Jabran al-Qahtani
Jabran Said bin Wazir al-Qahtani | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977 Tabuk, Saudi Arabia |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Known for | Detainee at Guantanamo Bay detention camp |
Jabran Said bin Wazir al-Qahtani is a Saudi citizen who endured nearly fifteen years of extrajudicial detention at the United States' Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. Analysts from Joint Task Force Guantanamo estimate his birth year as 1977, with his place of origin being Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Al-Qahtani was brought to Guantanamo on August 5, 2002, and later returned to Saudi Arabia on January 19, 2017. He earned an engineering degree from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.
Inconsistent identification
Throughout various Department of Defense records, Jabran Said Bin Wazir al-Qahtani's name appeared with discrepancies:
- Jabran Said Wazar Al Qahtani was used in the Summary of Evidence memorandum for his Combatant Status Review Tribunal dated August 30, 2004, as well as on three official detainee rosters.
- Jabran Said Bin Al Qahtani appeared in the charges filed before a military commission on November 7, 2005.
Charges before a military commission
On November 7, 2005, the United States formally charged Jabran al-Qahtani along with four others, intending to prosecute them via a military commission. Al-Qahtani, Sufyian Barhoumi, Binyam Ahmed Muhammad, and Ghassan Abdullah al Sharbi faced conspiracy to commit murder related to involvement in a bomb-making operation; Canadian Omar Khadr was charged with murder and conspiracy.
Al-Qahtani, Barhoumi, and al-Sharbi—collectively referred to as "The Faisalabad Three"—were apprehended together in Faisalabad, Pakistan, alongside Abu Zubaydah. Abu Zubaydah was initially thought to be a high-ranking al Qaeda operative but was later determined to hold a minor role. The three detainees chose to represent themselves without legal counsel.
In April 2006, al-Qahtani was formally accused of participation in bomb-making activities. His defense lawyer criticized the military tribunals as heavily skewed toward securing convictions. These tribunals faced legal challenges culminating in the Supreme Court ruling Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), which declared them unconstitutional for circumventing established judicial procedures and denying defendants adequate protections. In response, Congress enacted the Military Commissions Act of 2006, creating a new tribunal framework but limiting detainees' access to federal courts and habeas corpus petitions.
In May 2008, al-Qahtani and others were re-indicted. However, on October 21, 2008, Susan J. Crawford announced the dismissal of charges against al-Qahtani and four others linked to Abu Zubaydah—who had been subjected to CIA waterboarding techniques. Legal counsel anticipated new charges within thirty days; prosecutors described the dismissal as procedural following the resignation of Prosecutor Darrel Vandeveld over ethical concerns. Observers speculated that this action aimed to prevent Vandeveld from testifying about withheld exculpatory evidence.
Joint Review Task Force
Upon assuming office in January 2009, President Barack Obama pledged to end torture practices at Guantanamo and implement a revised detainee review process. Unlike the prior system managed solely by the Department of Defense, this new procedure incorporated officials from six different departments. One year later, the Joint Review Task Force categorized certain detainees as too dangerous to release despite insufficient evidence for formal charges. On April 9, 2013, this classification was made public following a FOIA request.
Among those designated was Jabran al-Qahtani, who was deemed too innocent for prosecution yet too risky for transfer. Although President Obama committed to conducting periodic evaluations for such detainees through a Periodic Review Board, fewer than twenty-five percent have actually undergone these reviews.
External links
- Assessment of Jabran al-Qahtani as a Guantanamo detainee via Wikileaks
- Remaining Detainees in Guantánamo: Part Six – Captured in Pakistan (2 of 3) Andy Worthington, October 6, 2010
- Transcripts, Exhibits, and Related Documents from Commissions
- Omar Khadr Charged with Murder by US Military, CTV, November 7, 2005
- Five Guantanamo Detainees Face War Crimes Charges in US, China Daily, November 7, 2005
- Supreme Court to Consider Challenge to Military Commissions, San Francisco Mercury, November 7, 2005