hamburgcell, in turn., is thought to have been an operating unit of a worldwide -~froma conversgtionsecretly taped by the Italian policeon network of terrorists called al-Qaeda, the nameof whose March22; ~e speakerwas Essld Semiben Khemais, a Tunl- reclusive leader is now knownall over the world: Osama bin Laden. It was the worst crime in Americanhistory, and it has Al-Qaedahad its origins in the long war against the So- triggered the greatest dragnet ever known.The investiga- vietoccupation of Afghanistan. After Soviet troops in- tion into the atrocities of Sept. I1 has involved police vaded the country in 1979, Muslims flocked to join the forces across the U,S. and around the world. From Mich- local mujahedin in fighting them. In Peshawar, Pakistan, igan to Malaysia, from San Diego to Ciudad del Este, Par- which acted as the effective headquarters of the resis- aguay, law-enforcement agencies have been trying to tance, a group whose spiritual leader was a Palestinian figure out howthe terrorists carried out their attacks,.who academic called Abdallah Azzamestablished a service helped them-and what they might do next. Along the organization to provide logistics and religious instruction way, the American public has been introduced to a con- to the fighters. The operation came to be knnwnas al- fusing mass of names and faces and- has learned of more Qaeda al-Sulbah--the "solid base." Muchof its financing links between them than any but the most nimble fin- came from bin Laden. an acolyte of Agzam’swho was one gered could ever untangle. Afmr nearly two months, of the manyheirs to a huge Saudi fortune derived from a there is muchthat we knowabout the global terrorist net- family construction business. Also tn Peshawar was Ay- work that goes by the name of al-Qaeda--but an awful lot man Ai-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor who had been a that is still hunch. Still, an international, investigation by constant figure on the bewildering mosaic of radical Is- TIMEinto al-Qaeda’s structure reveals that it is moreglo- lamic groups since the late 1970s. A1-Zawahlri, whoacted bal in its range, and moreruthless in its ideology, than all primarily as a physician in Peshawar, led a group usually but its most dedicated students could have ever imag- called AI Jihad; by 1998, his organization was effectively ined. merged into al-Qaeda. The essential story of Sept. i1 is straightforward. A In 1989, while on his way with his two sons to Friday group of 19 man spant months in the U.S. preparing for prayers in Peshawar, Azzamwas killed by a massive ex- the hijackingr. The call had earlier been headquartered in plosion. His killers have never been identified; Azzam Hamburg, Germany, whera its alleged ringleader, an had many enemies. But by the time of his death, the Egyptian named MohamedAtta. 33, had lived offand on group around al-Qaeda were debating what to do with for eight years. Aria is thought to have piloted Flight 11, the sMlls and resources that they had acquired. The deci- tha first to makeImpact; two of the other suspected pilots, sion was taken to keep the organization intact and use it
5112 5113 TIME GRAPHICBY ED GABEL RESEARCHBY AMANDASOWER AND REBECCAWINTERS SOURCES:CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE; STATEDEPARTMENT; WIRE
Who’s Who in the Enemy Alliance
The top brass of al-Qaeda has wide- ranging ties to the shadowyworld of International terror, A look at Osamabin Laden’s lieutenants, their ~’iends and alleged associates AYMAN AL-ZAWAI~RI EGYPTIAN
A physician whosegroup, al-Jlhad, has effec- tively merged with al-Qa~da. ~l-Zawahiri, 50, is said to be the transforming mentor to
ABU ZUBAYDAH SAUDI PALESTINIAN
~aeda tamps TOHIR YULDASHEV UZBEK
AMIR KHATTAB SAUDI Khattab, who commandsrebels in Chechnya, trained in Afghanistan and was reportedly sent by bin Laden to supporl the breakaway movement,Khattab is said to receive millions washing0 vo|unteer~ from all over the Mus~ lira w~rld
5114 attacks/in!~ed to al-Qaeda--some~uccessful, somenot-- KHADAFFY JANJALANI on American targets and those of U,S, allies around the FILIPINO world. janlalanl is believed lo h~ve taken over as head ofAbu Sayyaf, a A1-Qaedahas its headquarters in training camps in Af- r~dlcai separator group terrortzthg the sou~emPhfl~pptn~ tn t~ ghanistan. In addition to directing its ownattacks, it acts quit to ~tabllsh an independent Islamic state. O~ciaNsay ~e as an umbrella group, financing and subcontracting oper- group was ~a~y funded by bin Laden, and many of as member~ ar~ ~ained ~ ~he Mtddle East. It ~ cu~en~y holding two Ameri- ations to local networks like Algeria’s Armed lslamic cans and at least 1~ Filipinos hoslage Group (C-lh), a terrorist organization active throughout Europe. The campsin Afghanistan play ~:vitai role. What- MOHA~ED ATEF ever network they may originally have been aligned with, EG~TIAN visitors to the camps meet men from other groups, forge Atefis bin Laden’~ mth~ chief, ~d helped set up al-QaedB net- relationships and acquire the stature of soldiers in a holy wor~ in E~t AM~.He wa~ lndicmd by ~e U,S, f~r ~e 19BB war. The high commandof the group include~ bin Laden, b~sy bombings th Tanzania and Kenya al-Zawahlri and Abu Zubaydah, a Saudi-barn Palestlnian HASS~ HA~AB whowas identified in an Americancourt case in July as ALGE~ the organizer of the camps and whoInvestigators believe maybe al-Qaeda’s director of international operations. Someof the best leads on al-Qaeda’s directorate now seem m be coming from Djamel Beghal, a French-Alge- rian who is suspected of being an al-Qaeda fingleader and who was arrested in Dubai in July on his way from Pakistan to Europe. After b~in.g convinced bY Islamic DJ~EL BEGHAL scholars in DiJbai of the elYi-l~:of t~rr0risrn, Beghalstarted F~NCH talking. (He is nowback in France and has attempted to retract his confession.) Begha/has said that while in Af- glianistan in March, he received instructions from Abu Zubaydah on a bombing campaign against American in- terests in Europe, including the Paris embassy. "He’s talk- ing about very important figures in the al-Qaeda S~D structure, fight up to bin Ladeffs inner circle," a Euro- MOROCC~ pean official told ~E. "He’s mentioned names, responsi- bilities and functions--people we weren’t even aware of before. This is important stuff." Thoughal-Qaeda has its roots in Afghanistan, investi- ~rough P~Bn, before Sept, 1L All ~ree are suspected of piay- gators nowthink that the "Afghan"nature of the group is subtly changing. The war against the Soviets ended in ZAC~AS MOUSSAOUI 1991. Increasingly, ai-Qaeda’s captains in the field are too F~NCH MOROCCAN young ever to have fought in Afghanistan, though some may have joined Islamic brigades in Chechnya--or in Bosnia, as Abu Zubaydah did. Manyof the new fighters were born and raised not in the Arab lands but in the Muslim communities of Europe, around which they travel with ease, Andthere is a growingsense that a num- ber of them are "Takftris," followers of an extremist Is- lamic ideology called Takflr wal Hijra (Anathema and Exile}. That’s bad news: by blending into host communi- to fight for a purer form of Islam. The initial target was ties, Takfiris attempt to avoid suspicion. A French official not the U.$. but the governments of Saudi Arabia and says they come across as "regular, fun-loving guys--but Egypt, which al-Qaeda claimed were corrupt and too be- they’d slit your throat or bombyour building in a sec- holden to the U.S. It was only after the Gulf War, by ond." which time bin Laden had movedhis operations to Sudan In addition to the ruthless nature of al-Qaeda’s sol- (he would later be forced to shift back to Afghanistan), diers, investigators now also appreciate just howexten- that he started to target Americans.To all but insiders, he sive are its tentacles. In mid-October, for example, fATe first became notorious in 1998, when al-Qaeda operatives forces in Bosniafoiled a plot to attack U,S. and British tar- exploded truck bombs at the American embassies in gets there.~~lk an Algerian thought to be Kenya and Tanzania, killing 12 Americans and hundreds at the center of a Bosnia-based terror group, had the num- of locals. Since then there has been a steady drumbeat of ber ofAbu Zubaydah on a chit of paper in his apartment~ 5115 When Terror Hides Online
