Ahcene Zemiri
Ahcene Zemiri | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 Algeria |
| Other names | Hassan Zumiri |
| Occupation | Detainee |
| Known for | Detention at Guantanamo Bay without charges (2002–2010) |
Ahcene Zemiri (born 1967), also identified as Hassan Zumiri, holds Algerian, Canadian, and French citizenships and resided legally in Montreal for seven years. In July 2001, he and his Canadian spouse relocated to Afghanistan. During an attempt to depart in November 2001, they became separated; Zemiri was apprehended and handed over to U.S. military authorities. He was subsequently held without charges at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention facility for eight years starting in 2002.
Ahmed Ressam, a convicted terrorist responsible for the attempted Millennium attack on Los Angeles Airport in 2000, initially implicated Zemiri but withdrew this claim by late 2006. Zemiri was eventually freed from Guantanamo and returned to Algeria in January 2010.
Early life and education
Zemiri was born into a Muslim family in Algeria and later emigrated to Canada during his youth.
Emigration to Canada
He established residence in Montreal as a lawful immigrant in 1994 and married Canadian citizen Karina Dereshteanu in 1997.
Relocation to Afghanistan
The couple moved to Afghanistan in June 2001. Due to escalating conflict and Karina’s pregnancy, they left the country in November of that year. They parted ways under the assumption that women and children could cross safely into Pakistan. Their reunion did not occur until 2010, several years after the birth of their son Karim. Karina suspects that bounty hunters captured her husband and sold him to U.S. forces.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service interrogations at Guantanamo
After his transfer to Guantanamo in 2002, Zemiri faced accusations from Ahmed Ressam, who was convicted for plotting the Millennium bombing at Los Angeles Airport.
In 2004, officials from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) conducted interviews with Zemiri at Guantanamo following Canada’s awareness of his detention. CSIS also questioned other Canadian residents held there, including Djamel Ameziane and Mohamedou Ould Slahi.
Although initially denied by authorities, it was confirmed in 2008—after a Supreme Court mandate related to detainee Omar Khadr—that Canadian agents had been present. This revelation prompted governmental review of CSIS’s involvement amid allegations of cooperation with U.S. interrogation techniques later ruled unlawful by the U.S. Supreme Court.
On July 27, 2008, the Toronto Star disclosed that CSIS had conducted interviews with Zemiri and other detainees at Guantanamo alongside Khadr.
Habeas corpus petition
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004) upheld detainees’ entitlement to fair judicial review. The Center for Constitutional Rights facilitated pro bono legal support for Guantanamo detainees through habeas corpus petitions.
Attorneys from the Minneapolis-based law firm Fredrikson & Byron took on Zemiri’s case and met with him in 2005. Their legal filing maintained that Zemiri had no ties to the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or any terrorist organizations; lacked military training; and did not engage in hostile acts against U.S. personnel or assets.
In response, the Bush administration established Combatant Status Review Tribunals between 2004 and 2005 to evaluate detainees’ status. Despite Zemiri’s denials, Ressam’s allegations resulted in his classification as an unlawful enemy combatant and recommendation for continued detention.
Administrative Review Board
Individuals designated as "enemy combatants" by the Combatant Status Review Tribunal were subject to yearly Administrative Review Board proceedings. These hearings evaluated the potential risk detainees might pose if freed or relocated, alongside other considerations relevant to ongoing detention.
Retraction of Millennium Plot Allegations
In January 2007, reports emerged that Ahmed Ressam, who had been convicted in 2001 for orchestrating the Millennium bombing and had previously implicated Zemiri, sent a letter in November 2006 to U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour retracting his earlier statements. Ressam asserted that Zemiri was not involved in the conspiracy and had merely provided him with a loan of money and a camera as a personal favor.
Ressam attributed his inaccurate testimony to being "in shock and suffering from a severe psychological disorder." Initially sentenced to 22 years, his punishment was reduced due to cooperation that included naming other suspects, among them Zemiri.
Jim Dorsey, representing Zemiri legally, emphasized that Ressam’s retraction critically weakened the main accusation against his client and shared this development with U.S. military authorities at Guantanamo.
Appeal via Canadian Legal System
While preparing habeas corpus petitions, legal counsel for Ahcene Zemiri and Mohammedou Slahi, a Mauritanian national residing in Canada, sought relief through the Canadian judiciary aiming to obtain classified documents concerning both men. They requested access to intelligence collected by Canadian officials during interviews conducted before the men traveled to Afghanistan, contending these records were utilized by U.S. authorities to compile dossiers against them. The evidence was intended to support their efforts for release within the U.S. legal framework.
In 2009, Justice Edmond Blanchard ruled that since neither individual held Canadian citizenship and maintained only weak connections to Canada, protections under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms did not apply. In contrast, the Supreme Court of Canada mandated disclosure of classified information shared by U.S. agencies regarding Canadian citizen Omar Khadr.
Nathan Whitling, one of the Canadian attorneys representing the men, anticipated that their American habeas corpus cases would advance prior to any appeal against Blanchard’s decision.
Repatriation to Algeria
On January 20, 2010, Ahcene Zemiri along with Adil Hadi al Jazairi Bin Hamlili were returned to Algeria, their homeland and country of citizenship. It remained uncertain whether they were released upon arrival or placed under Algerian security detention. Journalist Carol Rosenberg observed that two other Algerian ex-detainees had been granted asylum in France due to concerns over potential persecution following repatriation.
External links
- Two Algerian Torture Victims Are Freed from Guantánamo, Andy Worthington, 25 January 2010