Hafez Qari Mohamed Saad Iqbal Madni

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Hafez Qari Mohamed Saad Iqbal Madni is a Pakistani citizen held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] Madni's detainee ID number is 743.

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a small trailer, the same width, but shorter, than a mobile home. The Tribunal's President sat in the big chair. The detainee sat with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor in the white, plastic garden chair. A one way mirror behind the Tribunal President allowed observers to observe clandestinely. In theory the open sessions of the Tribunals were open to the press. Three chairs were reserved for them. In practice the Tribunal only intermittently told the press that Tribunals were being held. And when they did they kept the detainee's identities secret. In practice almost all Tribunals went unobserved.

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct a competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

Madni chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[2]

[edit] allegations

The allegations against Madni were:^[2]

a The detainee is a member of al Qaida.

1. The detainee is an al Qaida operative.
2. The detainee ascertained the plans and movements of a US government official for the purpose of inflicting harm of death to that official.
3. The detainee claimed prior knowledge of a terrorist act
4. The detainee engaged in planning of and surveillance for, a proposed terrorist act.

[edit] Testimony

Madni told his Tribunal that he was wearing the orange jumpsuit that non-compliant captives were made to wear because of a suicide attempt he had made on the 191st day of his detention.

Main article: Guantanamo suicide attempts

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearing

Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".

They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat -- or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.

Madni chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[3]

[edit] Prelimary meeting with Assisting Military Officer

Madni’s prelimary meeting with his Assisting Military Officer took place on November 29, 2005. Madni said he would attend. His Assisting Military Officer described him as responsive, polite and attentive, during this meeting, but highly skeptical, based on his experience Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

[edit] The factors, for and against, continued detention

The "Summary of Evidence" memos prepared for captives Adminisistrative Review Boards always separated the factors into "primary factors that favor continued detention", and "primary factors that favor release of transfer". The factors that favor detention were always further separated into lists of factors under sub-headings like "Association", "Training", "Intent", "Commitment. These lists were always numbered. Most transcripts record the numbering and the category headings. But the transcript prepared for Madni's hearing does not record the numbering and category headings.

• The detainee asked an unidentified confidant where and with whom a ^[sic] United States government official would be on New Year’s Eve.
• The detainee wanted to know if there were protective officers with the government official and if they were American.
• An acquaintance of the detainee failed an attack on an American commercial airline in 2001.
• In mid-December 2001, the detainee speculated that something big was going to happen during a meeting with other al Qaida operatives.
• The detainee had visited with members of al Qaida in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• A member of the detainee’s family was a leader of the female section of the Al Ikhwan Al Muslimon Group in Indonesia. This group has been identified as an Islamic extremist group in Asia.
• The detainee stated that it was better to kill one U.S. Government Official than 100 Americans.
• The detainee claimed to be an al Qaida operative.
• The detainee admitted traveling to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Afghanistan and many times to Pakistan.

[edit] Response to the factors

[edit] Response to Board questions

[edit] References

1. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, April 20, 2006
2. ^ ^{a b} Summarized transcripts (.pdf) from Hafez Qari Mohamed Saad Iqbal Madni's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 46-58
3. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Hafez Qari Mohamed Saad Iqbal Madni's Administrative Review Board hearing, December 1, 2005 - page 146