Guantánamo: The Definitive Prisoner List (Part 3)

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First published in March 2009, this list was updated on January 1, 2010, when 574 prisoners had been released (42 under Obama), and 198 remained.

The following list (also see Part 1, Part 2 and Part 4) is the culmination of a three-year project to record the stories of all the prisoners held at the US prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The first fruit of this research was my book The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison, published by Pluto Press in November 2007, and available from Amazon (US and UK), in which I related the story of Guantánamo, established a chronology explaining where and when the prisoners were seized, told the stories of around 450 of these prisoners, and provided a context for the circumstances in which the remainder of the prisoners were captured.

In the last 15 months, I have also published 12 online chapters telling the stories of over 250 prisoners that I was unable to include in the book (either because they were not available at the time of writing, or to keep the book at a manageable length), and have written over 300 articles about Guantánamo, for a variety of publications, expanding on and updating the stories of all 779 prisoners. In particular, I have covered the stories of the 143 prisoners released from Guantánamo since June 2007 in unprecedented depth, and have also covered the stories of the 27 prisoners charged in Guantánamo’s Military Commission trial system in more detail than is available from most, if not all other sources.

As a result, this is the most comprehensive list ever published of the 779 prisoners who have been held at Guantánamo, providing details of the 533 prisoners who have been released (and the dates of their release), and the 241 prisoners who are still held (including the 59 prisoners who have been cleared for release). I will, of course, continue to update it as more prisoners are released. At the time of publication (March 2009), it provides links to my articles or online chapters telling the stories of over 400 prisoners, and, where these are not available online, provides references for the chapters in The Guantánamo Files where their stories can be found. The stories of 87 prisoners remain unknown, because they were released in 2003 or 2004, and the Pentagon has not been obliged to publish any information relating to these men, and their stories have not surfaced in the media or in research undertaken by NGOs.

It is my hope that this project will provide an invaluable research tool for those seeking to understand how it came to pass that the government of the United States turned its back on domestic and international law, establishing torture as official US policy, and holding men without charge or trial neither as prisoners of war, protected by the Geneva Conventions, nor as criminal suspects to be put forward for trial in a federal court, but as “illegal enemy combatants.”

I also hope that it provides a compelling explanation of how that same government, under the leadership of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, established a prison in which the overwhelming majority of those held — at least 93 percent of the 779 men and boys imprisoned in total — were either completely innocent people, seized as a result of dubious intelligence or sold for bounty payments, or Taliban foot soldiers, recruited to fight an inter-Muslim civil war that began long before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and that had nothing to do with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or international terrorism.

Andy Worthington, London, March 2009

How to use the list

In the categories below, ISN refers to the Internment Serial Number by which the prisoners are (or were) known and identified in Guantánamo, followed by the prisoners’ status (released, cleared for release, still held, or, in five cases, deceased), their names (with just some of the many different permutations noted, in some cases), their nationality, and links or references to chapters in The Guantánamo Files. Links on the release dates feed into articles published when the prisoners were released.

Of the prisoners cleared for release, some, as indicated, were cleared by military review boards under the Bush administration, others (32 at the time of writing) had been cleared by judges in US courts, who had granted their habeas corpus petitions, and 103 had been cleared by the Obama administration’s interagency Task Force, which had been reviewing their cases all year. The Task Force has not announced the names of the prisoners it has cleared (although many are the same as those cleared under Bush, and the figures also include those cleared by the courts). As a result, several dozen prisoners in these lists have also been cleared, but I am unable to provide details.

To establish more context, the chapters in the book, and the online chapters, deal with the following places in which the prisoners were seized (or, in other cases, their rendition and torture in secret prisons):

Captured in Afghanistan: Chapters 2, 3, 9, 10, 14, 17, Website Extras 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 12
Captured crossing from Afghanistan into Pakistan: Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, Website Extras 3, 4, 5, 6
Captured in Pakistan: Chapters 12, 13, Website Extras 9, 10
Subjected to “extraordinary rendition” and/or detention in secret prisons: Chapters 16, 20, Website Extras 11

In addition, Chapter 8 refers to imprisonment at the US prison at Kandahar airport, Chapter 11 deals with the early months of Guantánamo’s existence, Chapter 14 also deals with imprisonment in the US prison at Bagram airbase, Chapter 15 refers to torture and abuse in Guantánamo, Chapter 18 refers to legal challenges, and Chapter 19 refers to hunger strikes, suicide attempts and medical malpractice.

