Abdul Rahim al-Nashiri

Abdul Rahim Hussein Muhammed Abdu al-Nashiri
Born	(1965-01-05) January 5, 1965 Saudi Arabia
Occupation(s)	Alleged terrorist, detainee
Known for	Alleged mastermind of USS Cole bombing and other naval attacks; detainee at Guantanamo Bay

Abdul Rahim Hussein Muhammed Abdu al-Nashiri (; ; born January 5, 1965) is a Saudi national accused of orchestrating the USS Cole bombing along with other naval assaults. He is believed to have directed al-Qaeda activities throughout the Persian Gulf area prior to his apprehension in Dubai in November 2002 by the CIA's Special Activities Division.

Following his capture, al-Nashiri was held for four years in covert CIA detention facilities located in Afghanistan, Thailand, Poland, Morocco, Lithuania, and Romania before being transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. During interrogations, he endured torture techniques such as waterboarding, with the CIA subsequently destroying the related recordings in 2005. Additionally, he faced threats involving firearms and power drills aimed at extracting information.

In 2010, Polish officials recognized al-Nashiri as a victim amid inquiries into potential abuses of authority connected to CIA black sites on Polish territory.

The U.S. government formally charged al-Nashiri in December 2008 before a Guantanamo Military Commission, though these charges were dismissed in February 2009 and later reinstated in 2011. As of that year, he confronts war crimes accusations that could result in the death penalty; his defense team has denounced the proceedings as a show trial.

In April 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit nullified all rulings made by military judge Colonel Vance Spath concerning al-Nashiri’s case after revelations of undisclosed employment discussions between Spath and the United States Department of Justice.

Background

Originating from Saudi Arabia, al-Nashiri journeyed to Afghanistan in the early 1990s to participate in operations against Russian forces, which were then supported by the United States. By 1996, he traveled to Tajikistan and subsequently to Jalalabad, where he encountered Osama bin Laden for the first time. Although bin Laden sought to recruit him into al-Qaeda, al-Nashiri declined due to an unwillingness to pledge allegiance. After relocating to Yemen, he reportedly began contemplating attacks targeting U.S. interests.

He returned to Afghanistan in 1997 but again refused to join al-Qaeda, instead fighting alongside the Taliban against the Afghan Northern Alliance. He played a role in smuggling anti-tank weaponry into Saudi Arabia and assisted a terrorist figure in obtaining a Yemeni passport. His cousin, Jihad Mohammad Ali al-Makki, was implicated in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings carried out in Kenya.

Alleged Affiliation with al-Qaeda

Around 1998, al-Nashiri is believed to have become a member of al-Qaeda, reporting directly to Osama bin Laden. Later that year, he proposed an operation involving an explosive-packed boat targeting a U.S. naval vessel; this plan received bin Laden's approval and financial support. The initial attempt occurred during the 2000 millennium attack plots but failed when the overloaded boat started sinking prematurely.

The next attack, which succeeded, was the USS Cole bombing, resulting in the deaths of seventeen American sailors and numerous injuries. This incident significantly raised al-Nashiri's status within al-Qaeda, reportedly appointing him as the chief of operations for the Arabian Peninsula region. Additionally, he orchestrated the Limburg tanker bombing in 2002 against a French-flagged ship near Yemen and is suspected of planning further assaults.

Capture

Al-Nashiri was apprehended in November 2002 in the United Arab Emirates and is presently held under U.S. military custody at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Prior to this, he was detained at undisclosed locations. On September 29, 2004, a Yemeni court convicted him in absentia and sentenced him to death for his involvement in the USS Cole attack.

Before his transfer to Guantanamo, al-Nashiri was held by the CIA at covert detention facilities in Thailand and Poland. CIA personnel had differing opinions regarding his role; one official characterized him as lacking the capacity to understand complex operational schemes.

Combatant Status Review

On August 9, 2007, the Department of Defense designated all fourteen "high-value detainees" moved from CIA secret prisons to Guantanamo as "enemy combatants." Although previous court decisions restricted military commissions to "illegal" enemy combatants only, the Department waived this restriction, permitting all fourteen detainees to face charges before Guantanamo military commissions.

Interrogation

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri underwent multiple interrogation sessions. During a 2007 military tribunal hearing, he claimed that his admissions concerning the USS Cole bombing were extracted through torture techniques, including waterboarding. The transcript omitted specifics about his mistreatment.

The American Civil Liberties Union, through Freedom of Information Act requests, obtained less heavily redacted transcripts from al-Nashiri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal and those of other detainees. In his opening remarks, he identified seven false confessions allegedly obtained under duress while subjected to waterboarding. These included purported involvement in the French merchant vessel Limburg incident, the USS Cole attack, rocket assaults in Saudi Arabia, and a plot to hijack an aircraft for crashing into a ship.

