Deleted:Khalid Saad Mohammed

Template:Lead too short Khalid Saad Mohammed is a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 335. The Department of Defense reports he was born on July 13, 1973, in Al Tabia, Saudi Arabia.

Khalid Saad Mohammed was transferred to Saudi Arabia on June 12, 2009.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

Allegations

A memorandum summarizing the evidence against Mohammed prepared for his Combatan Status Reiew Tribunal, was among those released in March 2005. The allegations Mohammed faced, during his Tribunal, were:

a. The detainee is associated with al Qaida:

1. Detainee, ########### traveled to Afghanistan after September 2001.
2. Detainee was identified as staying at the Abu Hamza al Qaida guesthouse.
3. Detainee was identified by a senior al Qaida member as possibly having clerical status amongst Saudi fighters.
4. Detainee was captured while being treated at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan.

Testimony

There is no record that Mohammed chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

The factors for and against continuing to detain Mohammed were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3, 2006.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment

1. The detainee left Saudi Arabia approximately two weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States.
2. The detainee claimed to have spent 30 days in Tehran, Iran before traveling to Spin Boldak, Afghanistan to help Afghani refugees.

b. Connection/Associations

1. The detainee was identified by a key al Qaida facilitator as a Saudi national who arrived in Afghanistan after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks; via Iran and he traveled directly to Kabul, Afghanistan.
2. The detainee was identified as staying at the Abu Hamza al Qaida guesthouse.
3. The detainee was identified by a senior al Qaida member as possibly having clerical status amongst Saudi fighters.

c. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee was injured in the area of Spin Boldak, Afghanistan while purchasing food and supplies for refugees at a market While in the market, American forces began bombing the area. The detainee sustained his injuries during his attempt to seek shelter. According to the detainee, various groups of Taliban and al Qaida forces were present in the area resulting in the American attack.
2. The detainee was captured while being treated at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a. The detainee said he wants to return home, be reunited with his family and work as a rancher raising cattle and sheep.

b. The detainee said he was not a "Sheikh" or "Shayhn", saying those titles belonged to highly educated persons or tribal leaders.

Repatriation

Mohammed and two other Saudis, Abdelaziz Kareem Salim al-Noofayee and Ahmed Zaid Salim Zuhair, were repatriated to Saudi Arabia on June 12, 2009.

Pakistan's Daily Times quoted Matthew Olsen, head of the Obama administration’s Guantanamo Review Task Force, who asserted the three men had already been cleared for release by reviews during the Bush administration.

Saudi security officials have stated that the three men were allowed to meet with their families, shortly after their repatriation. Security officials said the three men were then taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation. The three men will go through a "judicial review" prior to enrollment in the same Saudi jihadist rehabilitation program as other repatriated captives. Saudi authorities retain confidence in the rehabilitation program although some former captives have back-slid to supporting jihadism following their release.

References

External links

• Empty Evidence: The Stories Of The Saudis Released From Guantánamo Andy Worthington