List of Saudi detainees at Guantanamo Bay
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A total of 134 Saudi citizens have been held in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps at its naval base in Cuba since January 2002. Most had been swept up in Afghanistan following the US invasion in the fall of 2001, and they were classified by the US government as enemy combatants.
In addition, a United States citizen, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was born in Louisiana but moved as a child with his parents to Saudi Arabia, where he also had citizenship, was initially held there. As an American citizen, he was transferred to a military prison brig on the mainland of the United States. His challenge to his detention, without being informed of charges or brought to trial, was a case that reached the United States Supreme Court. In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004), the Supreme Court ruled that detainees who are U.S. citizens must have the rights of due process, and the ability to challenge their enemy combatant status before an impartial authority. After this decision, the government made a deal with Hamdi. After he agreed to renounce his US citizenship and observe travel restrictions, in October 2004 Hamdi was deported to Saudi Arabia. He has returned to his family.
Following the deaths of two Saudi citizens in custody on June 10, 2006, and another on May 30, 2007, which the Department of Defense claimed were due to suicides, the Saudi government put pressure on the United States to release its citizens. Nearly 100 were returned to Saudi Arabia from June 2006 through 2007.[citation needed]
Two Saudi citizens are believed to still be held at the detention camp as of January 2024.
History
In January 2002, the United States completed the first phase of construction of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp at its naval base in Cuba. It was designed to hold enemy combatants captured in its war on terror - most taken during action in Afghanistan beginning in the fall of 2001. In total, the US has held 133 Saudi Arabian citizens at Guantanamo. The United States has held a total of 778 detainees in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps at its naval base in Cuba since the camps opened on January 11, 2002. The camp population peaked in 2004 at approximately 660. As of January 6, 2025[update], 15 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay.
Three Saudis: Yasser Talal Al Zahrani, Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi Al-Utaybi and Abdul Rahman al-Amri, died at Guantanamo in 2006 and 2007 during their detention. All were announced by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) as suicides.
The first two were among three men who died on June 10, 2006; the circumstances of their deaths have been strongly questioned by numerous sources, including the Saudi government and the men's families. Journalists and the Center for Policy and Research in its 2009 report have noted glaring inconsistencies in the NCIS report of 2008. Based on an account by four former guards at Guantanamo, Scott Horton suggested in 2010 that the men died as a result of torture and government agencies tried to cover this up. Al-Amri died on May 30, 2007, an apparent suicide, according to the United States DOD.
As a result of these deaths, the Saudi government strongly pressured the United States to repatriate its citizens. It developed a reintegration program for former detainees and has worked with them on religious re-education, and reintegrating them into society by arranging for marriages and jobs. From June 2006 and December 2007, a total of 93 Saudi citizens were returned to the country. As of today, two Saudi citizens are still held at the detention camp.
Saudi citizens held in Guantanamo
| release date | isn | name | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-12-29 | 00005 | Abdul Aziz Al Matrafi | |
| 2007-07-16 | 00013 | Fahed Nasser Mohamed | Reports being tortured in custody. Reports being sold for a bounty. Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. |
| 2007-02-20 | 00025 | Majeed Abdullah Al Joudi | Defense Department's April 7, 2009, analysis of Guantanamo recidivists lists Joudi as a "confirmed" recidivist.|| |
| 2015-09-21 | 00042 | Abdul Rahman Shalabi | On hunger strike for more than five years. Reportedly suffering health problems caused by the hunger strike. Shalabi has been force fed for many years by means of strapping him forcefully into a restraint chair and pumping liquid nutrients through his nose into his stomach. Shalabi said after enduring this procedure for over four years, it causes him extreme pain and he feels as if he is treated like an animal. |
