Guantanamo Bay Detainees—List Released

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act [hereinafter FOIA] lawsuit filed by the Associated Press, the Pentagon has released the names of 558 detainees who have ever been held in Guantanamo Bay.^[1] The list, composed of people from 41 countries, “is the first official roster of Guantanamo detainees who passed through the Combatant Status Review Tribunal process in 2004 and 2005” which was intended to “determine whether they should be deemed ‘enemy combatants.’”^[2]

There are some familiar names on the list, such as the Australian man, David Hicks, who is “a Muslim from Australia charged with fighting U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.”^[3] Also included in the list are “top former Taliban officials such as the ousted regime’s former Defense Ministry chief or staff Mullah Mohammed Fazil; Taliban intelligence officials Abdul Haq Wasiq and Gholam Ruhani, who are believed to be in custody still; and the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, who was released in 2005.”^[4] In all, however, most of the people on the list are “small fry, figures of little value in the international ‘war on terror.’”^[5] Not one “single senior figure from Al-Qaeda [or] other Islamic extremist groups” is represented on the list.^[6] The former head of the CIA unit tasked on finding Osama bin Laden, Michael Scheuer, told the National Journal that the Guantanamo detainees appeared to be mere foot-soldiers, and that “They are going to know absolutely nothing about terrorism. … We absolutely got the wrong guys.”^[7]

The list is not a full accounting of all who have been held at Guantanamo, however. There have allegedly been more than 750 prisoners who have ever passed through Guantanamo, which means that nearly 200 individuals are not accounted for, and it is estimated that 490 individuals are currently being held there.^[8] 41 countries are represented on the list, with 132 from Saudi Arabia, 125 from Afghanistan, and 107 from Yemen.^[9]

The publication of the list has been met with praise by an Afghan commission “working to free Afghan detainees,” and with scorn by the Pakistani Interior Ministry.^[10] According to Sayeed Sharif Youssefi, a senior official at Afghanistan’s peace and reconciliation commission, “the list sheds light on how many Afghans are in the U.S. detention facility … and who they are.”^[11] The commission is planning on sending a delegation to Guantanamo “to check on those Afghan detainees there.”^[12] Pakistan, however, is rather upset by the list. “According to the latest information provided to us by America,” said a Pakistani Interior Ministry official, “22 Pakistanis are still detained there.”^[13] It was understood that there were only seven Pakistanis in Guantanamo, and the official says that “it is a fact that they have been concealing information from us about out people detained at Guantanamo Bay.”^[14]

In other Guantanamo-related news, nearly 100 prisoners are planned for release “once their home countries or a third party agree to take them in.”^[15] Of the estimated 250 prisoners who have been released from the base, only 15 have “returned” to the battlefield.^[16] And finally, a Coast Guard Academy professor is saying that the Guantanamo system is broken, and “the situation has become so untenable the American military risks losing credibility in the international community.”^[17] Commander Glenn Sulmasy is promoting the creation of “national security courts at domestic military bases, overseen by judges with expertise in national security law and armed conflict.”^[18] While the trials would be secret, the individuals would have access to military defense attorneys or civilian attorneys with security clearances, and watchdog groups would be allowed to supervise the process to ensure fairness.^[19]

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[1] Ben Fox, Guantanamo List Contains Names of 558, Associated Press (via Fort Worth Star-Telegram), Apr. 20, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Afghans Praise, Pakistanis Slam Guantanamo List, Associated Press (via CNN.com), Apr. 20, 2006.
[5] Most Guantanamo Detainees Are Small Fry, Experts Say, Turkish Press, Apr. 20, 2006.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Fox, supra note 1.
[9] Id.
[10] AP, supra note 4.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] US Ready to Release 100 Guantanamo Detainees: Diplomat, Agence France-Presse (via Yahoo!), Apr. 20, 2006.
[16] Id.
[17] Professor Wants National Security Courts to Replace Guantanamo, Associated Press (via Norwalk Advocate), Apr. 20, 2006.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.