Ahmed al-Darbi
Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 9, 1975 Taif, Saudi Arabia |
| Occupation | Detainee |
| Known for | Detained at Guantanamo Bay; pleaded guilty to terrorism charges related to 2002 attack on French oil tanker Limburg |
Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi (), a Saudi national born on January 9, 1975, in Taif, was held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp from August 2002 until May 2018, when custody was transferred back to Saudi authorities. He stands as the sole detainee released during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
Captured in Azerbaijan in June 2002, al-Darbi was subjected to rendition to Afghanistan, initially detained at Bagram Air Force Base, before being relocated to Guantanamo.
In February 2014, he entered a guilty plea before a military commission on terrorism charges related to the October 2002 assault on the French oil tanker Limburg near Yemen. Despite his detention at Guantanamo during that period, he faced accusations as a main architect of the attack. His plea made him the sixth detainee to acknowledge guilt partially to influence sentencing and potential release timing.
Background
Al-Darbi, who is the brother-in-law of Khalid al-Mihdhar, one of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon, was apprehended in Azerbaijan in June 2002. He was then rendered by U.S. forces to Afghanistan and held at the Bagram Collection Point, which was under the control of Alpha Company of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion. Reports emerged alleging prisoner mistreatment under their supervision, including two fatalities in December 2001. Al-Darbi identified Damien M. Corsetti, nicknamed "the King of Torture," as one of his tormentors. In May 2006, the Department of Defense confirmed that al-Darbi would not provide testimony at Corsetti's court martial concerning detainee deaths.
In August 2002, al-Darbi was moved from Bagram to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. On December 21, 2007, formal charges against him were forwarded to the convening authority for the Office of Military Commissions.
Military Commission charges
On December 21, 2007, Susan Crawford, overseeing the Guantanamo military commissions, authorized charges against Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi to advance toward trial. The accusations included participation in the 2002 attack on the French oil tanker MV Limburg, encompassing conspiracy to target civilians, violations of war laws including murder, destruction of property, endangering a vessel, terrorism offenses, and providing material support for terrorism.
Al-Darbi was alleged to have undergone training at Jihad Wahl camp, facilitated funding for the operation, and acquired a vessel registered in São Tomé intended for use in executing the plot.
In April 2008, al-Darbi declined involvement in his Military Commission proceedings, questioning its legitimacy and dismissing his military defense attorney Brian Broyles. During a December 2008 hearing, he displayed a photograph of President Barack Obama symbolizing hope and conveyed through counsel that Obama might restore U.S. credibility internationally.
Commission President James Pohl set a hearing for May 27, 2009, aimed at evaluating whether evidence against al-Darbi had been extracted through torture. In September 2009, a presiding officer approved a two-month postponement; al-Darbi sent a letter addressed to Obama expressing his aspirations.
On February 5, 2014, Pentagon officials announced plans to pursue new charges against al-Darbi regarding the 2002 oil tanker bombing. These charges had been proposed earlier in 2012 and required arraignment within thirty days at Guantanamo.
In July 2015 reports disclosed that al-Darbi’s legal team sought permission to question detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi about al-Darbi’s case. A court ruling from 2009 had prohibited further interrogation of Slahi due to documented torture allegations. Slahi’s memoir, Guantanamo Diary, released in January 2015 after extensive legal struggles and redactions, recounted his torture experiences and achieved international bestseller status.
Following its publication, camp officials limited Slahi’s access to attorneys and confiscated his personal effects and legal files in October 2014. Prosecutors later approached Slahi with assurances that if he consented voluntarily to questioning about al-Darbi, his possessions would be returned progressively.
Official status evaluations
At the outset, the Bush Administration maintained that individuals detained in the war on terror were not protected under the Geneva Conventions and could be held indefinitely without formal charges or transparent judicial oversight. However, in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court, through its decision in Rasul v. Bush, affirmed that detainees at Guantanamo Bay possess the right to habeas corpus, requiring that they be informed of accusations against them and granted an opportunity to contest their detention.
Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants
In response to the Supreme Court’s verdict, the Department of Defense created the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants (OARDEC) to conduct status reviews of detainees.
Researchers at the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, analyzed detainees held as of December 2008 and classified them according to the allegations cited to justify their continued confinement.
Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi appeared on the list of detainees facing charges before military commissions. He was accused of affiliations with both al-Qaeda and the Taliban, having undergone military or terrorist training in Afghanistan and identified as an "al-Qaeda operative." Additionally, he was among 82 detainees who either refrained from making statements or whose declarations did not meaningfully address the military’s accusations.
Guantanamo assessment
On April 25, 2011, the whistleblower platform WikiLeaks released previously confidential evaluations prepared by analysts from Joint Task Force Guantanamo. Al-Darbi’s eight-page assessment, dated October 1, 2004, bore the signature of camp commander Brigadier General Jay W. Hood, who recommended his continued detention.
2009 Joint Review Task Force
In January 2009, President Barack Obama convened a task force comprising six government agencies to reassess Guantanamo detainees as part of his initiative to shutter the detention center by early 2010. The resulting 2010 report described most detainees as low-level combatants and advised expedited repatriation for 53 individuals. Obama committed to ending torture practices and introduced a revised review system involving six departments, supplanting the Department of Defense–exclusive OARDEC process.
The Joint Review Task Force subsequently designated certain detainees as too dangerous to release despite insufficient evidence to formally charge them. A document unveiled on April 9, 2013, included Ahmed al-Darbi among 71 detainees classified under this category. Although Obama promised regular periodic reviews for such prisoners, al-Darbi eventually entered a guilty plea.
Charges before Military Commission
In 2014, al-Darbi faced charges before a military commission for his role in the October 6, 2002 attack on the French oil tanker Limburg near Mukalla, Yemen. He entered a guilty plea in February 2014, anticipating a definitive sentence followed by release after more than a decade of indefinite detention. At age 39, he became the sixth detainee to plead guilty. Analysts expected he would remain at Guantánamo for at least three and a half additional years before receiving a sentence ranging from nine to fifteen years, likely concluding with transfer to Saudi Arabia to serve out his term.
Al-Darbi admitted procuring boats, GPS equipment, and a hydraulic crane in the United Arab Emirates for use in the attack and managing financial resources provided by al-Qaeda. He acknowledged that civilian casualties were intended; one Bulgarian crew member lost his life and twelve other sailors sustained injuries.
As part of his plea agreement, al-Darbi consented to testify against Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, a higher-profile Saudi national facing capital punishment for war crimes. Nashiri stands accused of orchestrating several maritime terrorist assaults, including the 2000 bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole near Aden and the 2002 suicide bombing targeting the Limburg.
External links
- 1975 births
- Living people
- Detainees held at Guantanamo Bay
- Saudi Arabian nationals held extrajudicially by the United States
- Saudi Arabian affiliates of al-Qaeda
- Individuals from Taif
- Detainees at Bagram Theater Internment Facility
- Saudi Arabian victims of torture
- Convicted war criminals
- Saudi Arabian extrajudicial prisoners of the United States