L/Jd you hear the one about Osama bin Laden hidh~g operational security issues that exist anytime conspira- messages in pore websites? It sounds like one of those tors have a physical meeting," says MatthewDevest of crazy Sept, I 1 rumors, but it’s actually a law-enforce- the Terrorism Research Center, Terrorist watchers sus- ment theory about how the ai-Qaeda network dissemi- pect al-Qaeda may be hiding its pIans on online porn nates instructions to operatives in the field, sites because there are so manyof them, and they’re the It’s no secret that bin Ladan’ste~orist armyis Intern last place fundamentalist Muslims would be expected net savvy. Hijacking ringleader MohamedAtta made to go. his reservations on Americanalrlinas.com. Someof his Even for natheads, steganography is a bit obscure. confederates seem to have commur~cated through Ya- But bin Laden’s followers may have learned about it hoo e-marl. Andcell memberswent online to research whenit burst on the pop-culture scene in recent movies the chemical-dispersing power~of crop dusters. like Along Camea Spider. The FBI has been close- mouthed on whether it has found any steganographie images from a1-Qaeda. But a former government offi- HowSecrets Are Concealed cial in France has said that suspects whowere arrested ~ September for an alleged plan to blow up the U.S. DEVIL IN DETAIL embassyin Paris were w~Jfing to get their Orders through an ohiine photo; Hypothetically,a photo_gfa site to Lawenforcement is increasingly targe~ng terrorists’ technology. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the FB[ report= be attacked can be embeddedin edly in,tailed additional Carnivores, devices it has an innocuous image that is then been using to surreptitiously read e-malL on [nternet service providers, The National Security Agencyuses posted on an existing website for Echelon, a top-secret wiretapping device, to monitor e- terrorists to access for instructions marl, cell phones and faxes worldwide. Andthe antiter- rorism law passed last month broadened law enforce- ment’s powers to grab Internet communications. But secret Internet messages, knownas steganogra- Steganographic images can be detected through phy, may be the most insidious way bin Laden has "steg analysis," a process of hunting for small devia- taken his terrorist movementon line. Steganography, tions in expected patterns in a file. The hard part is " Graek for "hidden writing," allows messages to he knowingwhere to look in the vast expanse of the ohiine slipped into innocuous picture and music files. The world. Toughestof all to catch: so-called low-tech steg- trick is that the insertions are so small they’re impossi- anography, in which the message is conveyed overtly. ble to detect with the naked eye, but easily retrieved A photoon awebsita with armscrossed could mean at- through special software tools. tack an East Coast nuclear power plant; a blue ban- A terrorist mastermindcould insert plans for blow- danna coulti mean West Coast bridges; "Sometimes," ing up a nuclear reactor in, say, the nose of a puppy on says Ben Venzke,a terrorism specialist at the security a pet-adoption website. Operatives in the field, told analyst fwmIntelCenter, "the best technologies are the which nose to look at, could then check for their march- simplest ones." ing orders. Steganographyis a fast, cheap, safe way of delivering murderous instructions. "It avoids the --By Adam Cohen
On Oct. 28, Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group in the Philip- THE BORDERLESSWORLD pines that authorities believe has been supported in the past by al-Qaeda, bombeda food market, killing six peo- "GLOABLIZATION MEANS INTERDEPENDENCE," SAYS ple. And the Ugandan government announced that it had round Hull, U.S. ambassador to Yemenand former State detained eight men on suspicion of belonging to al- Department counterterrorism chief. "We have previously Qaeda. Howdid one organization with an extremist ide- seen the benefits of this interdependence, Nowwe are ology manage to acquire a reach that trembles govern- seeing its risks." That goes to the heart of any attempt to ments from Bosnia to the Philippines to Uganda? understand al-Qaeda. For the past decade, globalization 5116 as one of Osamabin Laden’s coundl of advisers,the Is He Osama’s Best Friend? Shura,hut alsoas a key memberof thefatwa commit- tee,which helped formulate the theologicaljustifica- Howdangerous can an Afro comb and a plastic bottle tion for al-Qaeda’s actions.Salim derived his prestige of hot sauce be? WhenOfficer Louis Pope came by cell from being a religious scholar who has memorizedthe No. 6 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Koran, and he would alternate with bin Laden in deliv- Manhattan on Nov. 1, 2000, he was distracted by a ering regular sermons to the aLQaedafaithful. The squh’t in the face from the bottle before the sharpened government’s star wimess, a former top al-Qaeda oper- comb was plunged like a bayonet through his eye and ative, described Salim as bin Ladan’s "best friend." It 2~a in. into his brain. The manin the cell, Mamdouh was Saiim, the prosecutors said, whoprovided al- MahmudSalim, then allegedly took the keys from the Qaedawith a rationale for "collateral damage," citing paralyzed Pope and began to wander down the hail. an ancient fatwa calling for all-out war against pagan Guards stopped Salim, and ha didn’t get away. Or did invaders, one that was likely to bring about the death of he? Muslimtraders and civilians in the cross fire. If the d- Arrested and extradited from Germanyin December vilian dead were indeed innocent, the argument went, 1998, Salim was a prize prisoner for the U,S. govern- they would be headed for heaven anyway. ment, which originally planned to put him ontrial with The prosecutors provided evidence in the recent four others charged with the Aug. 7, 1998, bombingof trial that Salim contributed more than theology. He the U.S. embassies in Africa. Salim had complained was on the committee that helped ai-Qaeda decide to that he should not be tried with the others in the trial relocate to Sudan in 1990 after the Afghan war. While scheduled for February 2000 because he had not been Salim had told the Germanshe handled finances for bin charged with directly carrying out the bombings.The Laden’s agriculture business, Themaral Mubaraka, the Judge had refused to sever the charges, but the assault prosecution’s wimess claimed that a significant part of on Pope gave the court no choice but to postpone his one large farm owned by the company was used for. conspiracytrial. Saiim, 43, will first