The 779 prisoners held at Guantánamo (Part 3)

ISN – Status – Name – Nationality – References

Mostly captured in Jalalabad or in the vicinity of Tora Bora (Dec 01)

497 RELEASED FEB 07 Al Subii, Nasir (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 2
498 Haidel, Mohammed (Yemen) Chapter 8, Website Extras 2
499 RELEASED JUL 04 Chekhouri, Redouane (Morocco) No information
500 RELEASED MAR 04 Turkash, Emdash Abdullah (Turkmenistan) No information
501 RELEASED MAY 06 Al Otaibi, Nawaf (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 2
502 CLEARED (under Bush) Ourgy, Abdul (Tunisia) Chapter 4, also see Italy’s Guantánamo: Obama Plans “Rendition” Of Tunisians In Guantánamo To Italian Jail
503 RELEASED DEC 06 Al Zuba, Saleh (Yemen) Chapter 4
504 RELEASED SEP 04 Amin, Aminulla (Pakistan) No information
505 RELEASED MAY 06 Al Muri, Khalid (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 2
506 Al Dhuby, Khalid (Yemen) Website Extras 2
507 RELEASED DEC 06 Al Anazi, Sultan (Saudi Arabia) Chapter 4
508 Al Rabie, Salman (Yemen) Chapter 4 (footnote)
509 Khusruf, Mohammed (Yemen) Chapters 4, 16
510 RELEASED DEC 09 (extradited to Italian custody) Nasseri, Riyad (Tunisia) Chapter 4, also see Italy’s Guantánamo: Obama Plans “Rendition” Of Tunisians In Guantánamo To Italian Jail
511 CLEARED (under Bush) Al Nahdi, Sulaiman (Yemen) Chapter 4
512 RELEASED JUL 03 Sadik, Mamhud (Mohammed Saduq) (Afghanistan) Website Extras 9
513 RELEASED DEC 06 Khowlan, Abdul Rahman (Saudi Arabia) Chapter 4
514 RELEASED SEP 07 Al Anazi, Abdullah (Al Unazi Thani) (Saudi Arabia) Chapter 4
515 RELEASED MAR 04 Ul Haq, Israr (Pakistan) Website Extras 8
516 RELEASED JUL 07 Al Harbi, Ghanim (Saudi Arabia) Chapter 4
517 RELEASED MAY 03 Mohammed, Sultan (Afghanistan) No information
518 RELEASED NOV 03 Akah, Khirullah (Afghanistan) No information
519 POSSIBLY RELEASED DEC 09 Al Quwari, Mahrar (Palestine) Chapter 4, mentioned in More Dubious Charges in the Guantánamo Trials, Guantánamo’s refugees
520 RELEASED MAY 03 Karim, Abdul (Afghanistan) No information
521 RELEASED NOV 08 Kerimbakiev, Abdulrahim (Kazakhstan) Chapter 10
522 Ismail, Yasin (Yemen) Chapter 4
523 RELEASED MAY 03 Ehssanullah (Afghanistan) Website Extras 8
524 RELEASED SEP 04 Anwar, Mohammed (Pakistan) Chapter 9
525 RELEASED MAR 04 Gul, Ataullah Adam (Afghanistan) No information
526 RELEASED DEC 06 Abahanov, Yakub (Kazakhstan) Chapter 10, mentioned in Release of three prisoners highlights failures of Guantánamo
527 RELEASED SEP 04 Daoud, Mohamman (Afghanistan) Website Extras 2
528 RELEASED DEC 06 Magrupov, Abdullah (Kazakhstan) Chapter 10, mentioned in Release of three prisoners highlights failures of Guantánamo
