Idris Ahmad ʽAbd al Qadir Idris

Idris Ahmed Abd al Qader Idris
Born	1979 Rada, Yemen
Occupation	Quran instructor (former)
Known for	Detention at Guantanamo Bay detention camp

Idris Ahmed Template:AyinAbd al Qader Idris is a Yemeni national who was held at the United States detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His assigned detainee number was 035. Born in 1979 in Rada, Yemen, Idris was relocated to Oman on June 13, 2015, following security arrangements coordinated between the Omani authorities and the U.S. Department of Defense. He arrived at Guantanamo on June 8, 2002, where he was subjected to extrajudicial detention without formal charges. Although the Department of Defense never fully explained the basis for his detention, some information emerged from the 2011 release of Guantanamo Bay files.

Background

After completing high school in 1996, Idris attended Sanaa University for two years before taking a position with Yemen's Ministry of Agriculture. Inspired by an imam at Sanaa’s al-Khayr Mosque, he traveled to Afghanistan in 1999 to serve as a Quran instructor at Kandahar’s al Raham Mosque. Idris consistently denied receiving military training or participating in combat activities. He escaped the U.S. bombing campaign in Afghanistan and arrived in Khowst on November 15, 2001, where he remained for approximately twenty days. With help from an Arab named Rosi Khan, he joined a group of about thirty Arabs attempting to cross into Pakistan on foot; Pakistani authorities apprehended them on December 15, 2001.

More than six months later, on June 8, 2002, Idris was transferred to Guantanamo Bay. U.S. counterterrorism officials referred to his group as "the dirty thirty," alleging they served as Osama bin Laden’s bodyguards. However, human rights organizations and legal experts challenged these claims, pointing to questionable interrogation techniques and the absence of shared backgrounds among the detainees prior to their capture.

On September 21, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice released a list identifying 55 detainees approved for release by the Guantanamo Review Task Force. Three days later, Fox News reported that Idris was included among those cleared despite previous accusations connecting him to bin Laden’s security team.

Official status reviews

During the Bush administration, it was maintained that individuals detained in the "war on terror" were not entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions and could be held indefinitely without charges or transparent judicial processes. In 2004, however, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Rasul v. Bush that detainees must be informed of accusations against them and given an opportunity to contest those claims.

Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants

In response to the Supreme Court decision, the United States Department of Defense created the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants.

In December 2008, scholars from the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, classified detainees according to military allegations:

• Idris Ahmed Abdu Qader Idris was accused of ties to both Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
• He was alleged to have traveled to Afghanistan with intent for jihad.
• He was identified as a foreign combatant.
• Among a group of 82 detainees who either remained silent or made statements unrelated to military allegations.

Previously Classified Joint Task Force Guantanamo Evaluation

On April 25, 2011, the whistleblowing group WikiLeaks made public previously confidential evaluations prepared by analysts from Joint Task Force Guantanamo. One such document, dated January 26, 2008, spanning ten pages and signed by Mark Buzby, the commanding officer of the facility, advised that the detainee remain in custody.

Guantanamo Joint Review Task Force

Shortly after assuming office, President Barack Obama created the Guantanamo Joint Review Task Force with the mandate to reevaluate detainees within a one-year timeframe. This process sorted detainees into categories: those to be prosecuted, those suitable for release or transfer, and those considered too risky for release yet not subject to formal charges. Idris was determined to be eligible for safe release.

Transfer to Oman

On June 13, 2015, Idris was relocated to Oman alongside five other Yemeni nationals.