be tried for the training courses in explosives. The witness also said tempted murder of Pope. Three weeks ago, on Oct. 18, that Salim, whoallegedly received a monthly salary of all defendants in the embassy-bombingtrial were $1,500; helped run bin Laden’s A1 Hijra Construction found guilty and sentenced to prison for the rest of company, which ostensibly built roads and bridges but their lives. also had a permit to import explosives for construction Salim has madehimself out to be small fry in use. The same wltness said that S~m took him on a the search for bin Laden associates. But could he be trip to a chemical-warfare-training facility in Sudan something bigger? The portrait pained of Salim in and was a critical link in the negotiations for an at- the embassy-bombingtrial is of a powerful and malig- tempted $1.5 million purchase of South African ura- nant personality~ Prosecutors described gaiim nium in 1993. (whose alias was AbuHajer ai Iraqi) not only (continued on ntxtpage) has beenunderstood as an economicprocess, rooted in found the courses difficult, and according to reports, a the trade of goods andservices. But the defining charac- family row exploded in 1999 when Danudfs father found teristic of our new world is not the movementof products evidence of his son’s appointments with psychiatrists. or moneybut of people. Cheapair transport, the effects of Daoudi left for Britain, his pockets bulging with the decolonization and a population explosion in the poorer $11,000 his family had saved for his education. parts of the world have combined to create an unprece- On Sept. 21, he madethe same trip; this time, running dented movement of humanity from one nation to not from his family but from the law. Daoudi slipped other. Travel and emigration have broadened the mind away from his apartment on the Boulevard John F. and brought unparalleled opportunities to countless fam- Kennedyafter police across Europe started to round up ilies. But they have also helped create havens for those se- the network that Beghal had assembled for his opera- duced by the romance of terrorism. tions. (French investigators think Daoudi was the com- French investigators believe Kernel Daoudi is one such puter-and-communications whiz kid of the group,) recruit; his tale illuminates both the nature of modernter- Daoudi knew Britain well. He and Beghal had hung out rorist ceils and their global reach. Daoudiwas the kind of there with Jerome Courtailler, one of two French brothers child that immigrant parents dream of having. The son of whohad converted to Islam. For a while, Courtailler lived Algerians who had immigrated to France, he took in south London with Zacarias MoussaouL another tough post-high school exams a year early and started to French child of disappointed immigrant parents. Mous- study computer sciences at a university in Paris. But he s.aoui grew up in the southern French town of Narboane 5117 (contiued[rom previous page) who had settled in Hamburgin the 1980s and who has Sallmadmitted tu Germaninterrogators that he told reporters.that he knewsume of the Sept. l l hijack- workedfor bin Laden’sbusiness ent~rises in Sudan, ere. Darkazanli attended the weddingof Said Bahaji, an includingThereat. But according to a transcriptof his alleged memberof the cell that included suspects Mo- interrogation, he insisted that "myrelationship with kamed Atta and MarwanA1-Shehhi. Babajfs wedding [bin Laden] Wasas an employee with a contract and album includes pictures of Atta and A1-Shehhi. Darka- monthly pay." Whenrecruited to run the businesses, zanli’s nameis nowon a List of 39 terrorists and organi- Salim said, he told btn Laden that "I was an electrical zations whose assets have been blocked by the U.S. engineer, not a finance specialist. He said that was not Treasury Department. He remains, however, free to important because he knew me to be an honest man roam about Hamburg. and that I would manage." If Saiim had been on trial for conspiracy in the em- Allan Haber, Sallm’s lawyer in the conspiracy case, bassy bombings, the U.S. would potegtially have been says the prosecution’s portrayal of Salim as a key bin able to establish his intimacy with the highest levels of Laden operative all comesdown to the credibility of al-Qaeda. In that case, the Darkazanli connection might the government witness Jamal Ahmedal-Fadl and be more than a tantalizing possibility:, a dear link be- "whether or not you can believe a man who says he is tween a "best friend" of bin Ladan’s and someone in a devout Muslim but steals moneyfrom his boss and contact with the Sept. 11 hijackers. tries to sell information to the governmentof Iarael." In the past five years, al-Qaeda officials have shown (AI-Fadl sought protection withU.S, investigators after deep concern over the secrets held by its high-ranking he embezzled $100,000 from bin Laden.) The govern- members. Wheptheir finance chief was nabbed by the ment says al-Fadrs testimony is accurate and can be gaudis in 1997, ther e were discussions about assassi- corroborated. nating ~ before he could turn information over to ’ WhenSalim was arrested in Munich, hesald hehad R.tyadh and the U.S. Whenthe head of the military arrived in Germanyfor the first time in 1995, to buy committee drowned in a ferry accident in Lake Victoria electronics to set up an Arabic-language radio station in Kenyain the spring of 1996, al-Qaeda agents were tn Sudan. The U.S. says the real goal was to get radio sent to verify that he was indeed dead and that no equipment that could be used by al-Qaeda to commu- crets had filtered out. But if Salim is a big shot who nicate with its operatives. The following year, however, knows too much. al-Qaeda doesn’t have to worry about found al-Qaeda in confusion: Sudan expelled bin him for a while. His trial for the attempted murder of Laden, and the group’s memberswere scattered until Pepe was scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 17 and their high commandreturned to Afghanistan. Salim has been put off until early next year because of the lo- was living in Dubal and by 1998 had made four more gistical and bureaucratic chaos in lower Manhattan, visits to Germany,ostensibly to look for a new wife and where the court system is located. His conspiracy trial a car, "Mywife had three operations on her uterus," he has not even been scheduled. The planes that devas- told interrogators, "I talked with mywife about this, tated lower Manhattan have made sure that whatever and she agreed I should look for a second wife." (Ger- secrets he holds will take their time comingto light. manpolice note that Salim’s airfare from Dubat cost more than the car he hoped to purchase, a used Mer- cedas-Banz 230 station wagon.) More important, Saliva acknowledged to his German interrogators that he had opened an account at Deut- sche Bankand ttmt he gave signature power over the ac- --By HowardChua-Eoan. count to MamnunDarkazan!i, a Syrian businessman With reporting by Charles P. Wallace/Ber/in