529 RELEASED SEP 04 Khan, Bacha (Pakistan) No information
530 RELEASED SEP 04 Gul, Dawd (Afghanistan) Website Extras 8
531 RELEASED MAY 03 Hanan, Abdul (Afghanistan) Website Extras 8
532 RELEASED AUG 07 Sharif, Mohammed (Afghanistan) Website Extras 8
533 Zumiri, Hassan (Ahcene) (Canada-Algeria) Chapter 4
534 RELEASED MAR 04 Dergoul, Tarek (UK) Chapters 4, 8, 11, 15, 19, also see UK Government Lies Exposed; Spy Visited Binyam Mohamed In Morocco, What The British Government Knew About The Torture Of Binyam Mohamed
535 El Sawah, Tariq (Al Sawah) (Bosnia-Egypt) Chapter 4, MILITARY COMMISSION
536 RELEASED FEB 07 Al Harbi, Mohammed (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 8
537 Al Ali, Mahmud (Syria) Website Extras 8
538 RELEASED MAR 04 Alikozi, Amanullah (Afghanistan) No information
539 RELEASED SEP 04 Allah, Noor (Afghanistan) No information
540 RELEASED SEP 04 Omar, Mohammed (Pakistan) Website Extras 8, The Pentagon Can’t Count: 22 Juveniles Held at Guantánamo
541 RELEASED SEP 04 Noman, Mohammed (Pakistan) No information
542 RELEASED MAR 04 Abas, Mohammed (Pakistan) No information
543 RELEASED MAR 04 Mert, Nuri (Turkey) Chapter 10
544 NO ISN (probably a “ghost prisoner,” who was rendered to another location –- or held at Bagram –- instead of being sent to Guantánamo; also see 180, 212 and 241, above, and 548, 583 and 697-8, below)
545 RELEASED JUL 03 Urayman, Sajin (Pakistan) Website Extras 8, The Pentagon Can’t Count: 22 Juveniles Held at Guantánamo
546 RELEASED JUL 05 Muhibullah (Afghanistan) Chapter 10
547 RELEASED SEP 04 Mohammed, Wali (Afghanistan) No information
548 NO ISN (probably a “ghost prisoner,” who was rendered to another location –- or held at Bagram –- instead of being sent to Guantánamo; also see 180, 212, 241 and 544, above, and 583 and 697-8, below)
549 Al Dayi, Omar (Yemen) Website Extras 2
550 Zaid, Walid (Yemen) Chapter 4
551 RELEASED DEC 09, WON HABEAS PETITION Al Rabiah, Fouad (Al Rabia) (Kuwait) Chapters 4, 18, 19, also see MILITARY COMMISSION, Guantánamo And The Courts (Part Two): Obama’s Shame, Judge Orders Release From Guantánamo Of Kuwaiti Who Met Bin Laden, A Truly Shocking Guantánamo Story: Judge Confirms That An Innocent Man Was Tortured To Make False Confessions
552 Al Kandari, Faiz (Kuwait) Chapter 4, also see MILITARY COMMISSION, Guantánamo And The Courts (Part Two): Obama’s Shame, Resisting Injustice In Guantánamo: The Story Of Fayiz Al-Kandari
553 Al Baidhani, Abdul Khaliq (Saudi Arabia) Chapter 4 (footnote)
554 CLEARED (under Bush) Al Assani, Fehmi (Yemen) Chapter 4
555 RELEASED OCT 06 Muhammed, Abdul Majid (Iran) Chapter 10, also see Meltdown at the Guantánamo Trials

