Adel Fattough Ali Al Gazzar (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: عادل الجزار ) is a citizen of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

formerly held in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Guantanamo Bay detainment camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

s, in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. The

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

reports that he was born on October 22, 1965, in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt. After approximately eight years in Guantanamo, he was transferred to Slovakia in January 2010. In June, he declared his intention to go on a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

to protest conditions there.

Background

According to his lawyers Gazzar worked for the Saudi Red Crescent, and was injured during his one and only visit to Afghanistan to deliver humanitarian aid. He claimed sympathetic Pakistani dignitaries visited him in the Pakistani hospital where his wounds were treated, but that he was nevertheless falsely denounced and sold to the US for a bounty. He was first held in a U.S prison in Kandahar where he according to lawyers "was subject to severe beatings, exposure to freezing temperatures, sleep deprivation for days on end, and suspension by the wrists." He was injured during the

American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, and had his leg amputated above the knee by Guantanamo medical staff after i had become

gangrenous Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

from lack of care. He stood accused of training and fighting in Kashmir.

Adel Fattough Ali Algazzar v. George W. Bush

writ of habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

, Adel Fattough Ali Algazzar v. George W. Bush, was submitted on Adel Fattough Al Algazzar's behalf. In response the Department of Defense published 37 pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. On October 29, 2004, Tribunal panel 15 confirmed his "enemy combatant" status.

Press reports

On July 12, 2006 the magazine '' Mother Jones'' provided excerpts from the transcripts of a selection of the Guantanamo detainees."Why Am I in Cuba?"
''

Mother Jones (magazine) ''Mother Jones'' (abbreviated ''MoJo'') is a nonprofit American Left-wing politics in the United States, left-wing magazine that focuses on news, commentary, and investigative journalism on topics including politics, Biophysical environment, en ...

'', July 12, 2006 Al Gazzar was one of the detainees profiled. According to the article his transcript contained the following exchange:

algazzar: I am disappointed with this tribunal because if I am in a court and you accuse me of anything I should be allowed to know what the accusations are and to see the evidence. You tell me that these accusations are unclassified but there are other classified accusations. How can I defend myself if I don’t know what the evidence is about the other accusations?... tribunal member: If I can clarify a little bit before you start. These are all the accusations. What we will get in the classified session is in theory evidence to support these accusations, but there are no other accusations against you besides what is listed here. algazzar: I understand that but what I mean is if you say I am an enemy combatant and you say you have evidence, I don’t get to see it. Then I will stay here…. tribunal member: Do you have any theories about why the government and the Pakistani intel folks would sell you out and turn you over to the Americans? algazzar: Come on, man, you know what happened. In Pakistan you can buy people for $10. So what about $5,000? tribunal member: So they sold you? algazzar: Yes.

Canadian journalist, and former special assistant to

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

David Frum David Jeffrey Frum (; born 30 June 1960) is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'' as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum authored the ...

, published an article based on his own reading of the transcripts from the Combatant Status Review Tribunals, on November 11, 2006. It was Frum who coined the term "

Axis of evil The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by U.S. president George W. Bush and originally referred to Iran, Ba'athist Iraq, and North Korea. It was used in Bush's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, less than five months after the ...

" for use in a speech he wrote for Bush. Al Gazzar's transcript was one of the nine Frum briefly summarized. His comment on Al Gazzar was: Frum came to the conclusion that all nine of the men whose transcript he summarized had obviously lied. He did not, however, state how he came to the conclusion they lied. His article concluded with the comment:

References

External links

Moazzam Begg interviews former Guantanamo prisoner, Adel el-Gazzar, in Slovakia

Ex-Guantánamo Prisoner Adel Al-Gazzar Returns Home to Egypt and Is Arrested
June 14, 2011
After 8 years in Guantanamo, Egyptian jailed at Tora Prison

Three Neglected Ex-Guantánamo Prisoners in Slovakia Embark on a Hunger Strike

Andy Worthington Andy Worthington is a British historian, investigative journalist, and film director. He has published three books, two on Stonehenge and one on the war on terror, been published in numerous publications and directed documentary films. Art ...

June 27, 2010
Guantánamo’s refugees
Andy Worthington {{DEFAULTSORT:Gazzar, Adel al- 1965 births Living people Egyptian extrajudicial prisoners of the United States Egyptian Muslims People from Cairo Guantanamo detainees known to have been released