Muhammad al-Ansi

Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.^[3] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 029. American intelligence analysts estimate he was born in 1975, in Sanaa, Yemen. He was cleared for release on December 9, 2016, a recommendation made public on December 22.^[4] He was transferred to Oman with nine other men on January 16, 2017.^[5][6][7]

Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi
Born	1975 (age 48–49)^[1]^[2] Sanaa, Yemen
Detained at	Guantanamo
ISN	29
Charge(s)	No charge, held in extrajudicial detention

Official status reviews

Originally, the Bush Presidency asserted that captives apprehended in the "war on terror" were not covered by the Geneva Conventions, and could be held indefinitely, without charge, and without an open and transparent review of the justifications for their detention.^[8]

In 2004, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Rasul v. Bush, that Guantanamo captives were entitled to being informed of the allegations justifying their detention, and were entitled to try to refute them.

Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants

 

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 3x5 meter trailer where the captive sat with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.^[9][10]

Following the Supreme Court's ruling, the Department of Defense set up the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants.^[8][11]

Scholars at the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, listed the captives still held in Guantanamo in December 2008, according to whether their detention was justified by certain common allegations:^[12]

• Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi was listed as one of the captives whom the "military alleges ... are associated with both Al Qaeda and the Taliban".^[12]
• Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi was listed as one of the captives whom the "military alleges ... traveled to Afghanistan for jihad."^[12]
• Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi was listed as one of the captives whom the "military alleges ... took military or terrorist training in Afghanistan."^[12]
• Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi was listed as one of the captives whom the "military alleges ... were at Tora Bora."^[12]
• Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi was listed as one of the captives whom the "military alleges ... served on Osama Bin Laden's security detail."^[12]
• Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi was listed as one of the captives who was an "al Qaeda operative".^[12]
• Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al-Ansi was listed as one of the captives who had "denied all the government allegations."^[12]

He chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[13] Shortly after his Tribunal procedures were explained to him, al-Ansi reportedly expressed concern over how long the Tribunal would last. He asked to leave.^{[citation needed]} The Tribunal reconvened after he had been removed long enough for the Tribunal's president to review al-Ansi's election form, which recorded that he had originally wanted to attend his Tribunal. Al-Ansi chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[14]

Al-Ansi had requested a copy of the proceedings of his Tribunal.^[14] He told his Board that he had requested it five days prior to his Board. He told his Board that other detainees had been given copies of their Tribunals. The Board went into closed session to consider his request. When they reconvened in open session he was reportedly told that he could not access his Tribunal record as it was classified.^{[citation needed]}

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Al Ansi had a writ of habeas corpus, Civil Action No. 08-cv-1923, filed on his behalf.^[15]

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 mandated that Guantanamo captives were no longer entitled to access the US civil justice system, so all outstanding habeas corpus petitions were stayed.^[16]

On June 12, 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Boumediene v. Bush, that the Military Commissions Act could not remove the right for Guantanamo captives to access the U.S. Federal Court system. Further, all previous Guantanamo captives' habeas petitions were eligible to be re-instated. The judges considering the captives' habeas petitions would be considering whether the evidence used to compile the allegations the men and boys were enemy combatants justified a classification of "enemy combatant".^[17]

Al-Ansi's petition was filed after the Supreme Court's ruling in Boumediene v. Bush.^[15] In late December 2008, the United States Department of Justice proposed amalgamating fifteen separate petitions, including Al-Ansi's, because they claimed those captives were all captured in Tora Bora.^[15]

On December 30, 2008, United States Department of Justice official Daniel M. Barish informed the court that the DoJ had filed "factual returns" in seven habeas cases, including al-Ansi's.^[18]

Formerly secret Joint Task Force Guantanamo assessment

On April 25, 2011, whistleblower organization WikiLeaks published formerly secret assessments drafted by Joint Task Force Guantanamo analysts.^[19][20] His 10-page Joint Task Force Guantanamo assessment was drafted on May 17, 2008.^[21] It was signed by camp commandant Rear Admiral David M. Thomas Jr. He recommended continued detention.