but left for Britain in 1992 and ~ook a degreeat London’s Daoudi, who was picked up in the British town of Leices- South BankUniversity. Earlier this year, he enrnlied in an ter, sits silent ina French jail. "He isn’t giving an inch," Oklahomaflight school that had been visited by two of says a French official His lawyer denies that Danudi has the Sept. 11 hijackers, and Germanauthorities say he had ever been involved in plotting terrorist attacks. called the house in Hamburgused by Atta. In August, af- Children of immigrants, Muslims in Europe, highly ter suspicious behavior at another flight school in Minne- skilled, Daoudi and Moussaoui epitomize the kind of per- sota, Moussaoul was arrested on immigration charges. son investigators nowthink provides some of al-Qaeda’s Todayhe is incarcerated in the Metropolitan Correctional key recruits. Aboveall, both menwere true globat citi- Center in Manhattan. refusing to speak to Investigators. zens; Moussanui, a child of the warmsouth, ended up in t 5118 TERRORIST HITS AND ATTACK MISSES A.UG. 7, 1998 DAR-ES-SALAAM,TANZANIA & NAIROBI, KENYA A CHRONOLOGYOF MAYHEM Truck bombshit U.S. embassies In both cities, kflgng 221, including 12 Americans.Bin Laden and 20 others were later indisted; tour re- ATTACK FOILED DEC. 29, 1992 ADEN,YEMEN One hundred U.S. servicemen had just left the Gold Mohur Hotel, on DEC, 14. 1999 PORTANGELES, WASH. their way to duty tn Somalia, whenthe bombhit. It killed two people Alert U.S. Customs agents noticed that AhmedRessam was sweat- in the hotel and seriously woundedfour tourists. Twosuspects re- In g--in wintar--whtle waiting to cross from Canada into the U.S. In
blow up LAXalrporL
ATTACK FOILED FEB, 2B, 1993 WORLD TRADE CENTER,NEW YORK DECEMBER1999 AMMAN,JORDAN CITY A tip to local int~lligen~e officials revealed a plot to kill U.S. and raeg millennium ravelers by bombinga fully hooked hotel and prominent Christian sites, ATTACK had al-Qaeda link~. OCT. 12, 2900 ADEN,YEMEN ATTACK A boat laden with explosives rammedthe U.S.S. C01e, killing 17 ors and wounding more than 30. gin Laden, at his son’s wedding. OCT. 3, 1993 MOGADISHU,SOMALIA wrote an ode to his supporters who carried out the atmclc "The Bin Ladenclaims he supplied weapons and fighters to Somalis in- pieces of the bodies of the infidgls were flying like dust particles." volved in a fierce hattie that left i 8 U.S. servicemendead. FOILED FOILED DEC. 25-26, 2000 STRASBOURG,FRANCE LATE1994, EARLY1995 MANILA,PHILIPPINES Germaninvestigators picked up four men across the Rbtne River in Frankfurt on the eve of what they said was a planned bombassault Then-fugitive Ramzl Yousefhad already slipped out of the U,S. and the Philippines whenofficials investigated an explosion in a Manta on Strasbourg’s cathedral and market¯ apartment occupied by two people gnked to him. InveeUgators dis- covered plots to assassinate the Pope and President Clinton durLng ATTACK SEPT, 11, 2001 NEWYORK CITY, WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA FOILED Four hijacked passenger airliners crashed into NewYork City’s two tallest bugdings, the Pentagon and a field in rural Pennsylvania. JUNE26, 1995 ADDIS ABABA,ETHIOPIA Thousands were killed. An assassination attempt on the motorcade of Egyptian Pr~sidem HosnI Mubarak w~s unsuccessful FOILED ATTACK SEPT. 13, 2001 PARISAND BRUSSELS Evidence of plota to bombthe U.S. embassyin Paris, and possibly NOV.13, 1995 R/YADH,SAUD1 ARABIA also NATOheadquarters in Brussels. was uncovered after the earlier A car bombat a U.S.-run training facility for the Seudi NeUonalGuard confession of Djamei Beghal. The infoirnatinn, despite being par- killed five Americans and twu Indians, Four Saudis confessed on ha- FOILED ATTACK OCT. 8, 2001 SARAJEVO,BOSNIA NATOofficials say they disrupted an al-Qaeda cell that was plan- JUNE 25, 1996 DHAHRAN,SAUDI ARABIA ning to attack the U.S. embassyand Eagle B~eair fleki, used by some 3,000U,S. peacekeepers. --By Amanda Bower
5119 the state whereice fishing is a favorite sport. As they dig saoui, the Courtailler brothers and Beghal all otter.dee deeper, law-enforcement agencies are beginNng [o un- prayers there. Beghal is said also to be a follower of Abu derstand just how effectively globaltzation has spread Qatada, a radical who preached jibed from a community terrorism around the planet, center on Baker Street and whose bank account, allegedly Consider two countries half a world apart and far from with $270,000 in it, was frozen by the Bankof England in the Islamic heartlands: the Philippines and Britain. It was mid-October. in Mantle, that most Catholic of cities, that Mohammed London’sdirty secret is that tt has long been a recruit- Sadeek Odehfound his vocation. Sentenced to life impris- ing ground for terrorists. French authorities moanwith onmenton Oct, 18 for his part in the I998 bombingsof the frustration at the lack of British cooperation. For years the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Odeh French were unable to get Londonto extradite suspected seemed to have lived the predictable life of an al-Qasda . membersof the Algeria-based c~, responsible for a wave operative--he was born to exiled Palestinians in Saudi of bombingsin Paris in the mid-1990s. The U,S. hasn’t Arabia and grew up in Jordan. Yet he turned to radical Is- ways had better luck; Americans have been trying fo get lam while studying engineering in the Philippines. It was their hands on Khalid al-Fawwaz, a London-based Saudi there that Odeh first saw and heard videos and taped alleged to have set up an office for bin Laden in 1994 and messages from Abdallah Azzam. In 1990 Odeh moved to now wanted for trtal in relation to the African embassy Pakistan, and from there to the camps in Afghanistan and bombings. (A1-Fawwaz’s legal maneuverings have just a new life as a soldier in al-Qaeda. reached Britain’s highest court.) Other Musttms who had studied in the Philippines The gears of British justice are starting to grind more maintained links there. It was from MaNfa that Ramzi quickly. London has detained and questioned a number Yousef, the convicted mastermind behind the frrst World of Sept. 11 suspects, including Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian al- Trade Center bombing, hatched a plan to blow up 12 leged to have helped train the suicide pgots in the attacks. Americanairliners as they flew over the Pacific. In the And last week Yasser al-Siri, whose bookstore and web- mtd-1990s, MohammedJarnal Khalifa, married to one of site are well knownin London, was charged with conspir- bin Laden’s sisters, allegedly funded Islamic schools in acy to murder AhmedShah Massoud, the leader of the the south of the country, where Musliminsurgents have anti-Taiiban Afghan Northern Alliance, Massouddied af- been fighting for years. The Filipino governmenthas long ter assassins bombedhis headquarters on Sept. 9. claimed that Abu Sayyaf, the most bloodthirsty of the But al-Siri’s case demonstratesthe oddities of the Inter- groups--its specialty is beheadings--has been sup,ported national legal system. He is in Britain on asylum from by al-Qaeda. Abdurajak Jan]alani, the groups late Egypt. where he was sentenced to death for the attempted founder, fought in Afghanistan. reportedly wtth bin murder of the Prime Minister in 1993, a charge he denies. Laden and Yousef. The links may be a thing of the past; "That was a military court," he told TIMEbefore his arrest these days Abu Sayyaf’s style runs more to kidnapping "I’m a civilian." Governments across Western Europe, and ransomthan to jibed. Still, Philippine President Glo- their feet held to the fire by strong civil-liberties groups, ria MaeapagalArroyo recently said Khalifa had offered to have been protective of the rights of refugees and asylum secure the release by AbuSayyaf of lg hostages, includ- seekers. And while the European Union has demolished ing an American missionary couple. barriers to the