Captured in house raids in Pakistan or randomly seized (Nov 01-Feb 02)

556 RELEASED MAY 08 Khan, Abdullah (Afghanistan) Chapter 15, Website Extras 9
557 RELEASED SEP 07 Bin Qumu, Abu Sufian (Libya) Website Extras 9
558 RELEASED JAN 05 Begg, Moazzam (UK) Chapters 12, 14, 15, also see Guantánamo, Bagram and the “Dark Prison”: Binyam Mohamed talks to Moazzam Begg, When Torture Kills: Ten Murders In US Prisons In Afghanistan, Former prisoners launch the Guantánamo Justice Centre in London, Moazzam Begg on Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr in Bagram and Guantánamo, NEW FILM: Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo, Photos from the launch of “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo”, UK Judge Approves Use of Secret Evidence in Guantánamo Case, Video: Andy Worthington Discusses Guantánamo, Plus Clips From “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo”, Video: Q&A with Moazzam Begg, Omar Deghayes, Andy Worthington and Polly Nash at the Launch of “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo”
559 RELEASED SEP 04 Bader, Bader Zaman (Afghanistan) Chapter 12
560 Mohammed, Haji Wali (Afghanistan) Chapter 12
561 RELEASED APR 05 Muslim Dost, Abdul Rahim (Afghanistan) Chapter 12, also see Former Guantánamo detainees speak, Poetry and politics at Guantánamo: an interview with Marc Falkoff
562 RELEASED AUG 06 Peerzai, Ehsanullah (Afghanistan) Chapter 10
563 RELEASED MAR 04 Mohammed, Sohab Mahud (Iraq) No information
564 Bin Amer, Jalal (Yemen) Chapter 12
565 RELEASED DEC 07 Al Mousa, Abdul Hakim (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 9
566 CLEARED (under Bush) Qattaa, Mansoor (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 9
567 RELEASED DEC 09 Barre, Mohammed Sulaymon (Mohamed Saleban Bare) (Somalia) Chapter 12, also see “Hell on Earth”: Released Somali Speaks about Guantánamo
568 RELEASED NOV 05 Al Zamel, Adel (Kuwait) Chapters 11, 12, 14, 19
569 Al Shorabi, Zohair (Yemen) Website Extras 9
570 Al Qurashi, Sabri (Yemen) Website Extras 9
571 RELEASED NOV 05 Al Azmi, Sa’ad (Kuwait) Chapter 12
572 CLEARED (under Bush) Al Zabe, Salah (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 9
573 RELEASED FEB 04 Akhmyarov, Rustam (Russia) Chapter 18
574 Al Wady, Hamoud (Yemen) Chapter 12
575 Al Azani, Saad (Yemen) Chapter 12
576 Bin Hamdoun, Zahir (Yemen) Website Extras 9
577 RELEASED DEC 09 Mar’i, Jamal (Yemen) Chapter 16
578 Al Suadi, Abdul Aziz (Yemen) Chapters 12, 19
579 Khairkhwa, Khairullah (Afghanistan) Chapter 12
580 RELEASED JUL 03 Ahmad, Noor (Afghanistan) No information
581 RELEASED MAR 05 Rahman, Saeed Abdur (Pakistan) Chapter 12 (footnote), also see Website Extras 9
582 RELEASED JUL 03 Noorani, Abdul Rahman (Afghanistan) Chapter 15
583 NO ISN (probably a “ghost prisoner,” who was rendered to another location –- or held at Bagram –- instead of being sent to Guantánamo; also see 180, 212, 241, 544 and 548, above, and 697-8, below)
584 RELEASED OCT 09 (in Palau), WON HABEAS PETITION Noori, Adel (China) Website Extras 9, From Guantánamo to the United States: The Story of the Wrongly Imprisoned Uighurs, Guantánamo Uyghurs’ resettlement prospects skewered by Justice Department lies, A New Year Message to Barack Obama: Free the Guantánamo Uighurs, Guantánamo’s refugees, Bad News And Good News For The Guantánamo Uighurs, Guantánamo: A Real Uyghur Slams Newt Gingrich’s Racist Stupidity, Free The Guantánamo Uighurs!, From Guantánamo To The South Pacific: Is This A Joke?, Guantánamo And The Courts (Part One): Exposing The Bush Administration’s Lies, Chair Of The American Conservative Union Supports The Guantánamo Uighurs, House Threatens Obama Over Chinese Interrogation Of Uighurs In Guantánamo, A Profile of Rushan Abbas, The Guantánamo Uighurs’ Interpreter, A Plea To Barack Obama From The Guantánamo Uighurs, Guantánamo And The Courts (Part Two): Obama’s Shame, Court Allows Return Of Guantánamo Prisoners To Torture, Justice At Last? Guantánamo Uighurs Ask Supreme Court For Release Into US, Guantánamo Uighurs In Palau: First Interview And Photo, Guantánamo: Idealists Leave Obama’s Sinking Ship
585 RELEASED MAY 03 Al Umar, Ibrahim (Saudi Arabia) No information
586 RELEASED AUG 05 Khamisan, Karama (Yemen) Chapters 12, 14, 15
587 RELEASED JUL 04 Benchekroun, Brahim (Morocco) Chapters 12, 14
588 DIED IN GUANTANAMO JUN 06 Al Utaybi, Mani (Saudi Arabia) Chapter 19, also see Second Anniversary of Triple Suicide at Guantánamo, Guantánamo Suicide Report: Truth or Travesty?
589 RELEASED JUL 05 Al Asmar, Khalid (Jordan) Chapter 12
590 RELEASED APR 07 Errachidi, Ahmed (UK-Morocco) Chapters 12, 19, also see The Perils of Return: Repatriated to Torture, Two Americas, both unjust, Deals with dictators undermined by British request for return of five British detainees, Former prisoners launch the Guantánamo Justice Centre in London

