Man accused of ties to bin Laden has 20-year Guantanamo detention reviewed

The Associated Press:

A man initially accused of being a high-profile al-Qaeda figure and who was tortured in CIA custody appeared Thursday at a hearing to review his detention at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he has been held for 20 years without charges.

A US government official said Abu Zubaydah, who wore a neatly trimmed beard and glasses, had “probably” served as one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted facilitators. The roughly 20-minute hearing offered rare visibility into the secretive military court proceedings of a suspect who had been tortured at CIA black sites during the US war on terrorism and whose case still has not been resolved 25 years after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Zubaydah’s unidentified government-assigned representative and his private attorney, Annika Conrad, both acknowledged he had known bin Laden, the 9/11 mastermind. But they said Zubaydah was never a member of the militant group that bin Laden founded.

Conrad argued that Zubaydah poses no security threat to the United States and that it can no longer justify his detention. She said Zubaydah should be approved for transfer out of Guantanamo, which would kick off a multiyear process that includes finding a country to accept him.

Conrad said Zubaydah is prepared to accept a range of security measures, including continuous monitoring.

Conrad said he has the financial and personal support of his family, has rejected any extremist views “and simply wants to live a life of peace.”

She also argued that a chief military prosecutor for US Military Commissions, which oversees the 15 men still held at Guantanamo Bay, has said that it is unlikely that Zubaydah will be charged.

The Office of Military Commissions declined to comment.

Zubaydah’s attorney said the most the government can offer is a “probable association” to bin Laden after more than two decades and noted that Zubaydah declined a direct request from bin Laden to work for al-Qaida.

Conrad also cited the torture that Zubaydah experienced, describing him as “a greatly injured man” who lost his left eye and his ability to write in English and “frequently struggles to recall words”.

Zubaydah’s detention is being reviewed by a US government panel of senior defence, intelligence and homeland security officials. The Periodic Review Board was created under the Obama administration to evaluate prisoners and determine if they could be released without posing a threat to national security.

The review panel issued no immediate ruling Thursday. A live video feed of the unclassified portion of his hearing at Guantanamo was made available to reporters at Fort Meade, an Army base in Maryland.

Detainees are not permitted to speak at their review hearings, and Zubaydah sat in silence next to his attorney and the government representative. Dressed in a gray suit jacket and patterned gray tie, he often pressed his left index finger to his left temple or fidgeted with something in his hands. A worn-looking book sat in front of him.

Zubaydah’s lawyers, Conrad and Ahmed Almudallal, said in a statement before the hearing that he may never face charges.

“For the first time in over two decades, the military’s Chief Prosecutor believes it is unlikely our client will ever be charged,” the attorneys said. “This is a major change in circumstances that warrants he be cleared for transfer.”

Almudallal and Conrad said Zubaydah has “no intent to engage in violence against the United States in the future”.

“Now, at 55 years old, he’s eager to re-connect with his family and live out the rest of his days as a free person,” they said. “Twenty-four years in prison plus being ‘patient zero’ in the US government’s torture programme has been punishment enough.”