| Held | 00049 | Assem Matruq Mohammad Al Aasmi | |
| 2007-09-05 | 00051 | Majid Al Barayan | |
| 2007-07-15 | 00053 | Saud Dakhil Allah Muslih Al Mahayawi | |
| 2006-12-13 | 00055 | Muhammed Yahia Mosin Al Zayla | |
| 2006-06-24 | 00058 | Musa Abed Al Wahab | |
| 2007-11-09 | 00059 | Sultan Ahmed Dirdeer Musa Al Uwaydha | |
| 2007-07-15 | 00062 | Muhamad Naji Subhi Al Juhani | Described as having "no ties to militancy whatsoever". |
| 2022-03-06 | 00063 | Mohammed al-Qahtani | Allegedly tried to enter the United States to take part in the September 11 attacks as the 20th hijacker. Tortured in Guantanamo. |
| 2006-05-18 | 00064 | Abdel Hadi Mohammed Badan Al Sebaii Sebaii | Allegedly built mosques in Bosnia. Claims he was sold, for a bounty.[citation needed] |
| 2007-07-15 | 00066 | Yahya Samil Al Suwaymil Al Sulami | Described as having "no ties to militancy whatsoever". |
| 2007-11-09 | 00068 | Khalid Saud Abd Al Rahman Al Bawardi | |
| 2003-05-14 | 00071 | Mish'al Muhammad Rashid Al-Shedocky | Released prior to the institution of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals in July 2004. One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 In 2014, AQAP indicated in a three-part documentary about the group's former deputy leader Said Ali al-Shihri's life and death that al-Shedocky was dead by having the phrase "May Allah accept him" posted next to his name. The phrase is reserved for jihadists who have been killed in battle. The group did not provide any details on al-Shedocky's death. |
| 2006-06-24 | 00073 | Yusif Khalil Abdallah Nur | |
| 2007-12-28 | 00074 | Mesh Arsad Al Rashid | Repatriated on December 2, 2007, with nine other men. |
| 2007-09-05 | 00079 | Fahed Al Harazi | |
| 2003-05-14 | 00080 | Fahd Abdallah Ibrahim Al-Shabani | Released prior to the institution of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals in July 2004. |
| Died in custody | 00093 | Yasser Talal Al Zahrani | US government withheld body parts needed for independent post mortem. |
| 2006-05-18 | 00094 | Ibrahim Daif Allah Neman Al Sehli | Released May 19, 2006. |
| 2006-05-18 | 00095 | Abdul Rahman Ahmed Uthman | |
| 2006-06-24 | 00096 | Muhammad Surur Dakhilallah Al Utaybi | |
| 2006-05-18 | 00105 | Adnan Muhammed Ali Al Saigh | One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 Turned himself in to Saudi authorities July 2012 author of "The Fight over the Mountains" for Inspire magazine, Summer 2010 issue. |
| 2006-12-13 | 00109 | Yusef Abdullah Saleh Al Rabiesh | |
| 2007-09-05 | 00112 | Abdul Aziz Saad Al Khaldi | |
| 2007-11-09 | 00114 | Yussef Mohammed Mubarak Al Shihri | 14 years old when captured. Killed in a shootout with Saudi security forces along the Saudi border with Yemen in October 2009. When killed, Yousef al Shihri was dressed as a woman Shihri's female garments concealed a suicide explosives belt |
| 2006-12-13 | 00121 | Salman Saad Al Khadi Mohammed | Released with thirteen other men on November 12, 2007. |
| 2007-07-15 | 00122 | Bijad Thif Allah Al Atabi | Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. Present during the riot at Mazari Sharif. |
| 2003-05-14 | 00125 | Fawaz Abd Al Aziz Al Zahrani | Repatriated on May 15, 2003, and then convicted of leaving Saudi Arabia without getting prior permission. |
| 2007-09-05 | 00126 | Salam Abdullah Said | |
| 2003-05-14 | 00127 | Ibrahim Rushdan Brayk Al Shili | Released prior to the institution of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals in July 2004. |
| 2007-11-09 | 00130 | Faha Sultan | |
| 2006-06-24 | 00132 | Abdul Salam Gaithan Mureef Al Shehry | 17 years old when captured. |
| 2007-07-15 | 00154 | Mazin Salih Musaid Al Awfi | Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. |
| 2005-07-19 | 00155 | Khalid Sulaymanjaydh Al Hubayshi | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2006/05/19 | 00157 | Saed Khatem Al Malki | Repatriated May 19, 2006. |
| 2007-02-20 | 00158 | Majid Abdallah Husayn Muhammad Al Samluli Al Harbi | |
| 2007-09-28 | 00172 | Ali Muhammed Nasir Mohammed | |
| 2007-02-20 | 00176 | Majid Aydha Muhammad Al Qurayshi | |
| 2006-05-18 | 00177 | Fahd Salih Sulayman Al Jutayli | Was a minor when captured.[citation needed] Reportedly killed in a shootout between the Yemeni Army and Houthi rebels in 2009 |