movementof goods and’ people, its 15 About the only thing that MaNia has in commonwith tions have been slow to develop commoninstitutions of Londonis damp--that and a reputation for giving succor criminal justice and investigation. For Atta and hts cell of to terrorist supporters. Britain has always had a habit of alleged conspirators in Hamburg,the characteristics of providing safe haven to political refugees; that’~ whyKarl modern European life were a godsend. In addition to the Marx is buried in Highgate cemetery. But in the past 20 hijackers knownto have lived there, other menalleged to years, says Neff Patrick, a Middle East analyst at the be part of the Hamburgcell have had arrest warrants is- Royal UNted Services Institute, Londonhas become "the sued for them: Said Bahaji, Zakariya Essabar and Ramzi capital of the Arab world." As they used to say in Britain: Binalshibh. Germanofficials believe that last spring both Whoever lost the Lebanese civil war, London won it. Essabar and Binalshibh tried to get to the U.S. to take fly- With Beirut in ruins, banks relocated from Lebanon; they ing lessons. The three almost certainly arrived in Pakistan were followed by Arabs from Saudi Arabia and the gulf from Germany on Sept, 4 and have since gone to who summered in Kensington Gardens, journalists, ground--possibly in Afghanistan. membersof opposition groups--and radical Islamic cler- Hamburgwas an ideal long-term base; 1 in 7 of the ics. city’s population is foreign, as is 1 in 5 of the students at One such preacher, Abu Hamza al-Masri, arrived in Atta’s college. (Foreign students pay no tuition in Ger- t981, having left one eye and both hands in Afghanistan. many,) Atta and his friends could have stayed as long as He was granted British citizenship in 1985, and his they liked--Germany invented the perpetual student-- mosque in Finsbury Park, tucked among Victorian row since they had legal residence, coutd travel freely around houses one tube stop from Arsenal’s soccer stadium, has the E.U. or leave it for a period, without arousing suspi- become famous worldwide for preaching jibed. Mous- cion. It is hard to think of a wayof life that so epitomized 5120 the promise of a borderless world and then perverted glo- balization to such an evil end. The Suspects: a Bosnian YOUNGAND RUTHLESS Subplot
AFTERSEVEN WEEKS OF INVESTIGATIONSTHERE IS NOHARD Theconver~a~on was In code, but to trained ears it wase~fly evidence that links the Hamburgcell to any other. There understood,Picked up by U.S.listening devices on Oct. 16 in Sara- are fragments of a puzzle--Alto made a 10-day trip to jevo, it rangedin topics fromthe bombingha Afghanistanto "what Spain from Miamiin July that continue~ to bother Inves- the responseshould be here." a senior aosnlanoi~clal told TIME. tigators, while French sources still think that Moussaoui U.S,and British tm’get~ in Bosniawere mentioned. But it w~sthe may be connected to the Hamburgcell--but many pieces are missing. For example: Was MohammedBensakhria, an Alge- rian arrested in June by Spanish police, bin Laden’s key European lieutenant? If so, is there an Americanequiva- lent-and has he been picked up in the dragnet after the attacks? Did al-Qaeda’s reputed training-camp chiefAbu Zubaydahleave Afghanistan before Sept. 1 i, as European tack Ea~JeBase, the airfield usedby some3,000 U,S. peacekeepers .officials believe, andffso, whereis he andwhat is he doing? In the country."We are confirmingthe preseuceof the a[-Qaeda On one matter, however, European investigators are clear: there is something truly ruthless about the sus- pected terrorists they are finding. After six Algerians were picked up in Spain in September, police fdUhd vid- made70 calls to eotapes in the apartment of one of the men. One tape showedfour Algerian soldiers, with their throats cut, dy- ~Afghanistan between the day of ing in a burning]cop. e U.S; attacks and his arrest For experts in terrorism, such incidents are suggestive. In Egypt in the 1960s, the Islamic ideology Takfir wal leader of the Algerian ceil t~l~, 41. all~ ~ Hijra began to win adherents among extremist groups. One of them, the Society of Muslims, was led by Shukri Mustafa, an agricultural engineer. Mustafa denounced papers(Algerian and Yemenl), blank pa,~ports mud on a small other Muslims as unbelievers and preached a "with- drawai" into a purity of the kind practiced by the Prophet Muhammadwhen he withdrew from Mecca to Medina. The ideology is particularly dangerous because it pro- vides a religious justification for slaughtering notjust un- believers but also those who think of themselves as Muslim. Intensely undemocratic--for to accept the au- thority of anyone but God would be a blesphemy--Takfir wal Hijra is a sort of Islamic fascism. European analysts now believe that Takfir thinking longto a communityof about 200 ex-m uJaht4in who came to Bosnia has won ~onverts amongterrorist groups. Beghal is Tak- girl, and Daoudiis thought to be. Roland Jacquard, one of the world’s leading scholars on Islamic terrorism, says taffy, "Atta was Takflri." It is not just soldiers of al-Qaeda who may be following the Tal,Jir line. Mustafa was exe- cuted in 1978, but his ideas lived on; the beliefs of al- Zawahiri’s A1 Jihad were dominated by Takfiri themes. AzzamTamimL director of the Institute of Islamic Politi- cal Thought in London, says of Zawahlri, "He is their ideologue now.,. His ideas negate the existence of com- mon ground with others." Bin Laden and al-Qaeda may have learned, by violent experience, to preempt and harness the new fanaticism. In late 1995, bin Laden’s compoundin Khartuum was --ByAndrew Purvls/Sarajevo tacked by gunmen believed to be Takfiri. A Sudanese 5121 friend of bin Laden’s who questioned the surviving at- The results of the hoot camps are diehard but undetect- tacker said, "He was like a maniac, more or less like the able soldters of the movement. "The Takfir/’ says Jac- students in the U.S.A. who shoot other students. They q’uard, °are the hard core of the hard core: they are the don’t have very clear objectives." By the time al-Qaeda o:nes whowill be called upon to organize and execute the had resettled in Afghanistan, ideological training was an really big attacks." French officials think that Takfiri be- integral part of the curriculum, according to a former re- liefs have bred a distinct form of terrorism. "The goal of cruit who went on to bomb the U.S. embassy in NairobL .TaMir," says one, "is to blend into corrupt societies in or- Students were asked to learn all about demolition, artil- der to plot attacks against them better. Memberslive to- lery and light-weapon use, but they were also expected to gether, will drink alcol)ol, eat during Ramadan,become be familiar with the fatwas of al-Qaeda, including those smart dressers and ladies’ men to show just how inte- that called for violence against Muslimrulers whocontra- grated they are." dicted Islam--a basic Takfiri tenet. French terrorism ex- For law-enforcementofficials, the Takfiri conqection is pert Jacquard describes Takfiri indoctrination this way: terrible news. By assimilating into host societies--some "Takfir is like a sect: once you’re in, you never get out. won’t even worship with other Muslims--it’s easy for The Takfir rely on brainwashing and an extreme regime Takfiris to escape detection. Those stories of the Sept. 11 of discipline to weed out the weak links and ensure loy- alty and obedience from those taken as members."