Mostly captured in Afghanistan (Nov 01-May 02)

591 RELEASED OCT 06 Esmhatulla, Qari (Afghanistan) Chapter 14 (footnote), also see The Pentagon Can’t Count: 22 Juveniles Held at Guantánamo
592-622 NO ISN (probably Afghan prisoners released from Kandahar/Bagram before transfer to Guantánamo)
623 RELEASED MAR 04 Bameri, Bakhtiar (Iran) Chapter 14
624 RELEASED NOV 03 Mehmood, Majid (Pakistan) Website Extras 11
625 NO ISN (probably an Afghan prisoner released from Kandahar/Bagram before transfer to Guantánamo)
626 RELEASED JUL 03 Ullah, Noor Habib (Afghanistan) Website Extras 11
627 RELEASED DEC 09 Batarfi, Ayman (Yemen) Chapter 14, also see Guantánamo Transcripts: Ghost Prisoners Speak After Five And A Half Years, and “9/11 hijacker” Recants His Tortured Confession, The Story of Ayman Batarfi, a Doctor in Guantánamo, Guantánamo As Hotel California: You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave, Guantánamo And The Courts (Part Two): Obama’s Shame, 75 Guantánamo Prisoners Cleared For Release; 31 Could Leave Today
628 RELEASED MAY 03 Alizai, Nematuallah Sahib Khan (Afghanistan) No information
629 RELEASED MAY 03 Alikhan, Mahngur (Afghanistan) No information
630 RELEASED JUL 03 Rahmad, Nisar (Afghanistan) No information
631 RELEASED APR 05 Wazir, Padsha (Afghanistan) Website Extras 11
632 RELEASED MAY 03 Shah, Rostum (Afghanistan) Chapter 10
633 RELEASED JUL 03 Farooq, Muhammed Naim (Afghanistan) Website Extras 11
634 RELEASED MAR 04 Mohammed, Ali (Pakistan) No information
635 RELEASED JUL 03 Akhber, Mohammed (Afghanistan) Website Extras 11
636 RELEASED JUL 03 Gul, Nathi (Afghanistan) Website Extras 11
637 RELEASED NOV 03 Insanullah (Afghanistan) No information
638 RELEASED MAR 03 Wali, Badshah (Afghanistan) Chapter 14
639 RELEASED MAR 04 Bismillah (Afghanistan) No information
640 RELEASED MAR 03 Wali, Niaz (Afghanistan) Chapter 14
641 RELEASED JUL 04 Ergashev, Abdul-Karim (Abdulrahmon Rajabov) (Tajikistan) Chapter 19, also see Tajikistan: ex-Guantánamo prisoner plans to sue George Bush
642 RELEASED NOV 03 Hamidullah (Afghanistan) No information
643 RELEASED MAY 03 Tahir, Mohammed (Afghanistan) Chapter 10
644 RELEASED MAR 03 Muhammed, Mirza (Afghanistan) Website Extras 11
645 RELEASED MAR 03 Kabel, Mohammed (Afghanistan) No information
646 RELEASED JUL 03 Asekzai, Azizullah (Afghanistan) No information
647 RELEASED SEP 07 Al Shamaree, Zaban (Al Shammari) (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 11
648 RELEASED MAR 04 Al Tamimi, Haydar Jabbar Hafez (Iraq) No information
649 RELEASED MAR 05 Patel, Mushtaq Ali (France) Chapter 14
650 RELEASED NOV 07 Al Qahtani, Jabir (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 11
651 RELEASED NOV 07 Abu Kabir, Usama (Jordan) Website Extras 11