| 2007-07-15 | 00179 | Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid | Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. Described as having "no ties to militancy whatsoever". |
| 2005-11-04 | 00181 | Maji Afas Radhi Al Shimri | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2007-07-15 | 00182 | Bandar Ahmad Mubarak Al Jabri | Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. |
| 2006-06-24 | 00184 | Othman Ahmed Othman Al Omairah | Following his transfer, reportedly became an operational commander for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula |
| 2007-11-09 | 00185 | Turki Mash Awi Zayid Al Asiri | Allegedly fled from the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan. One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 |
| 2007-02-20 | 00186 | Rashed Awad Khalaf Balkhair | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2007-11-09 | 00187 | Murtadha Al Said Makram | One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 |
| 2006-12-13 | 00188 | Jabir Jubran Al Fayfi | One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 |
| 2006-06-24 | 00191 | Saleh Ali Jaid Al Khathami | |
| 2006-12-13 | 00192 | Ibrahimj Sulayman Muhammad Arbaysh | Repatriated on December 14, 2006. Following Repatriation, reportedly became al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's chief theologian and ideologue, responsible for justifying terrorism on religious grounds |
| 2016-01-11 | 00195 | Mohammad Al Rahman Al Shumrani | |
| 2007-09-05 | 00196 | Musa Ali Said Al Said Al Amari | |
| Died in custody | 00199 | Abdul Rahman Ma Ath Thafir Al Amri | |
| Held | 00200 | Said Muhammad Husayn Qahtani | |
| 2007-07-15 | 00204 | Said Ibrahim Ramzi Al Zahrani | |
| 2006-12-13 | 00206 | Abdullah Muahammed Abdel Aziz | |
| 2005-07-19 | 00207 | Mishal Awad Sayaf Alhabiri | Suffered serious brain damage in Guantanamo.[citation needed] Alleged serious beatings in Guantanamo.[citation needed] |
| 2007-07-15 | 00214 | Muhammad Abd Al Rahman Al Kurash | |
| 2007-11-09 | 00215 | Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid Al Sharif | |
| 2007-12-28 | 00216 | Jamil Ali Al Kabi | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2007-09-05 | 00218 | Fahd Muhammed Abdullah Al Fouzan | in extrajudicial detention in Guantanamo Bay detainment camp because he attended an "Abu Nasir military camp". |
| 2006-12-13 | 00226 | Anwar Al Nurr | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2007-07-15 | 00230 | Humud Dakhil Humud Sa'id Al-Jad'an | Claims he was sold for a bounty.[citation needed] Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. Listed in the DoD's April 2009 recidivism analysis as a "suspected" recidivist. |
| 2007-09-05 | 00231 | Abdulhadi Abdallah Ibrahim al Sharakh | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Included in the DoD's April 2009 analysis as a "suspected" recidivist due to his September 2008 arrest "for association with terrorist members" and "supporting terrorism." |
| 2007-07-15 | 00234 | Khalid Mohammed Al Zaharni | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. |
| 2015-10-30 | 00239 | Shaker Aamer | Alleges abuse. Mental health at risk. |
| Held | 00240 | Abdullah Yahia Yousf Al Shabli | |
| 2007-12-28 | 00243 | Abdullah Ali Al Utaybi | |
| 2006-12-13 | 00245 | Al Silm Haji Hajjaj Awwad Al Hajjaji | |
| 2005-07-19 | 00248 | Saleh Abdall Al Oshan | Determined not to have been an enemy combatant.[citation needed] |
| 2007-11-09 | 00258 | Nayif Abdallah Ibrahim Ibrahim | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2007-07-15 | 00261 | Juma Mohammed Abdul Latif Al Dosari | Allegedly delivered a fiery speech in Buffalo NY that was attended by members of the Lackawanna Six. Says he has been tortured, and has made over a dozen suicide attempts.[citation needed] Joint citizen of both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. |
| 2007-11-09 | 00262 | Abdullah Abd Al Mu'in Al Wafti | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2006-06-24 | 00264 | Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz Al Baddah | |
| 2006-06-24 | 00265 | Tariqe Shallah Hassan Al Harbi | |
| 2006-06-24 | 00266 | Abdallah Muhammad Salih Al Ghanimi | |
| 2007-12-28 | 00268 | Abdul Rahman Nashi Badi Al Hataybi | |
| 2006-06-24 | 00271 | Ibrahim Muhammed Ibrahim Al Nasir | |
| 2007-12-28 | 00272 | Zaid Binsallah Mohammed Il Bhawith | Repatriated on December 2, 2007, with nine other men. |
| 2006-12-13 | 00273 | Abd Al Aziz Muhammad Ibrahim Al Nasir | |
