Shawki Awad Balzuhair
Shawki Awad Balzuhair | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 24, 1981 Hadhramaut, Yemen |
| Occupation | Former detainee |
| Known for | Detention at Guantanamo Bay, alleged membership in "Karachi Six" |
Shawki Awad Balzuhair (born July 24, 1981) is a Yemeni national who was subjected to extrajudicial detention at the United States’ Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. His detainee identification number was 838. According to the Department of Defense, his place of birth is Hadhramaut, Yemen.
Prior to his arrival at Guantanamo, Balzuhair endured approximately one month in CIA-operated black sites, locations notorious for systematic torture practices.
Initially, U.S. authorities alleged that Balzuhair, along with five others apprehended in Karachi, constituted an underground al-Qaeda cell referred to as the "Karachi Six". Subsequent analysis, however, revealed that this supposed cell never existed.
Official status reviews
The Bush administration originally maintained that individuals detained during the war on terror were not entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions and could be held indefinitely without formal charges or transparent judicial proceedings.
In 2004, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Rasul v. Bush that detainees at Guantanamo must be informed of the accusations against them and granted the opportunity to contest their detention.
Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants
Following the Supreme Court decision, the Department of Defense created the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants to oversee detainee status evaluations.
Researchers at the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, classified Guantanamo detainees as of December 2008 according to common military allegations:
- Shawki Awad Balzuhair was accused of affiliation with Al Qaeda, having traveled to Afghanistan for jihadist purposes, residing in safehouses linked to Al Qaeda or the Taliban, receiving military or terrorist training there, and participating in combat on behalf of the Taliban.
- He was further labeled as an al Qaeda operative and was apprehended under circumstances indicating hostile engagement.
- Moreover, Balzuhair was included among the group of 82 detainees who either did not make statements during CSRT or ARB hearings or whose remarks failed to meaningfully address the military’s accusations.
Formerly secret Joint Task Force Guantanamo assessment
On April 25, 2011, classified evaluations prepared by Joint Task Force Guantanamo personnel were leaked by whistleblower organization WikiLeaks. Balzuhair’s 12-page assessment, completed on May 18, 2008, bore the signature of camp commander Rear Admiral David M. Thomas Jr., who recommended his continued detention.
Joint Review Task Force
Upon taking office in January 2009, President Barack Obama pledged to prohibit torture at Guantanamo and implement a new multi-agency review process involving six departments, replacing the Department of Defense–exclusive OARDEC procedures. One year later, the Joint Review Task Force designated certain detainees as too dangerous for release despite insufficient evidence to file charges. This classification document was disclosed on April 9, 2013, following a Freedom of Information Act request. Journalist Carol Rosenberg from the Miami Herald referred to Balzuhair and 78 others as "forever prisoners".
Periodic Review
In 2016, Bulzhair finally received his long-overdue hearing before the Period Review Board. During the evaluation, authorities were informed that the Karachi Six group, with which he was allegedly linked, was never proven to exist.
Transfer to Cape Verde
After a failed bombing attempt in 2009 by a Nigerian extremist trained in Yemen, the United States stopped returning Yemeni detainees to Yemen. As a result, Bulzhair was relocated to Cape Verde on December 4, 2016.
Bulzhair’s attorney, Angela Viramontes, characterized him as a private person who desires privacy following his release. She highlighted his hopes to marry, build a family, and find employment—common milestones for young men that he has yet to experience.