What Makes Youths Volunteer? ToBritish law~:~Anjem Cheudary, 40, a British passport meansvery little. For a true Muslim,he says, "a British passport is no morethan a travel document."Abu Yahya, 26, a Londonerand veteran of military Wainingcamps in Kashmirand. Afghanistan,agrees: "Our allegiance is solely to Allah and his messenger,not to the Queenand country. Nationality.... means nothing." Choudaryand Yahyabelong to the extremist Islamic group al-Muhajiroun,and though they speak for only a tiny fraction of Britain’s Z million Muslims,their views received grim publicity lest weekwith the newsthat three British-born Muslims had been killed in Kabul--allegedly in a U,S. bombingraid on a Tallban compound--aftervolunteering for the jthad. The deaths of the three youngmen shocked their families. In Crawley, an indnsadal town 33 miles south of London,the motherof Yesir Khan,28, insisted her son had goneto Pakistan for humanitarianwork, In Luton, 84 miles north of London, the parents of computer-engineeringstudent Afzal Munirand taxi driver Aftab Motif.oar, both 25, weren’t aware the two had jnined up. Both lived with their parents in modestsuburban houses in this quiet town that is hometo 82,000 Muslims. ManyMuslims in Britain, however,are loudly anti-Americanand highly critical of the bombingin Afghanistan. Al- Muhajirounis capitalizing on this anger. The group had been saying for weeksthat Britons were flocking to the bin Laden cause, muches Jewishyouths wenfto Tel Avivin 1967 to fight in the Arab-Israeli war. In Lahore, Pakistan, lest weeka spokesman--Britishuniversity graduate AbuIbrahim--put the numbersat betweenI~O9 and 700, British authorities, how- ever, speculated that volunteers pmbahlyamounted to a few dozen. Conservative peer NormanTahbit suggested that it wouldbe treason for British citizens to take up arms against Anglo-Americanforces. DefenseSecretary GeoffHoonwarned that those whodid fight for the Taliban might face prosecution should they retain. Thejthad volunteers are mostlyf~om f~st-generatien British families and feel oppressedby the stresses of biculturailsm, suggests MounirDaymi, executive director of Britain’s MuslimStudents Society. This alienation Is felt mostdeeply in the poorer communities.That’s where you wEi find "somapeople whowant the clash of dvilizatlans to happen," Daymisays. AdamArmstrong, 35, a Luton teacher whoconverted to Islam in 1989 because he felt "somethingwas missing" in his life, endorses that view. The volunteers, howeverfew, are "devout Muslims,area university students," he says, the sort of ide- alists whoused to go m Chechnyaand nowgo to Afghanistan. Askedwhy mostly Britons seem tO have volunteered so far, he said that Muslimsare better organized in Britain, often have families in Pakistan or Kashmirand enjoy greater freedom ofmovement. There are no national identity cards, giving authorities less lmowledgeof their whareabouta. MostBritish Muslimsreject al-Muhajiroun’s militant campaigning;, felIow Muslimsin Luton have been giving the hard- liners a rough time. A1-Muhajirounleaflets have been harmedfrom Luton’s Central Mosque,and last weekthe local al- Muhajirounleader, knownsimply as Shahed, was attacked in the street after he staged a noisy demonstrationin support of the Taliban. AlthoughDaymi of the MuslimStudents Society rejects al-Muhajiroun’smessage, be does believe that nowis the time for jthad--but not the kind others are pursuing. "In these days of war, our jibed is to showthe peaceful face of Islam," he says. "Retaliation and revengewilljnst lead to moreretaliation and revenge. Youcan defendyour religion peace: fully." That maybe the kind ofjihad worth joining. --By Helen Gibson. With reporting by.left Chu/Birminghara and GhulamHasnain/Karaclai
5122 11 hijackers drinking in bars and carousing in Las Vegas and running. Only one of the 19 hijackers entered on a may nowhave an explanation. Jarrah’s cousin Salim, who student visa. Can screenings in foreign countries be tight- lives in the Germantown of Greifswald, claims that they ened? Maybe, but all 19 were run through a computerized "used to go to church more than to the mosque." jaltah, "watch list" of suspected terrorists whenthey applied for says Salim, loved discos--"We didn’t need veiled woman visas (at least six were interviewed personally). Nothing and all that"--and sneaked shots of whiskey duting a turned up. In any event, as Kathleen Newland, co-direc- family wedding. He makes Jarrah sound like a normal tor of the Migration Policy Institute in Washington,says, guy, and normal guys aren’t easy to catch, "The facts remain the same," Globalization will continue to spin people around the world. The U.S. will continue BOLTING THE DOOR to have two enormou~land borders with peaceful neigh- bors; we’re never going to see watch towers along the 49th parallel. Each year, says Newland,there are 489 mil- THOSZ CHARGZD WITH CATCHING TERRORISTS WON’T STOP trying. Andgovernments are reassesstng their policies on lion border crossings Into the U.S., involving 127 million immigration, asylum and open borders, Newlegislation passenger vehicles; each year, 820,000 planes and 250,000 ts promised in Canada, Britain and Germany; the talks ships enter U.S. airspace or waters. Howeverterrorism is beaten, it won’t be by Americanborder controls. this year when Mexican and American officials seriously considered not tightening, but liberalizing, their immi- Will it be by war? In the immediate aftermath of Sept. gration policies nowbear the sad echo of a lost worM. i 1, there was a hope that police work might be able to rid The American refugee program, which had been re- the world of al-Qaeda and its associates. But the more we sponsible for bringing about 80,000 people into the U.S., knowof bin Laden’a group, the less that seems likely, and ts barely alive: President Bushhasn’t signed its annual au- not just because its operatives are ruthlessly fanatic. thorization, Last week Bush announced further measures Perhaps the single most important truth learned in to bolt the nation’s door, including the formation of a For- seven weeks is the existence of a creepy camaraderie, an eign Terrorist Tracking Task Force to coordinate federal international bond amongterrorists, Those ties are forged efforts to keep terrorists out and hunt them downif they in Afghanistan. "The one thing that absolufely everyone slip in. Authorities will nowcheck to see that those who involved in terrorist groups has in common,° says a Eu- enter the U.S. on student visas actually attend school. But ropean official, "is passage through the al-Qaeda camps. there is an air of desperation to the proposals. "This was Whenleaders are sent from Afghanistan to start organiz- not an immigrationfailure; it was an intelligence failure," ing people, there are no questions asked: the camp expe- says Charles Keely, professor of international migration rience allows everyone to recognize the bona tides or at Georgetown University. jihad." The B-52s pounding away from 40,000 ft. may not In Washington, the Immigration and Naturalization look like sleuths and cops. But ff al-Qaeda’a sinister ap- Service is regarded as a mess; even its spokesman, Russ peal and global reach are ever to be broken, the bombers Bergeron, says it has "languished for decades," In 1996 too must play their part. Congress told the INS to set up a computer system to track those who come into the U.S. on student visas; but with some fi00,000 such people in a country with more than --Reported by Bruce Crumley/Paris, Helen Gibson and James Graff/Londo~, Scott MacLead/Cairo and Viveca Novak/Washington, 22,000 educational institutions, the system is not yet up with o~her bureaus
5123 Page Const~tin~:, Algeria, resi~g at~m~ ~acher of Arabic l~g~age employed by Saudi ~gh Co~tt~ Islamic Center. ~ with one child; Musiim. ~gefian cifi~n, Identity deto~ by paSspo~ ~ issued by ~e Algefi~ Emb~syin Kome. Cu~ently ~n det~on.