| 2007-09-05 | 00274 | Bader Al Bakri Al Samiri | |
| 2006-12-13 | 00286 | Ziad Said Farg Jahdari | Repatriated on December 14, 2006. |
| 2005-09-30 | 00287 | Sami Abdul Aziz Salim Allaithy | Alleges a guard jumped on his spine putting him in a wheel chair. Determined not to have been an enemy combatant. |
| 2006-05-18 | 00308 | Adil Uqla Hassan Al Nusayri | Claims he was captured by the Taliban, who sold him to bounty hunters, who in turn sold him to the Americans.[citation needed] Repatriated on December 14, 2006. |
| 2007-09-05 | 00318 | Rami Bin Said Al Taibi | |
| 2006-05-18 | 00319 | Mohammed Jayed Sebai | Repatriated together with fourteen other men on May 19, 2006. |
| 2007-09-05 | 00322 | Khalid Hassan Husayn Al Barakat | |
| 2010-o9-16 | 00331 | Ohmed Ahmed Mahamoud Al Shurfa | |
| 2007-07-15 | 00332 | Abdullah Al Tayabi | Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. |
| 2007-11-09 | 00333 | Mohamed Atiq Awayd Al Harbi | After transfer from Guantanamo Bay, became a leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 He surrendered to Saudi authorities that same month. |
| 2009-06-12 | 00335 | Kahlid Saad Mohammed | Allegedly injured by the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan, 2001, while distributing humanitarian aid to refugees.[citation needed] |
| 2006-12-13 | 00336 | Majed Hamad Al Frih | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2006-06-24 | 00337 | Sa ad Ibraham Sa ad Al Bidna | |
| 2006-06-24 | 00338 | Wasim aka Wasm Awwad Omar Al-Wasm | His habeas corpus was "administrative closed" on January 31, 2007. |
| 2006-05-18 | 00339 | Khalid Abdallah Abdel Rahman Al Morghi | |
| 2006-12-13 | 00340 | Bessam Muhammed Saleh Al Dubaikey | Claims that a head injury left him with mental problems.[citation needed] |
| 2006-12-13 | 00341 | Said Ali Al Farha | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2007-09-05 | 00342 | Mohammed Mubarek Salah Al Qurbi | |
| 2006-05-18 | 00343 | Abdallah Ibrahim Al Rushaydan | |
| 2006-06-24 | 00344 | Rashid Abdul Mosleh Qayed | |
| 2006-05-18 | 00346 | Said Bezan Ashek Shayban | |
| 2007-09-05 | 00368 | Amran Baqur Mohammed Hawsawi | Was injured during the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan, 2001.[citation needed] |
| 2007-07-15 | 00370 | Abd Al Hizani | |
| 2007-11-09 | 00372 | Sa Id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri | Was the #2 in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula Reportedly responsible for the attack on Flight 253 on Christmas Day 2009 May have been involved in al-Qieda's attack on the American embassy in Sanaa in September 2008 One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 Killed in a drone strike in Yemen in 2013. |
| 2007-12-28 | 00436 | Nayif Fahd Mutliq Al Usaymi | |
| 2007-02-20 | 00437 | Faizal Saha Al Nasir | |
| 2007-11-09 | 00438 | Hani Saiid Mohammad Al Khalif | |
| 2007-12-28 | 00439 | Khalid Malu Shia Al Ghatani | Was a minor when captured. |
| 2017-01-05 | 00440 | Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir | Explained that the allegations arose from a false confession beaten out of them by General Dostum's forces.[citation needed] The Center for Constitutional Rights filed an emergency injunction in an attempt to ease what they described as the brutality of the force-feedings imposed upon hunger strikers. |
| 2007-09-05 | 00493 | Abdul Hakim Bukhary | Passed straight from detention in a Taliban prison to detention in an American prison.[citation needed] A Saudi named Abdel-Hakee Abdel-Karim Ameen Bukhari was repatriated on September 16, 2007. |
| 2006-05-18 | 00501 | Nawwaf Fahd Humood Al-Otaibi | Repatriated together with fourteen other men on May 19, 2006. |
| 2006-05-18 | 00505 | Khalid Rashd Ali Al Muri | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Repatriated together with fourteen other men on May 19, 2006. |
| 2006-12-13 | 00507 | Sultan Sari Sayel Al Anazi | Claimed he was sold for a bounty.[citation needed] |
| 2006-12-13 | 00513 | Abdul Rahman Mohammed Hussein Khowlanpp | |
| 2007-09-05 | 00514 | Abdallah Faris Al Unazi Thani | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2007-07-15 | 00516 | Ghanim Abdul Rahman Al Harbi | Repatriated to Saudi custody, with fifteen other men, on July 16, 2007. |
| 2007-02-20 | 00536 | Mohamed Abdullah Al Harbi | Released with thirteen other men on November 12, 2007. |
| Held | 00553 | Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh Al Bedani | |
| 2007-12-28 | 00565 | Abdul Hakim Abdul Rahman Abdulaziz Al Mousa | |
| