Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim (born 1975) was held in

extrajudicial detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

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 detention 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 ...

, for almost fifteen years.list of prisoners
''

US 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, ...

'', May 15, 2006 His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 44. He was eventually transferred to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Background

Mohammed is alleged to have volunteered to fight in The Bosnian War, and the Yemeni Civil War, prior to heading to Afghanistan to volunteer to serve as a fighter for the Taliban. He is alleged to have been an Osama bin Laden bodyguard, to know about a secret bigger than

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

's attacks on

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, although he told interrogators he had only served with the Taliban, and had never met

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

. Carol Rosenberg, of the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'', has been tracking Guantanamo's first twenty captives, who arrived at Guantanamo on January 11, 2002. She eventually identified Ghanim as one of the first twenty individuals.

Official status reviews

Originally the Bush

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

asserted that captives apprehended in the ''" war on terror"'' were not covered by the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

, and could be held indefinitely, without charge, and without an open and transparent review of the justifications for their detention. In 2004, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

ruled, in

Rasul v. Bush ''Rasul v. Bush'', 542 U.S. 466 (2004), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in which the Court held that foreign nationals held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp could petition federal courts for writs of ''habeas corp ...

, 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

Following the Supreme Court's ruling 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, ...

set up the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants. Scholars at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, led by

Benjamin Wittes Benjamin Wittes (born November 5, 1969) is an American legal journalist. He is editor in chief of '' Lawfare'' and senior fellow in governance studies at The Brookings Institution, where he is the research director in public law, and co-director ...

, listed the captives still held in Guantanamo in December 2008, according to whether their detention was justified by certain common allegations: * Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim was listed as one of the captives who ''"The military alleges ... traveled to Afghanistan for jihad."'' * Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim was listed as one of the captives who ''"The military alleges that the following detainees stayed in Al Qaeda, Taliban or other guest- or safehouses."'' * Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim was listed as one of the captives who ''"The military alleges ... fought for the Taliban."'' * Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim was listed as one of the captives who ''"The military alleges ...

were at Tora Bora ''Were'' and ''wer'' are archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures (, , , , , , ). In Anglo-Saxon law ''wer'' was the value of a man's life. He could be ...

."'' * Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim was listed as one of the captives who ''"The military alleges ... served on Osama Bin Laden's security detail."'' * Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim was listed as one of the captives who was an ''" al Qaeda operative"''. * Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim was listed as one of the ''"82 detainees made no statement to CSRT or ARB tribunals or made statements that do not bear materially on the military's allegations against them."'' OARDEC
CSRT Summary of Evidence memo for Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim
,

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

-- pages 52-53 -- October 21, 2004 :

First annual Administrative Review Board hearing

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Mohammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim's first annual Administrative Review Board in 2005. The six page memo listed fifty "primary factors favor ngcontinued detention" and four "primary factors favor ngrelease or transfer". Thirteen of those factors justified his continued detention based on allegations he had volunteered to fight during the civil war in the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

that lead to the independence of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. He was alleged to have received a month of military training at a

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

for foreign volunteers in Mehrez, Bosnia, in 1994. He was alleged to have fought in the Yemeni Civil War after leaving Bosnia following the signing of the

Dayton Accords The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Dejtonski mirovni sporazum, Дејтонски мировни споразум), and colloquially kn ...

. He was alleged to have investigated traveling to volunteer as a fighter in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

. He was alleged to have traveled to volunteer as a fighter in Afghanistan in 2000. He was alleged to have been an Osama bin Laden bodyguard. However, he claimed he only fought with the Taliban, only served in Taliban units. He was alleged to have told interrogators he knew something about a "serum" that, once injected, would dissolve bodies. He was alleged to be related to someone who played a role in the

USS Cole bombing The USS ''Cole'' bombing was a suicide attack by Al-Qaeda against , a guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy, on 12 October 2000, while it was being refueled in Yemen's Aden harbor. Seventeen U.S. Navy sailors were killed and thi ...

. The factors state that when he fled the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan he was captured with about 30 other at the Pakistani border who were all sent to Guantanamo. He was alleged to have an association with a charity called al Wafa that American intelligence officials assert has ties to terrorism. The factors stated he had recanted his confessions of an association with al Wafa, claiming: ''"It was a story he had made up because he was being beaten."'' He was alleged to have told interrogators that he knew a very shocking secret, bigger than the attacks on

, which he was withholding from them. The factors also recorded that the claimed this report of a big secret was due to translation errors, and he knew no big secrets.

Second annual Administrative Review Board hearing

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Mohammed R Abu Ghanim's second annual Administrative Review Board in 2006. The four page memo listed thirty-five "primary factors favor ngcontinued detention" and eight "primary factors favor ngrelease or transfer".

Third annual Administrative Review Board hearing

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his third annual Administrative Review Board in 2007. The five page memo listed thirty-three "primary factors favor ngcontinued detention" and nine "primary factors favor ngrelease or transfer".

Board recommendations

One January 9, 2009, the Department of Defense published two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official. The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his continued detention on March 17, 2008. The Board considered reports from seven different agencies.