9, ~[n Sidi ~ed, Algeria, residing ate. Citizen of ~gefia & B~, hol~ Bill p~spm~ ~& Alge~oa ~wh~ch was used to dcte~n~~s identity. Cu~entlyin deteqtiou.
~ ~L~ EL A~ED, born on ~1972 in ~pnlj, other infb~ation is unknown, unknownad~ess
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8. 1~ ~ak~ ’~’, Son Of’~ll~ And ’~ ~ Born On 2 Apt ~ tn Laghvat, Algeria, He Lives In~ On ~Number ~ He Is An ~miaistrator Employed With TheUumanita~an Organization "C~eni Polumjesec" ~ihac Of Hcc." He Is M~edAnd "t’h~ Father Of 2 Minor Children. He Is Arab, Muslim And A Citizen Of Algeria And
Rue to based suspicion dmt they ha~c: during 2000 and 2001 in Samjevo, especially in ~ September and October of 2~l, in unison and in ag~meat ~hey acted,~ an ~ te~od~ ~oup. ~ s such, ~hey have ~adc conta~ ~itn an o~r of the.~e~or~ network
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Dueto basedsuspicion that they have: during 2000and 2001 n Sarajevo,especially in Septemberand Octoberof 2001,in unisonand in agreementthey acted as an organizedterrorist group, As such, they havemade contact with an officer of the terrorist network"AI-Qaida" aka AbuZubaydah via telephonenumber 00387 32 420737in order to coordinate actions in that time frame, The telephone numberbelongs to the first charged~ ~. They also used the mobile telephone number066 775-373. To date it is not knownwho this number belongsto. Theycompleted this with the goal to inflict harmto the U.S.A., in particular to the USembassy in Sarajevo.They have organized surveillance of the facility andpersonnel at the U.S. embassyin Sarajevoin order to determinethe movementpattern of the employedpersonnel and high officials. Theyhave implemented control andsecurity measuresin order to successfullycarry out an attack of the U.S. embassyand it’s personnel.They werethwarted in their actions by the authorizedemployees of the Sarajevofederal MUP.Therefore, with the intent to placeharm to a foreign country-theU,S.A., they haveattempted to attack the facility andthe employees of the U.S. embassyin Sarajevo.
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Page ~ o£’.__...__~ 5126 I 0i1/2004 ["Exclusive" report by AzharKalamu]~c, "Federal P011C~’Uncover N~twork of Ngerian Organization in’~] B-H?
[FBIS Translated Text].., . . /.. ’ :.:~! . .~ i..~ ..... " ..... Overthe past ~ days’t.t~e f~der.al ~lice .tia~arrff~ted~i~gi~=fi.ans ~p[o~edin’a number
international terrorism, while ~o-Others,also A~~nS~a~e Still b6ih~ has learnt thi~. from.MUP[Interior Mini~t~] squ~Ces-in.,tbeFedpration qf Bosnia-He~egovjna.
~~c~;)’~ated~p~ti~a by/{~’.fede~! poli~e;as~;{R~ p~it-~e6f the-thr~ cantons s&~ea:on 8 October,w~5~, a hum~nitad#n=~5~ke~ " a~a~ C~t~zen of Algeda ¯ ~an~Bo#nia-He~egovina, was a~ested in Zenjca.. Ted days later,~~,.an employee of the ~aibah humanitarian organization; an~,:.an~0~#~t o[’~)#~_S:~£@.H~gh " Comm[~ee,were detained in S~aj~vo. ~he ~Olice.gperatioa co£tifiued ~v~t~eAthfee days, first in Bihac on ~90ctd6~,~hen~ ~lia~ was a6t&ined; and ~,~then in Sarajevo on 20 and 21 October with the detention of~;.a ~umanitarian E~(~orkerw~th the .Red Crescent, and BOdalahHaj, #ore the HumanAppeal hum&n~a~ian " organization.
as AbuNasr, whomthe police are.still seeking;:~ep’a~6fth~~:6afi~he~ork:ofthe ~geriaa GIA[A~e# .l~[e~i~;.Group]~[l~t~-£r~ag~za~]~ o _~)ich ~s, qa the.list £[.the sympathizersand?help~.5~Us~a~a~Si~’LadiS’S" ~l-Qa’ida’,~?"’"..: .... " "’-’~~
Oslobodjenje,ho~er, learns ~bat ;~~y,Sne~fth~ ei~h{~Al~edsn~:on.~he list 0f th0s~ arrested or sought i~ of "se#sr..nter~st ~" ...... to’F8 a"g6nts~ndthS~e ....~S into_ igence.sew.~es that are actively involved in CoUnte~errodstopemtbns’.[n B6~ia~He~egoV[~a.
Our source warns that suspicions about alihk 5e~e~ntheabo~’-~entbned Algerians and worldterrorism are still beingc~ecked, and thai besidethe police the ~inist~ o~ C~vil Affairs andthe Mi~S{~of laternal Affairs a~ invsiVedin th ~ ta~k an~are t~ng to establish whether the suspectsacquired B0Snia-He~eg~vina n~t~dfi~lit~, thatis tq say pa~sp0~s,legally. The FederalFinancial Minist~ has beengiven tSe’~askof checkingtheirSa~k accountsand
Page ___~ of 5127 . IN THE ~qIT~D’STATES DiSTRICT.COURT FOP-. THE DiSTRICT-OF COEUMBIA
etal.
Peti?i6nem,
GEOR.G~WALKER. BUSH, P~esident ¯ of the United States of Ambriea;... DONALD¯P,.UMSFELD, Secretary.of Defense;.OENERALJAY HOOD; Commmader,Joint T~k Force; COLONELNELSON J: CANNON~:, C.ommander~Camp Delta; in their individual and official capaqitie~, .
Respondents. ¯ .. ’ -" .