Al-Nashiri was subjected to torture overseen by then-CIA Director Gina Haspel. A Navy Reserve medical officer who evaluated him described al-Nashiri as among the most profoundly traumatized individuals encountered. In 2018, documents from a clandestine detention center managed by Haspel were released, revealing abuse methods such as forcefully slamming him against walls, confinement in a cramped box, waterboarding sessions, deprivation of sleep and clothing, and verbal harassment.

During his tribunal proceedings, al-Nashiri asserted that additional confessions were coerced through torture. He is reported to have been the last al-Qaeda detainee recorded undergoing waterboarding by CIA operatives in Thailand. Following a detainee's death while in CIA custody in Iraq, videotaping interrogations ceased to prevent generating evidence usable in criminal prosecutions. All CIA recordings depicting waterboarding were destroyed in 2005.

On August 22, 2009, reports surfaced that al-Nashiri experienced a mock execution during CIA interrogation involving simulated use of a power drill and handgun. In May 2011, his legal representatives filed a complaint against Poland at the European Court of Human Rights, alleging that he was detained and tortured at a secret CIA "black site" facility near Warsaw (OSAW) from December 2002 until June 2003 with either Polish government knowledge or cooperation.

Order challenged

On January 29, 2009, a directive issued by the Obama administration to pause all Guantanamo military commission proceedings for a period of 120 days was overturned by military judge Army Colonel James Pohl in the case involving al-Nashiri.

Withdrawal of charges

Al-Nashiri’s charges were dismissed without prejudice on February 5, 2009.

Resumption of charges

From 2011 onward, al-Nashiri has been undergoing trial proceedings.

Capital punishment consideration

The prosecution intended to pursue the death penalty against al-Nashiri. The authority to decide this matter lies with the Convening authority, retired Admiral Bruce MacDonald. In April 2011, the Department of Defense authorized Richard Kammen, a civilian attorney with expertise in death penalty defense, to join al-Nashiri’s defense team. This made al-Nashiri the first detainee at Guantanamo to face potential capital punishment.

Defense’s plea to halt prosecution

In July 2011, al-Nashiri’s legal representatives contended that due to the physical and psychological mistreatment he endured during detention, the United States had relinquished its jurisdiction to prosecute or impose the death penalty on him.

Concerns over detention post-acquittal

On October 24, 2011, Lieutenant Commander Stephen Reyes submitted a motion requesting that jurors be informed that al-Nashiri might continue to be held at Guantanamo Bay even if found not guilty. Defense counsel pointed out official declarations indicating that detainees such as al-Nashiri would remain in custody regardless of trial verdicts.

The formal announcement of al-Nashiri’s charges was planned for November 9, 2011.

Legal analyst Robert M. Chesney from Lawfare suggested that it was probable al-Nashiri would remain detained for an extended period following any acquittal. Chesney explained that the standards for military detention are less stringent than those required for criminal conviction, thereby permitting continued confinement despite a not guilty verdict:

Defense motions during April 2012 hearings

At a pre-trial session on April 11, 2012, Presiding Officer James L. Pohl reviewed multiple motions but postponed many decisions. However, he approved unshackling al-Nashiri during consultations with his attorneys. The defense argued that prolonged shackling in covert CIA facilities combined with ongoing restraints had hindered his capacity to engage effectively in his defense.

Jose Rodriguez challenges al-Nashiri’s involvement

On May 8, 2012, Ali Soufan, who initially interrogated al-Nashiri for the FBI, questioned whether a memoir by former CIA officer Jose Rodriguez would impact the prosecution’s case. Soufan highlighted that his rapport-based interrogation technique produced reliable intelligence, contrasting with confessions extracted through torture.

Rodriguez, who managed the CIA’s interrogation program, disputed claims that al-Nashiri was the "mastermind" behind the USS Cole attack, referring to him as "the dumbest terrorist I have ever met," a stark contradiction to the prosecution's depiction.

Psychological evaluation

On February 7, 2013, Presiding Officer James Pohl directed an independent panel of mental health specialists to evaluate how documented torture had influenced al-Nashiri’s ability to participate in his defense. The panel, appointed by the director of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, was tasked with delivering findings by April 1, 2013. They were granted complete access to all medical records and classified documents related to CIA custody. This evaluation was requested by the prosecution.

Al-Nashiri’s defense team opposed this approach, expressing concerns about potential bias from a military-appointed panel and advocating instead for reliance on expert guidance from Vincent Iacopino, who specializes in conducting interviews without exacerbating trauma. Iacopino had previously testified on February 5, 2013, regarding torture’s impact on al-Nashiri.

According to lead counsel Richard Kammen, psychiatric specialist Sondra Crosby regards al-Nashiri as "one of the most severely harmed victims of torture" she has ever assessed.

Military Commission

In 2011, Vice Admiral Bruce E. MacDonald initiated a Guantanamo military commission under the authority of the Military Commissions Act of 2009 to prosecute al-Nashiri for the attacks on the USS Cole and M/V Limburg, as well as the attempted bombing of USS The Sullivans (DDG-68). Al-Nashiri filed a lawsuit against MacDonald aiming to halt the commission, but in May 2012, U.S. District Judge Robert Jensen Bryan dismissed his challenge. This ruling was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in December 2013.