652 RELEASED MAY 06 Al Qahtani, Abdullah (Saudi Arabia) Chapter 14
653 RELEASED JAN 09 Al Karim, Arkan (Iraq) Chapter 14, also see Even In Cheney’s Bleak World, The Al-Qaeda-Iraq Torture Story Is A New Low
654 CLEARED (under Obama) Al Ghizzawi, Abdul Hamid (Libya) Chapters 14, 19, also see The Guantánamo Whistleblower, a Libyan shopkeeper, some Chinese Muslims and a desperate government, Horror at Guantánamo, Justice Department Pointlessly Gags Guantánamo Lawyer
655 RELEASED FEB 06 Khudaidad (Afghanistan) Chapter 14
656 RELEASED NOV 03 Baqi, Abdul (Afghanistan) No information
657 RELEASED OCT 02 Mohammed, Haji Faiz (Afghanistan) Chapter 14 (he was 70 years old)
658 RELEASED MAR 03 Bismillah (Afghanistan) Chapter 14
659 RELEASED DEC 07 Sameur, Abdulnour (Abdennour) (UK-Algeria) Chapters 7, 8, also see Deals with dictators undermined by British request for return of five British detainees, Guantánamo Britons To Be Released: A Mixed Result
660 RELEASED JUN 07 Lagha, Lotfi Bin Swei (Lofti Lagha) (Tunisia) Chapter 7, also see “We would rather be back in Guantánamo”, “I’m innocent,” says Guantánamo detainee Lotfi Lagha, sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in Tunisia
661 RELEASED JAN 05 Habib, Mamdouh (Australia) Chapters 16, 19, also see Former Guantánamo detainees speak
662 RELEASED NOV 07 Sulayman, Ahmed (Jordan) Chapter 12
663 RELEASED JUL 03 El-Weleli, Reda Fadel (Egypt) No information
664 RELEASED MAY 06 Al Uwaydah, Rashid (Saudi Arabia) Website Extras 9
665 RELEASED MAR 04 Eideov, Sadee (Tajikistan) No information
666 RELEASED NOV 03 Hezbullah (Afghanistan) No information
667 RELEASED JUL 03 Sarwar, Kari Mohammed (Afghanistan) No information
668 RELEASED MAR 04 Andarr, Abdul Al Hameed (Afghanistan) No information
669 RELEASED JUN 09 Zuhair, Ahmed Zaid Salim (Saudi Arabia) Chapter 20, also see Guantánamo’s Long-Term Hunger Striker Should Be Sent Home
670 RELEASED NOV 07 Hekmat, Abdullah (Afghanistan) Website Extras 11
671 RELEASED MAR 03 Abassin, Said (Afghanistan) Chapter 14
672 RELEASED NOV 06 (in Albania) Asam, Zakirjan (Russia) Chapter 14
673 RELEASED MAR 03 Khan, Alif (Afghanistan) Chapter 14
674 RELEASED FEB 04 Ishmuradov, Timur (Russia) Chapters 14, 18
675 CLEARED (under Bush) Kasimbekov, Kamalludin (Uzbekistan) Website Extras 11
676 RELEASED AUG 05 Anwarkurd, Mohammed (Iran) Website Extras 11
677 RELEASED NOV 03 Wazir, Mohammed (Afghanistan) Chapter 14
678 RELEASED JUN 07 Mahdi, Fawaz (Yemen) Chapter 14

Captured in house raids in Pakistan or randomly seized (Mar-Jul 02)

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Guantánamo: The Definitive Prisoner List (Part 3)

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