Mustafa Ait Idir

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Mustafa Ait Idr

Mustafa Ait Idir an individual detained in the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Idir was born in Algeria, but moved to Bosnia, married a Bosnian woman, and became a Bosnian citizen. Idir was arrested in October 18, 2001 on suspicion of participating in a conspiracy to bomb the United States Embassy.

Main article: Algerian Six

After their release following their acquittal, the six men were captured, on January 17, 2002, by American forces, who transferred them to Guantanamo Bay.

Idir has alleged brutal treatment there.^[1] He claimed that guards beat him, when he was shackled, and bent back his fingers, breaking them. Idir has a black belt, and was the Croatian martial arts champion. During another alleged beating guards threw him onto a gravel path, where one guard jumped on him, with his full weight, causing a stroke that left part of his face paralyzed.

1 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
2 American allegations against Idir
3 Administrative Review Board hearing
4 Suing the US Government
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

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.

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

Washington DC based Judge Joyce Hens Green extensively quoted a transcript from Idir's Combatant Status Review Tribunal when she decided that the Guantanamo tribunals violated the US Constitution.^[3]

[edit] American allegations against Idir

The unclassified allegations against Idir were:^[4]

a. The detainee is associated with al Qaida:

The detainee is Algerian, but acquired Bosnian citizenship by serving in the Bosnian military in 1995.
The detainee is associated with the Armed Islamic Group (GIA).
While living in Bosnia, the detainee associated with a known al Qaida operative.
At the time of his capture, the detainee had planned to travel to Afghanistan once his al Qaida contact arrived there and had made the necessary arrangements.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States or its coalition partners.

The detainee was arrested by Bosnian authorities on 18 October 2001.
The detainee was arrested because of his involvement with a plan to attack the U.S. embassy located in Sarajevo.

[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.

Idr chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[5]

[edit] Suing the US Government

The Washington Post reported on April 14, 2005 that Idir's lawyers initiated legal steps to sue the U.S. government to get the videotapes of the incidents with the Initial Reaction Force where he was injured.^[6] The IRF is supposed to videotape all of its interventions.