Guantanamo Joint Review Task Force

In April 2015, Jason Leopold succeeded in getting access to the list of 71 individuals who were not cleared for release, and not recommended for holding for trial, who were determined to be eligible for Periodic Review Board hearings.^[22] Al-Ansi was one of the individuals the task force recommended should face indefinite detention, without charge.^{[citation needed]}

Artwork

In 2016, Al Ansi created a painting called Titanic while detained at Guantanamo Bay. He created the work from memory based upon being shown the Titanic film during his interrogation. He also created a painting of the Statue of Liberty. The artworks were two of seven works created by inmates, and it was displayed at John Jay College, New York, in the autumn of 2017.^[23]

References

1. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/82827-isn-29-muhammad-ahmad-abdallah-al-ansi-jtf-gtmo/ce0c84b721be808a/full.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
2. https://www.prs.mil/Portals/60/Documents/ISN029/151014_U_ISN029_GOVERNMENTS_UNCLASSIFIED_SUMMARY_PUBLIC.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
3. "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
4. Carol Rosenberg (2016-12-22). "Guantanamo board clears bin Laden bodyguard". North Carolina Courier Tribune. Retrieved 2016-12-23. But as the Obama administration was trying to put the finishing touches on proposed Guantanamo transfers before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the Periodic Review Board disclosed that it approved al-Ansi's release on Dec. 9.
5. Greg Myre (2017-01-16). "10 Guantanamo Prisoners Freed In Oman; 45 Detainees Remain". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2017-01-17. The freed prisoners were not identified by name or nationality, though the Oman News Agency, citing the country's Foreign Ministry, reported that the 10 had arrived in the country on Monday for "temporary residence."
6. Carol Rosenberg (2017-01-16). "U.S. sends 10 Guantánamo captives to Oman". Miami Herald. from the original on 2017-01-17. A Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the transfer had taken place, downsizing the detainee population to 45. Neither Oman nor the official provided the identities of the 10 men who were sent there.
7. Carol Rosenberg (2017-01-16). "Victims of mistaken identity among the 10 sent from Guantánamo to Oman". Miami Herald. from the original on 2017-01-18. A Pentagon statement did not explain why the Department of Defense chose to wait to identify the 10 men for more than a day after the Sultanate of Oman announced it had taken them in as "temporary" residents "in consideration to their humanitarian situation."
8. "U.S. military reviews 'enemy combatant' use". USA Today. 2007-10-11. from the original on 2007-10-23. Critics called it an overdue acknowledgment that the so-called Combatant Status Review Tribunals are unfairly geared toward labeling detainees the enemy, even when they pose little danger. Simply redoing the tribunals won't fix the problem, they said, because the system still allows coerced evidence and denies detainees legal representation.
9. Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
10. Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004.
11. "Q&A: What next for Guantanamo prisoners?". BBC News. 2002-01-21. from the original on November 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
12. Benjamin Wittes; Zaathira Wyne (2008-12-16). "The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study" (PDF). The Brookings Institution. (PDF) from the original on 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
13. (PDF). OARDEC. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
14. (PDF). OARDEC. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
15. Jennifer Cowan (2009-01-08). "Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation: Doc 1490 -- Petitioner's Submissions For The January 5, 2008 Joint Filing In Response To The Court's December 17, 2008 Order" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
16. Peter D. Keisler, Douglas N. Letter (2006-10-16). "NOTICE OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS ACT OF 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. (PDF) from the original on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
17. Farah Stockman (2008-10-24). "Lawyers debate 'enemy combatant'". Boston Globe. from the original on 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
18. Daniel M. Barish (2008-12-30). (PDF). United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
19. Christopher Hope; Robert Winnett; Holly Watt; Heidi Blake (2011-04-27). "WikiLeaks: Guantanamo Bay terrorist secrets revealed -- Guantanamo Bay has been used to incarcerate dozens of terrorists who have admitted plotting terrifying attacks against the West – while imprisoning more than 150 totally innocent people, top-secret files disclose". The Telegraph (UK). from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2012-07-13. The Daily Telegraph, along with other newspapers including The Washington Post, today exposes America's own analysis of almost ten years of controversial interrogations on the world's most dangerous terrorists. This newspaper has been shown thousands of pages of top-secret files obtained by the WikiLeaks website.
20. . The Telegraph (UK). 2011-04-27. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
21. "Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Al Ansi: Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Al Ansi, US9YM-000029DP, passed to the Telegraph by Wikileaks". The Telegraph (UK). 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
22. "71 Guantanamo Detainees Determined Eligible to Receive a Periodic Review Board as of April 19, 2013". Guantanamo Joint Review Task Force. 2013-04-19. from the original on 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
23. "Seven works of art created in Guantanamo". BBC. Retrieved 2022-04-19.