Transfer to Saudi Arabia

Ghanim and three other men were transferred to

, on January 5, 2017.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news , url = https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/us/politics/yemeni-detainees-guantanamo-saudi-arabia.html?_r=0 , title = 4 Yemeni Detainees at Guantánamo Are Transferred to Saudi Arabia , work =

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, author = Charlie Savage , date = 2017-01-05 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170105235541/http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/us/politics/yemeni-detainees-guantanamo-saudi-arabia.html , archive-date = 2017-01-05 , access-date = 2017-04-13 , url-status = live , quote = All four men sent to Saudi Arabia will continue to be held for a period in a custodial rehabilitation program for lower-level Islamist extremists. , author-link = Charlie Savage (author) {{cite news , url = https://www.voanews.com/a/four-detainees-leave-guantanamo-bay-for-saudi-arabia/3665380.html , title = 4 Released Guantanamo Detainees Arrive in Saudi Arabia , publisher =

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

, date = 2017-01-05 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170307163132/http://www.voanews.com/a/four-detainees-leave-guantanamo-bay-for-saudi-arabia/3665380.html , archive-date = 2017-03-07 , access-date = 2017-04-13 , url-status = live , quote = The Saudi interior ministry said King Salman has decided the four men will live in the kingdom and take part in "a rehabilitation and de-radicalization program." No specific charges were ever brought against them during their time at Guantanamo. {{cite news , url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/05/guantanamo-bay-yemen-prisoners-free-saudi-arabia , title = Four Yemenis freed from Guantánamo Bay and transferred to Saudi Arabia , work =

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170322005208/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/05/guantanamo-bay-yemen-prisoners-free-saudi-arabia , archive-date = 2017-03-22 , access-date = 2017-04-13 , url-status = live , quote = On Tuesday, US President-elect Donald Trump tweeted: "There should be no further releases from Gitmo. These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield." {{cite news , url = https://www.naij.com/1081242-controversy-obama-releases-guantanamo-prisoners.html , title = Controversy as Obama releases Guantanamo prisoners , publisher =

Naij Legit.ng (formerly Naij.com), also known as Legit News is a Nigerian digital media and news platform run by Naij.com Media Limited, part of Legit (ex-GMEM). It was ranked as the #1 news and entertainment platform and the seventh overall most visi ...

, date = 2017-01-05 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170107180045/https://www.naij.com/1081242-controversy-obama-releases-guantanamo-prisoners.html , archive-date = 2017-01-07 , access-date = 2017-04-13 , url-status = live , quote = President Barack Obama's action is against the express wish of President-elect Donald Trump. {{cite news , url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/obama-sends-four-guantanamo-detainees-to-saudi-arabia/ , title = Four down, 55 to go , publisher =

Vice News Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's alternative current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice Ne ...

, date = 2017-01-05 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170106142206/https://news.vice.com/story/obama-sends-four-guantanamo-detainees-to-saudi-arabia , archive-date = 2017-01-06 , access-date = 2017-04-13 , url-status = live , quote = The low-level detainees released Thursday — Salem Ahmad Hadi Bin Kanad, Muhammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim, Muhammad Ali Abdallah Muhammad Bwazir, and Abdallah Yahya Yusif Al-Shibli — were all captured in Afghanistan after 9/11. They were suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda and the terrorist group's deceased leader, Osama bin Laden. {{cite news , url = http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article53998700.html , title = 6 of first 20 'worst of worst' still at Guantánamo , publisher =

, author = Carol Rosenberg , date = 2016-01-10 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160110194841/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article53998700.html , archive-date = 2016-01-10 , url-status = live , quote = Fourteen years ago, a Navy photographer hoisted a camera over razor wire and made an iconic image of America's experiment in law-of-war detention: 20 men in orange jumpsuits in shackles on their knees in their first hours at Guantánamo. , author-link = Carol Rosenberg {{cite news , url = http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article5972064.html , title = First flight: 8 of first 20 'worst of worst' still at Guantánamo , publisher =

, author = Carol Rosenberg , date = 2015-01-10 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150804140141/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article5972064.html , archive-date = 2015-08-04 , access-date = 2016-01-10 , url-status = live , quote = Thirteen years ago today, a U.S. Air Force C-131 Starlifter cargo plane set down at the U.S. Navy base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, dislodged 20 men in orange jumpsuits brought from Afghanistan and started the Pentagon's experiment in offshore detention. , author-link = Carol Rosenberg {{cite news , url = http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article1959172.html , title = 11 of first 20 captives taken to Guantánamo still there , publisher =

, author = Carol Rosenberg , date = 2014-01-12 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150112034922/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article1959172.html , archive-date = 2015-01-12 , access-date = 2016-01-10 , url-status = live , quote = Twelve years ago, U.S. troops shuffled 20 men in chains and orange jumpsuits off a cargo plane at Guantánamo — dubbed "the worst of the worst" of America's captives in the nascent war on terror — to launch an experiment in interrogation and detention unbounded by geography or the U.S. courts. , author-link = Carol Rosenberg {{cite news , url = http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article1928720.html , title = Photos echo years later , publisher =

, author = Carol Rosenberg , date = 2008-01-19 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150501095718/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article1928720.html , archive-date = 2015-05-01 , access-date = 2016-01-10 , url-status = live , quote = Six years ago today, McCoy took those now-iconic images of the first detainees to land at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba -- capturing a moment of men on their knees in orange jumpsuits behind barbed wire fences. , author-link = Carol Rosenberg 1975 births Living people Detainees of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp Yemeni extrajudicial prisoners of the United States