Mohamed Tahar

Muhammaed Yasir Ahmed Taher
Born	1980 Ibb, Yemen
Died	Yemen
Occupation	Detainee
Known for	Detained at Guantanamo Bay; killed by drone strike in 2017

Muhammaed Yasir Ahmed Taher (1980 – March 2, 2017) was a Yemeni national detained without formal charges at the United States' Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. His detainee identification number at Guantanamo was 679. Intelligence sources approximate his birth year as 1980 in Ibb, Yemen.

He was the younger sibling of Ali Abdullah Ahmed, who was one of three detainees who died while in custody at Guantanamo on June 10, 2006; the U.S. Department of Defense classified these fatalities as suicides.

Taher was returned to Yemen on December 19, 2009. According to NBC News on March 3, 2017, he was killed by a missile strike launched from an unmanned surveillance drone on March 2, 2017.

Background

In March 2002, Pakistani and American counterterrorism units apprehended Taher at a student residence affiliated with Salafi University in Faisalabad, Pakistan, alongside approximately twelve other foreign students. Taher asserted that he was merely a student with no involvement in terrorist activities.

Allegations against him included identification by an al Qaeda operative in Afghanistan through a photograph and possession of a recruitment letter from the Taliban.

Historian Andy Worthington highlighted that during his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, Taher stated he had been informed early during his detention that his capture was a mistake and that his release would occur shortly.

Official status reviews

During the Bush administration, detainees captured in the "war on terror" were initially deemed not protected under the Geneva Conventions, permitting indefinite detention without formal charges or transparent judicial processes. However, in 2004, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Rasul v. Bush that Guantanamo detainees must be notified of accusations against them and granted 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 formed the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants to conduct reviews of detainee status.

A December 2008 report by scholars at the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, classified detainees according to military allegations:

• Mohmmad Ahmad Ali Tahar was accused of affiliations with both Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
• He allegedly resided in safehouses linked to Al Qaeda, Taliban, or related groups.
• Captured under conditions indicative of hostile engagement.
• Identified as an al Qaeda operative.
• Included among 34 detainees who admitted to lesser connections such as staying in guesthouses associated with Taliban or Al Qaeda.
• Acknowledged some level of associational involvement.

Taher took part in both his Combatant Status Review Tribunal and subsequent Administrative Review Board hearing. Following judicial directives, the Department of Defense disclosed redacted transcripts from these proceedings under Freedom of Information Act requests.

On January 9, 2009, the DoD released heavily redacted memoranda from Taher’s 2007 Administrative Review Board addressed to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official responsible for overseeing detainee evaluations.

Habeas petition

A habeas corpus petition was submitted on his behalf. Prior to restrictions imposed by the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 and the Military Commissions Act of 2006, over two hundred detainees had filed similar petitions seeking access to the US civilian courts. However, on June 12, 2008, the United States Supreme Court in Boumediene v. Bush invalidated Congressional and Presidential limitations, reinstating detainees' rights to habeas corpus.

On July 18, 2008, Pardiss Kebriaei submitted a Petitioner's status report concerning Mohammed Ahmed Taher in Civil Action No. 06-cv-1684.

A DTA appeal was also initiated on behalf of Mohammad Ahmad Taher. Both legislative acts intended to prevent Guantanamo detainees from filing new habeas petitions. Specifically, the Detainee Treatment Act prohibited detainees without prior habeas filings from submitting new petitions but permitted limited appeals before three-judge panels in Washington DC. These appeals were restricted to addressing procedural mistakes within Combatant Status Review Tribunal processes and did not extend to broader human rights claims.

Subsequently, approximately nine months later, the Military Commissions Act eliminated remaining pending habeas petitions. Consequently, some detainees opted to pursue DTA appeals as an alternative legal avenue.

Progress in DTA appeals was notably slow. Initially, the Department of Justice maintained that only the "Summary of Evidence" memoranda prepared for CSR Tribunals required judicial review. By September 2007, courts mandated disclosure of complete evidence sets. The Administration then argued it was unable to present original evidence due to lack of preservation.

Among detainees, only Uyghur captive Hufaiza Parhat successfully completed a DTA appeal. On June 20, 2008, his three-judge panel determined that his Tribunal had erred and ruled that he should never have been designated an enemy combatant.

Formerly secret Joint Task Force Guantanamo assessment

On April 25, 2011, whistleblower group WikiLeaks released previously classified assessments prepared by analysts at Joint Task Force Guantanamo. His Joint Task Force Guantanamo assessment, dated March 20, 2008, was signed by camp commander Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby, who recommended continued detention.

Charlie Savage observed that Tahar’s assessment referenced intercepted communications portraying his brother as a martyr. Following reports confirming his brother's death, Associated Press journalist Lolita C. Baldor extensively cited the assessment’s explanation of why Tahar was considered a security threat if freed.

Press reports

David Frum, a Canadian journalist and former special assistant to US President George W. Bush, published an article on November 11, 2006, based on transcripts from Combatant Status Review Tribunals. Frum, who coined the phrase "Axis of evil" in Bush’s address, summarized nine detainee transcripts including that of Tahar:

Frum concluded all nine individuals had been deceptive but did not clarify the basis for this judgment. His article concluded with:

Repatriation

According to Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald, Muhammaed Yasir Ahmed Taher was among twelve detainees transferred from Guantanamo on December 19, 2009. The group comprised Yemenis, Afghans, and Somalis: Ayman Batarfi, Jamal Alawi Mari, Farouq Ali Ahmed, Fayad Yahya Ahmed al Rami, Riyad Atiq Ali Abdu al Haf, Abdul Hafiz, Sharifullah, Mohamed Rahim, Mohammed Hashim, Ismael Arale, and Mohamed Suleiman Barre. Among them, Abdul Hafiz, Sharifullah, Mohamed Rahim, and Mohammed Hashim were Afghan nationals; Ismael Arale and Mohamed Suleiman Barre were Somali; while the remaining five were Yemeni citizens.

Death

On March 2, 2017, Mohamed Yasir Ahmed Taher was killed by a missile fired from a reconnaissance drone. Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson highlighted discrepancies in reports, which referred to him alternatively as Mohammed Tahar and Yasir al Silmi.

The missile was primarily aimed at a figure identified as Usayd al-Adani (also reported under the names Mossad al-Adani or Sa'ad Atef), a seasoned bomb-maker and AQAP leader operating in Abyan, Shabwah Province, or other parts of Yemen. This operation was regarded as a major setback for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.