On February 18, 2014, al-Nashiri requested to dismiss his attorney, Rick Kammen. Judge Pohl granted a short recess to explore reconciliation efforts; if these failed, al-Nashiri was permitted under military commission regulations to terminate Kammen’s representation.

Charges related to the M/V Limburg bombing were dropped by al-Nashiri’s military trial judge in August 2014. The Government appealed this dismissal to the United States Court of Military Commission Review, while al-Nashiri sought to disqualify military judges by petitioning the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In June 2015, Circuit Judge Karen L. Henderson and her colleagues denied this request.

Al-Nashiri also filed suit against President Barack Obama, seeking an injunction to suspend military commission proceedings until habeas corpus matters were settled. In December 2014, U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts placed the case on hold pending trial conclusion and dismissed the lawsuit as moot. This decision was later affirmed by the D.C. Circuit in August 2016.

On October 18, 2016, Air Force Colonel Vance Spath, serving as military judge, took the extraordinary measure of ordering United States Marshals to detain defense attorney Stephen Gill to compel testimony during a pre-trial hearing. Due to controversies stemming from this action, Spath resigned in 2018 and was subsequently retroactively disqualified by the D.C. Circuit.

In 2021, Army Colonel Lanny Acosta overruled defense objections allowing Chief Prosecutor Mark S. Martins to present statements extracted from al-Nashiri under torture at CIA black sites as evidence. This ruling ignited public conflict between Martins and the Joe Biden administration, culminating in Martins’ sudden resignation. Following this, the Biden Administration reversed its stance, and the appeals court overturned Acosta’s decision regarding the admissibility of evidence obtained through torture.

Baker v. Spath

In 2017, Brigadier General John Baker, Chief Defense Counsel, authorized a mass resignation of al-Nashiri’s defense team after lead counsel Richard Kammen discovered covert surveillance devices within their attorney-client meeting area. Military judge Colonel Vance Spath ordered Baker to reinstate the defense attorneys; upon Baker’s refusal, Spath held him in contempt and placed him under house arrest at Guantanamo.

Baker responded by filing a habeas corpus petition in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. During these proceedings, the Convening Authority reduced Baker’s sentence and ordered his release. Subsequently, Judge Royce Lamberth granted Baker’s petition and overturned Spath’s contempt citation.

In October 2018, al-Nashiri filed a petition with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking to nullify all military commission orders issued by Spath. Al-Nashiri’s attorney Michel Paradis contended that Spath failed to disclose his application and employment discussions with the Department of Justice for an immigration judge role, which created an appearance of bias rendering him unfit to preside over the case. Spath retired on November 1, 2018, having been appointed as an immigration judge by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in October 2018.

Following oral arguments before Judges Judith W. Rogers, David S. Tatel, and Thomas B. Griffith, the Court vacated all orders issued by Spath on grounds that "Spath’s job application to the Justice Department created a disqualifying appearance of partiality." Writing for a unanimous panel, Judge Tatel emphasized:

European Court of Human Rights ruling

On July 24, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) determined that Poland breached the European Convention on Human Rights by collaborating with the U.S. to permit the CIA’s detention and torture of al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah on Polish soil during 2002–2003. The court mandated that Poland compensate each individual with 100,000 euros in damages and provide information regarding their detention while securing U.S. commitments that al-Nashiri would not be subjected to the death penalty.

In the Case of Al Nashiri v. Romania (Application no. 33234/12) decided on May 31, 2018, the ECHR held Romania accountable for involvement in CIA rendition and violations of several Convention provisions. The judgment found Romania liable for neglecting to investigate claims of cruel treatment, facilitating secret detention, and transferring al-Nashiri despite the likelihood of torture and capital punishment. Consequently, Romania was ordered to pay al-Nashiri 100,000 euros plus interest and to carry out a thorough investigation including sanctioning those responsible and obtaining assurances from the U.S. against imposing the death sentence.

Additionally, the court concluded that both Romania and Lithuania infringed upon the rights of Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri between 2003 and 2006, directing each nation to award 100,000 euros in damages to the individuals involved.

External links

• Al-Nashiri case may be dismissed over torture claims April 22, 2011
• Polish prosecutors to investigate CIA black site torture allegations Deutsche Welle, October 8, 2010
• Poland urged to investigate CIA prison acts September 22, 2010
• AP Sources: Former FBI Man Implicated In CIA Abuse September 7, 2010
• CIA interrogated al-Qaeda suspect in Poland, claims UN The News, January 28, 2010
• The Final 9/11 Commission Report
• al-Nashiri says torture prompted confession to USS Cole bombing March 30, 2007
• Probe of USS Cole Bombing Unravels The Washington Post, May 4, 2008
• Riz Khan - Secret CIA prisons Al Jazeera English report on al-Nashiri (video, 22 mins)