For Ramadan, Please Write to the Hunger Striking Prisoners at Guantánamo

Every six months, I urge readers to send letters to the prisoners in Guantánamo, and, as this is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began July 8, there is no better time to write to the 166 men still held, the majority of whom have been on a hunger strike for over five months, protesting about conditions at the prison, and the failure of all three branches of the US government to free them or put them on trial.

In the last three years, just ten prisoners have been released, even though 86 of the men still held were cleared for release by the sober and responsible inter-agency Guantánamo Review Task Force, consisting of around 60 members of the major government departments and the intelligence agencies. Established by President Obama when he took office in 2009, the task force spent a year reviewing the men’s cases before reaching their decisions about who to release, who to prosecute, and, disturbingly, who to hold indefinitely without charge or trial on the basis that they are “too dangerous to release,” even though insufficient evidence exists to put them on trial. In the real world, what this means is that the supposed evidence is no such thing, and is, instead, a collection of extremely unreliable statements made by the prisoners themselves, and, more particularly, their fellow prisoners, as well as other intelligence reports of a dubious nature.

The Guantánamo Review Task Force’s report was published in January 2010, but it was not until last month that a document explaining which prisoners had been placed into which categories was released through FOIA legislation. I analyzed that document here, and noted which prisoners had been placed in which categories in the prisoner list on the CloseGuantánamo.org website.

To further clarify which prisoners are in which category, the list of prisoners you can write to, posted below, is divided into those cleared for release (86), those recommended for indefinite detention (46), and those recommended for prosecution (33). Please note that I have kept the spelling used by the US authorities in the “Final Dispositions” of the Guantánamo Review Task Force.

I dedicate this particular campaign to Adnan Latif, a Yemeni who was one of the Yemenis cleared for release, but who was not freed, because of bans on releasing cleared Yemenis that were imposed by both President Obama and Congress. Latif died at Guantánamo, reportedly by committing suicide, last September. President Obama has since dropped his ban, imposed after a Nigerian, recruited in Yemen, tried and failed to blow up a plane bound for the US on Christmas Day 2009 with a bomb in his underwear. Congress’s ban still stands, however, although President Obama can use a waiver in the legislation imposed by Congress, allowing him to bypass lawmakers and release prisoners if he regards it as being “in the national security interests of the United States.”

That time, of course, is now.

The letter-writing campaign was started two and a half years ago by two Facebook friends, Shahrina J. Ahmed and Mahfuja Bint Ammu, and it has been repeated every six months (see here, here, here and here).

If you are an Arabic speaker, or speak any other languages spoken by the prisoners besides English, feel free to write in those languages. Do please note that any messages that can be construed as political should be avoided, as they may lead to the letters not making it past the Pentagon’s censors, but be aware that your messages may not get through anyway — although please don’t let that put you off (see the note at the bottom of this article to explain why letters might be returned without explanation).

If you want any more encouragement about the significance for prisoners of receiving letters, then please watch the short film below — part of Amnesty International’s ongoing letter-writing campaign— featuring my friend, the former prisoner Omar Deghayes, showing letters he received in Guantánamo and explaining how much they meant to him — and to his fellow prisoners. This was filmed as part of an interview with Omar that is featured in the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (directed by Polly Nash and myself), and available on DVD here — or here for the US.

When writing to the prisoners, please ensure you include their full name and ISN (internment serial number) below (these are the numbers before their names, i.e. Shaker Aamer is ISN 239)

Please address all letters to:

Detainee Name
Detainee ISN
U.S. Naval Station
Guantánamo Bay
Washington, D.C. 20355
United States of America

Please also include a return address on the envelope.

The 86 prisoners cleared for release

The general phrase used by the task force to describe the recommendations for 56 of these men was “Transfer to a country outside the United States that will implement appropriate security measures.” Their identities were first revealed last September. See below for the 30 others.

