Abdel Hamid al-Ghizzawi
Abdel Hamid Ibn Abdussalem Ibn Mifta Al Ghizzawi | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 8, 1962 Tripoli, Libya |
| Occupation | Former detainee |
| Known for | Detention at Guantanamo Bay (2002–2010) |
Abdel Hamid Ibn Abdussalem Ibn Mifta Al Ghizzawi () (born 8 November 1962) is a Libyan national who was held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp from June 2002 until March 2010. The United States classified him as an enemy combatant during his detention. His assigned internment number was 654.
His legal counsel contested the enemy combatant classification, highlighting that the initial Combatant Status Review Tribunal in November 2004 found no indication of al-Qaeda affiliation and determined he was not an enemy combatant. Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Abraham later submitted an affidavit to the United States Supreme Court citing procedural deficiencies in the CSRT process, referencing this particular case.
A subsequent tribunal held in January 2005, composed of different members and relying on new "secret" evidence, overturned the earlier ruling and designated al-Ghizzawi as an enemy combatant. His attorney later characterized this proceeding as a "kangaroo court" during the Bush administration. Al Ghizzawi was never formally charged or subjected to trial by a military commission.
On 23 March 2010, the United States released Al Ghizzawi, transferring him into the custody of authorities in Georgia.
Early life
Al Ghizzawi was born in Tripoli, Libya in 1962. Between 1979 and 1980, he received training at the Ministry of Maritime Transport Trade School and the Abu Sitta Naval Training Center. He was among approximately 250 Libyan recruits sent to the Kamaya Point Training Center in Bataan, Philippines, but the initiative was unsuccessful, leading to their return to Libya.
From 1985 until 1987, he served as an office assistant with the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority. During the late 1980s, he spent time in Pakistan, where he worked as a schoolteacher. In 1988, while in Afghanistan amid the Soviet–Afghan War, he underwent several weeks of military training but stated that he did not participate in any combat operations.
By September 2001, Al Ghizzawi had married an Afghan woman and resided with her in Jalalabad, Afghanistan; they had one daughter together.
Capture and detention in Guantanamo
In January 2002, Afghan Intelligence Forces apprehended Al Ghizzawi in Konar, Afghanistan. He reported that armed individuals forcibly removed him from his residence and sold him to Northern Alliance fighters, who subsequently transferred him to American custody motivated by bounty payments.
Following his handover to U.S. authorities, he was initially detained at Bagram for interrogation before being relocated to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in June 2002. Like many detainees, he experienced prolonged secret detention without access to legal representation or communication with family members.
After the 2004 Supreme Court ruling in Rasul v. Bush, which granted detainees habeas corpus rights, the Department of Defense (DOD) created Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) to determine detainee classifications. Research by the Center for Policy and Research at Seton Hall University revealed that all detainees were ultimately designated enemy combatants, frequently after a second tribunal reversed earlier exonerations. Al Ghizzawi’s experience reflected this trend.
During his initial CSRT on 24 November 2004, Al Ghizzawi was unanimously cleared of enemy combatant status, with no evidence linking him to al-Qaeda or Taliban activities. However, a second CSRT convened in Washington just 55 days later—without his presence or legal representation—overturned this verdict unanimously on 25 January 2005.
Transcripts from Administrative Review Boards show that Al Ghizzawi consistently denied any association with al-Qaeda or participation in hostilities against American forces.
In 2006, pro bono attorney H. Candace Gorman began representing Al Ghizzawi through the Center for Constitutional Rights. Upon reviewing his CSRT documents, she found no new evidence supporting the second tribunal’s reversal; it merely negated the prior determination.
Gorman filed a habeas corpus petition on his behalf in August 2006. Nevertheless, following enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006—which restricted detainees’ access to habeas corpus—all pending cases were stayed pending examination under the revised legal framework.
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Abraham's 2007 Affidavit
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Abraham, a civilian attorney and reserve intelligence officer, was involved with the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants. On 23 June 2007, he provided an affidavit to the Supreme Court that strongly condemned the entire Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) system, drawing from his experience with detainee #654, al-Ghizzawi.
Abraham became the first member of a military panel to openly question the legitimacy of the hearings, revealing that panels were under considerable pressure to designate detainees as enemy combatants. His panel resisted this influence and determined that al-Ghizzawi was not an enemy combatant. After this decision, Abraham was excluded from participating in any further panels.
His affidavit played a role in persuading the Supreme Court to consider the combined cases of Boumediene v. Bush and Al-Odah v. United States during 2007-2008. The Court’s ruling in Boumediene v. Bush (2008) affirmed detainees’ right to seek habeas corpus in federal courts, striking down sections of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that limited detainees to military tribunals. Although CSRTs concluded by 2005, most detainees remained imprisoned without formal charges, leading to renewed habeas corpus filings in federal courts.
Health
In October 2006, H. Candace Gorman, representing Al Ghizzawi legally, reported that Guantanamo officials had informed her he suffered from hepatitis B and tuberculosis, with the latter contracted during detention at the facility. By December 2007, Gorman indicated he had not received medical treatment for these conditions and had developed a serious liver infection, describing his state as "dying a slow and painful death."
On 16 January 2008, Gorman revealed on her blog that Al Ghizzawi asserted he was diagnosed with AIDS. The Supreme Court denied her petition for access to his medical records after the Department of Defense (DOD) declined disclosure, citing privacy concerns. A spokesperson for Guantanamo stated that no detainee had been confirmed to have HIV or AIDS.
Detainee Reviews
Beginning in early 2009, the Obama administration undertook a comprehensive review of all Guantanamo detainees with the objective of repatriating or resettling them and ultimately closing the detention facilities. This process successfully arranged alternative accommodations for detainees fearful of returning to their home countries, including transferring Al Ghizzawi to Georgia on 23 March 2010.
External links
- "Horror at Guantánamo: Libyan detainee infected with AIDS", Andy Worthington, 31 January 2008
- Documents concerning al-Ghizzawi hosted by NY Times