~ AFFIDAVIT OF ~ state as follows." " - ’ "
1. Ib/asbomonJafiuary 19,gin~l~lll. Iamaeiti~.enofBiH. Imarried . Bbudellh Hadj on February 20, 1999"in Sam]eve.’ Wehave four children: b~)m September RS, ~ ~.bom Au~ast 24, ~ "S’ajmaa, bt~m Ma, and ~ born February 15, ~ They are all eRizans
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5128 . ~n 1996, m3~ husbandst~tto work for.the human~tari~aid organization Human A.ppeal, and we-movedto Sarajevo. Fie workedas a s~cial worker with war-orphaned children. Heloved worldng. With ch[ldre.n; he is Else a veryaffectionate and lovingfather ¯ to,b~ ownchildren and spent all hi~ free ~metaking car~. of~hem.!. . On.October’2j,200 l, u~Jonreceiving a call froin the p~lice, myhusband weht to the police station in Samjevo.He then r~turnedto ot~ aparimentwith police .officers, S~abilization Forces, r~nd L-Jt~matibnalPoliceTask Forces members.The poliqe c~nduc~eda search of o.ur home,but fotmdno relevant evidence. Myhusband was arrested the sameday, in cormectioowith. suspectedterrorist activity..On January17, 200.2, the BosmanSupreme Coud: ordered myhusband’s ~mmeAirtte release ou the g/~undthat there wereno reasons uponwhich pre-trial detention could be ordered. l~lsreg~dingthat d’eci~ion;the Federati6~aP0~iee ttansfe~ed myIJushand to UnitedStates " cU~t0dyat 6:00 a.m. on January18,2002. . "~h~exlSulsi~r~ of HadjB~uflell~, .a Bnsnlancitizen," was.madepossible by the fact that Bo.sniancitizenship wasrevoked shortly after his arrest. The’~leoisiqnt~ revokehis ¯ e~tiz.enship was’basedonly upon the charges alleged against ~ and not OnmY d.eterminatiq~of the merits of his case. My’husSandappe.al#d the r~vocadon,but was h.andedover to UnitedState~.foroes before the validity of.thelr~vocationp~oeeeding was reviewed the SupremeC6u~. On December19, 20~2, the SupremeCour~ annulled the . re.v.ocation 6fmyhusband’s oitlzanship andstated that myhusband never Just tiis citizenship. Aeeordinglg,at’th~ time of his abduction, he ~ a ~tizen of Bi~. OhJanuary" 14, 2002, myhusband Io~tged an appiioation with the HumanRights Chamberfor Bosnia and He~egovi~aCChambe.r"). According to ~he deqisiot~ of the Chamber,the respondent parties, BiFI, and theFederation of Bosnla-He~egovio% v~gia~edmy husband’s rights not to be ~bitmfilye.xpelled, to be presumedinnocent until pr6venguilty, ahd not to be subjectedto the’death penalty. TheChamberaiso ordered ~ respondentparti.4s to take all necessaryaeti6n to. p~otact myhusbhnd’~ rights whilein the’~ustodyof the United State~ andre pay compensation~’or non-pecunmrydamages.. A" ~ewdays a~er his abduction,I learned fromthe Inter~gtional Commltteeof the Red Cro.ss that m.yhusband was being held at Guantanamo..I r~e~iv~d the first official notice that he was in United States custody mMarch 2002 from the United States Embassy’m $.~rajevo. Since he has beefi’at Guantanamo,my husband has written memore than . . tWentyletters; they are all ce~isored.Initially I receivedletters rdorefreq~uantly, since September2003 they havebeoomerare. ~he l~st letter, v~as d~fted Octqber2003;I received it in MAY2004,B~sed onth~ letters I hav~reea[ved from him, Jr’appears the. -myhusband is not receivingall th~ l~tters I arn writing to him. In his le~ers, he askedme to:write to him in Arabicsince thereapparehtiyare not;enoughBosnian interpreters
10. Sittce myhusband wa~ Faken.into.eustody, I have w.’orkedvery hard.onhis behalf. My activities for myhushand’.s keiease.inolude eegular contacts with BiPI.govemmantand. international organi.zationsjespeci~lly human rights organiza.tions~
5129 l I. My.family’sfinancial sltimtiort has been very difficult since myhusband was taken to (3~.antan~tmo.My’husband. used te providefinanola[ support for mychildke.n and me.. li~e nowwith myparents; I ~imunemployed arid my,fara~,lyis" .supportingmy ~hildren aS~t I, ~ I~y youngestdaughter.was born wil:h a heart ailmet~t ahd needsspecial care; my yd~m~estson is newt attd~ears old and ha~ never s~.~n his father, . The elder ehildren knowwhere their father is anct missh~m a lot; every day’ they as~whentheir father w~l! be oomhagbaek’to them.
12. B~sedon the messagesmy’family received and from everything’~ know’aboutmy husband,I believe he is seekingmy ~ssistafie~ an~support att.d wouldwant me to .t~.e - app.rop.riate16gal action on-hk~beha[f, as hisnext friend, In ~ dapa.eityl 1" haveretained and hereby request WilmerCutler Piekebing Hale .mad Dorr LLP,and any person authorized by that Firm, to a.e~ on myown and gadj Boudel[a’sbelmlfand, to take ¯ , whateverlegal steps they egnslder.t0.beha qur best interests, in connectionwith my hh.sband~sdetention at Guantanamo.
[ knowth~ facts deposed.heretoto.be true.to the best of myknowledge. Swornto.-l~y the deponenton this t~nth d; g of August,2004,
5130 [N T~]:E UNITED, ~TATESDISTP~CT COURT" FOR. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
GEORGE.WALKER BUSH, pr.~sld~nt ’of the United Stat~s of America; . ¯ DONA.L D RUMSFE.LD, Secretary of Defense;.~ENERAL .rAY HOOD,. Commander,Joint Task.Force; -COLONE~ NELSON L .CANNON, ¯ Comman~.er,Camp. Delta; in their ¯ individual and offi¢i~d capacitids, " "
Rcspond~ht~.
Witnessed:¯
¯ Liliana S6~cia Kleiser. .
&
5131 ~~rajevo, ~os~ia and Herzegoviaa March 13; ~ 2QQ2 ~m s r !
:~. Nadja D~zda~evic Em~la Zole i0 ~m~i Grad ~aragevo Sos~ia add Herz4~ovina
Dear Families:
~. ’ ~hk you for your let£er dated Feb~uar~ l~h, 2002". ,The indiEidual’s =e.~err~d to in your letter" posed a credible ~curity threat to Unitgd Shat~s personnel and facilities as .w~li as to the .peo~l e df Bosnia.aid Herzegovina. ’ ~ brou~h~ ,.t~# matter t~ the attention of appropr~ate~domestic authorities, :who ~etai~id them.’be~ore transferring them to ¯ U.~S. control at U~.’S.. request.,
. .The ~n~ted States .mi!ita~y~ s~sequentl~ transferred" "’" t~m to the ~n~te~ Sta~" facility at Guantansmo Bay~ This a~proach allows the United S~ates to "safely detain these iddividuals Qhile continuing £o investigate.
’: All detainees at Gu~tanamo are b~ing p=ov~dgd Correspondence materials, and the means to send m~il; as w~ as zhe abili~ to rec~ye mai~,, s~jec~ to se,curity screenings. It ~s important to note, however, tha.t incoming maii is subjec’t io 6ensoring, and correspondence deemed inippropr~gte., by 9u~horities may no~ get through. ,... Below y~ w~i’l find the neCessary .~outin~ i.nfo~ation,-which ~ will permit you to send corre~pbndence .t9 the d~tain@@s:
5132 ¯ l~o¯ Co~p X-Ray osh~’ng~on> DC .,. 20~55:. . . . ¯ .- "" .U~S.A.
..,. Let me. a~sure you that the United’st’ates has trefited
.::and,[(humanely.WAll¯cont~oue:..., to~)eat. all Guant.ahamO. , Bay detainees. .
,~ - Sincerely,
CI~ fford G Bond
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5133 UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO
Personal Representative Review of the Record of Proceedings
I acknowledgethat on ~ October 2004 1 was provided the opportunity to review the record of proceedings for the CombatantStatus ReviewTribunal involving ISN #
I have no comments.
__ Mycomments are attached.
Date
ISN~ Enclosure(5) UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO 5134