The 30 non-Yemeni prisoners cleared for release

036 Ibrahim Othman Ibrahim Idris (Sudan)
038 Ridah Bin Saleh al Yazidi (Tunisia)
168 Adel Al Hakeemy (Tunisia)
174 Hasham Bin Ali Omar Sliti (Tunisia)
189 Salem Abdu Salam Ghereby (Libya)
197 Younis Abdurrahman Chekkouri (Morocco)
200 Saad Muhammad Husayn Qahtani (Saudi Arabia)
238 Nabil Said Hadjarab (Algeria)
239 Shaker Aamer (UK-Saudi Arabia)
257 Imar Hamzayavich Abdulayev (Tajikistan)
275 Yousef Abbas (China)
280 Saidullah Khalik (China)
282 Hajiakbar Abdul Ghuper (China)
288 Mutia Sadiq Ahmad Sayyab (Algeria)
290 Ahmed Bin Saleh Bel Bacha (Algeria)
309 Mjuayn Al-Din Jamal Al-Din Abd Al Fadhil Abd Al-Sattar (UAE)
310 Djamel Saiid Ali Ameziane (Algeria)
326 Ahmed Adnan Ahjam (Syria)
327 Ali Hussein Muhammed Shaban (Syria)
329 Abd Al Hadi Omar Mahmoud Faraj (Syria)
502 Abdul Bin Mohammed Abis Ourgy (Tunisia)
684 Mohammed Tahanmatan (Palestine)
722 Jihad Deyab (Syria)
757 Ahmed Abdel Aziz (Mauritania)
894 Abdullah Bin Ali Al Lufti (Tunisia)
899 Shawali Khan (Afghanistan)
928 Khi Ali Gul (Afghanistan)
934 Abdul Ghani (Afghanistan)
1103 Mohammed Zahir (Afghanistan)
10001 Bensayah Belkacem (Algeria)

The 26 Yemeni prisoners cleared for release

034 Al Khadr Abdallah Muhammad Al Yafi (Yemen)
035 Idris Ahmad Abd Al Qadir Idris (Yemen)
152 Asim Thahit Abdullah Al-Khalaqi (Yemen)
153 Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman (Yemen)
163 Khalid Abd Al Jabbar Muhammad Uthman Al Qadasi (Yemen)
170 Sharaf Ahmad Muhammad Mas’ud (Yemen)
224 Abd Al-Rahman Abdullah Ali Shabati (Yemen)
249 Muhammed Abdullah Al Hamiri (Yemen)
254 Muhammad Ali Husayn Khanayna (Yemen)
255 Said Muhammad Salih Hatim (Yemen)
259 Fadhel Hussein Saleh Hentif (Yemen)
511 Sulaiman Awath Sulaiman Bin Agell Al Nahdi (Yemen)
553 Abdul Khaled Al-Baydani (Yemen)
554 Fahmi Salem Said Al-Asani (Yemen)
564 Jalal Salam Awad Awad (Yemen)
566 Mansour Mohamed Mutaya Ali (Yemen)
570 Sabri Muhammad Ibrahim al-Qurashi (Yemen)
572 Salah Mohammad Salih al-Dhabi (Yemen)
574 Hamood Abdulla Hamood (Yemen)
575 Saa’d Nasser Moqbil al-Azani (Yemen)
680 Emad Abdallah Hassan (Yemen)
686 Abdel Ghaib Ahmad Hakim (Yemen)
689 Mohammed Ahmed Salam (Yemen)
690 Abdul Al Qader Ahmed Hassain (Yemen)
691 Muhammad Ali Salem Al Zarnuki (Yemen)
1015 Husayn Salim Muhammad Matari Yafai (Yemen)

The 30 Yemeni prisoners cleared for release but designated for “conditional detention”

These men were cleared for release by the task force, although the task force members conjured up a new category for them, “conditional detention,” which it described as being “based on the current security environment in that country.” The task force added, “They are not approved for repatriation to Yemen at this time, but may be transferred to third countries, or repatriated to Yemen in the future if the current moratorium on transfers to Yemen is lifted and other security conditions are met.”

026 Fahed Abdullah Ahmad Ghazi (Yemen)
030 Ahmed Umar Abdullah al-Hikimi (Yemen)
033 Mohammed Al-Adahi (Yemen)
040 Abdel Qadir Al-Mudafari (Yemen)
043 Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbil (Yemen)
088 Adham Mohamed Ali Awad (Yemen)
091 Abdel Al Saleh (Yemen)
115 Abdul Rahman Mohammed Saleh (Yemen)
117 Mukhtar Anaje (Yemen)
165 Adil Said Haj Ubayd (Yemen)
167 Ali Yahya Mahdi (Yemen)
171 Abu Bakr ibn Ali Muhammad al Ahdal (Yemen)
178 Tariq Ali Abdullah Ba Odah (Yemen)
202 Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef (Yemen)
223 Abd al-Rahman Sulayman (Yemen)
233 Abd al-Razaq Muhammed Salih (Yemen)
240 Abdallah Yahya Yusif Al Shibli (Yemen)
251 Muhammad Said Salim Bin Salman (Yemen)
321 Ahmed Yaslam Said Kuman (Yemen)
440 Muhammad Ali Abdallah Muhammad Bwazir (Yemen)
461 Abd al Rahman al-Qyati (Yemen)
498 Mohammed Ahmen Said Haider (Yemen)
506 Mohammed Khalid Salih al-Dhuby (Yemen)
509 Mohammed Nasir Yahi Khussrof (Yemen)
549 Umar Said Salim Al-Dini (Yemen)
550 Walid Said bin Said Zaid (Yemen)
578 Abdul al-Aziz Abduh Abdullah Ali Al Suwaydi (Yemen)
688 Fahmi Abdullah Ahmed al-Tawlaqi (Yemen)
728 Abdul Muhammad Nassir al-Muhajari (Yemen)
893 Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani (Yemen)

The 46 prisoners recommended for continued detention

Of the 46 prisoners recommended for continued detention, the 33 men below were recommended for “Continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war.” All were promised reviews of their cases (by the Periodic Review Board) when their detention without charge or trial was authorised by President Obama in an executive order in March 2011, but as I explained here, those reviews, shamefully, have not yet begun, two years and four months later.

The 33 prisoners recommended for continued detention (without possible transfer to imprisonment in the US)

ISN 004 Abdul Haq Wasiq (Afghanistan)
ISN 006 Mullah Norullah Noori (Afghanistan)
ISN 007 Mullah Mohammed Fazl (Afghanistan)
ISN 028 Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi (Yemen)
ISN 031 Mahmud Abd Al Aziz Al Mujahid (Yemen)
ISN 037 Abdel Malik Ahmed Abdel Wahab al Rahabi (Yemen)
ISN 041 Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmed (Yemen)
ISN 042 Abd al Rahman Shalbi Isa Uwaydah (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 044 Muhammed Rajab Sadiq Abu Ghanim (Yemen)
ISN 128 Ghaleb Nassar al Bihani (Yemen)
ISN 131 Salem Ahmad Hadi Bin Kanad (Yemen)
ISN 195 Mohammed Abd al Rahman al Shumrant [Shumrani] (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 232 Fawzi Khalid Abdullah Fahad al Odah (Kuwait)
ISN 242 Khalid Ahmed Qasim (Yemen)
ISN 244 Abdul Latif Nasir (Morocco)
ISN 324 Mashur Abdullah Muqbil Ahmed al-Sabri (Yemen)
ISN 434 Mustafa Abd al-Qawi Abd al-Aziz al-Shamiri (Yemen)
ISN 441 Abdul Rahman Ahmed (Yemen)
ISN 508 Salman Yahya Hassan Mohammad Rabei’i (Yemen)
ISN 552 Faez Mohammed Ahmed al-Kandari (Kuwait)
ISN 579 Khairullah Said Wali Khairkhwa (Afghanistan)
ISN 695 Omar Khalif Mohammed Abu Baker Mahjour Umar (Libya)
ISN 708 Ismael Ali Faraj Ali Bakush (Libya)
ISN 713 Mohammed al Zahrani (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 832 Mohammad Nabi Omari (Afghanistan)
ISN 836 Ayub Murshid Ali Salih (Yemen)
ISN 837 Bashir Nasir Ali al-Marwalah (Yemen)
ISN 838 Shawqi Awad Balzuhair (Yemen)
ISN 839 Musab Omar Ali al-Mudwani (Yemen)
ISN 840 Hail Aziz Ahmed al-Maythali (Yemen)
ISN 841 Said Salih Said Nashir (Yemen)
ISN 1045 Mohammed Kamin (Afghanistan)
ISN 10025 Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu (Kenya)

The 13 men below were recommended for “Continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war, subject to further review by the Principals prior to the detainee’s transfer to a detention facility in the United States.” This is a reference to the Obama administration’s plans to bring prisoners to a facility on the US mainland, so that Guantánamo could be closed. These plans were blocked by Congress, but it is unclear why the task force only designated these 13 men for possible transfer to the US because, if the 33 others were to continue being held at Guantánamo, it would be impossible to close the prison.

The 13 prisoners recommended for continued detention (with possible transfer to imprisonment in the US)

ISN 027 Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman (Yemen)
ISN 029 Mohammed al-Ansi (Yemen)
ISN 045 Ali Ahmad al-Rahizi (Yemen)
ISN 235 Saeed Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah Sarem Jarabh (Yemen)
ISN 522 Yassim Qasim Mohammed Ismail Qasim (Yemen)
ISN 560 Haji Wali Muhammed (Afghanistan)
ISN 576 Zahar Omar Hamis bin Hamdoun (Yemen)
ISN 975 Karim Bostan (Afghanistan)
ISN 1017 Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah (Yemen)
ISN 1119 Ahmid al Razak (Afghanistan)
ISN 1463 Abd al-Salam al-Hilah (Yemen)
ISN 10023 Guleed Hassan Ahmed (Somalia)
ISN 10029 Muhammad Rahim (Afghanistan)

The 33 prisoners recommended for prosecution

The task force recommended 36 prisoners for prosecution. Two (Ibrahim al-Qosi and Omar Khadr) accepted plea deals in their military commissions at Guantánamo, and were then released, and one other, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, was transferred to the US for a federal court trial (before Congress banned the transfer of prisoners to the US mainland for any reason, even trials), at which he received a life sentence. Of the 33, only 12 at most are ever likely to be tried, according to a statement made last month by Brig. Gen. Mark Martins, the chief prosecutor of the military commissions. Eight have already been charged (see below), which means that, of the 23 listed below, only four at most will ever be charged. The other 19, therefore, also need to have access to the Periodic Review Boards promised for the 46 men designated for indefinite detention but not yet implemented.

The 23 prisoners recommended for prosecution but not charged

ISN 063 Mohamed Mani Ahmad al Kahtani (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 535 Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah (Egypt)
ISN 569 Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi (Yemen)
ISN 682 Abdullah Al Sharbi (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 685 Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush (Algeria)
ISN 694 Sufyian Barhoumi (Algeria)
ISN 696 Jabran Al Qahtani (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 702 Ravil Mingazov (Russia)
ISN 753 Abdul Sahir (Afghanistan)
ISN 760 Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Mauritania)
ISN 762 Obaidullah (Afghanistan)
ISN 1094 Saifullah Paracha (Pakistan)
ISN 1453 Sanad Al Kazimi (Yemen)
ISN 1456 Hassan Bin Attash (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 1457 Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj (Yemen)
ISN 1460 Abdul Rabbani (Pakistan)
ISN 1461 Mohammed Rabbani (Pakistan)
ISN 10016 Zayn al-Ibidin Muhammed Husayn aka Abu Zubaydah (Palestine)
ISN 10017 Mustafa Faraj Muhammed Masud al-Jadid al-Usaybi (Libya)
ISN 10019 Encep Nurjaman (Hambali) (Indonesia)
ISN 10021 Mohd Farik bin Amin (Malaysia)
ISN 10022 Bashir bin Lap (Malaysia)
ISN 3148 Haroon al-Afghani (Afghanistan)

The eight prisoners already charged

ISN 768 Ahmed Al-Darbi (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 10011 Mustafa Ahmad al Hawsawi (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 10013 Ramzi Bin Al Shibh (Yemen)
ISN 10014 Walid Mohammed Bin Attash (Yemen)
ISN 10015 Mohammed al Nashiri (Saudi Arabia)
ISN 10018 Ali abd al Aziz Ali (Pakistan)
ISN 10024 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (Kuwait)
ISN 10026 Nashwan abd al-Razzaq abd al-Baqi (Hadi) (Iraq)

The two prisoners already convicted via plea deal

ISN 707 Noor Uthman Muhammed (Sudan)
ISN 10020 Majid Khan (Pakistan)

One other prisoner convicted under President Bush

Ali Hamza al-Bahlul was not included in the task force’s deliberations, as he had been tried and convicted in a one-sided trial by military commission in October 2008, at which he refused to mount a defense. His conviction was dismissed by an appeals court in January this year, although the government has appealed.

ISN 039 Ali Hamza al-Bahlul (Yemen)

Note: For further information on the prisoners, see my four-part definitive Guantánamo prisoner list (Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four).

Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist, activist, author, photographer and film-maker. He is the co-founder of the “Close Guantánamo” campaign, and the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. He is also the co-director (with Polly Nash) of the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (available on DVD here — or here for the US).

To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to Andy’s RSS feed — and he can also be found on Facebook (and here), Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Also see the four-part definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, “The Complete Guantánamo Files,” an ongoing, 70-part, million-word series drawing on files released by WikiLeaks in April 2011. Also see the definitive Guantánamo habeas list and the chronological list of all Andy’s articles.

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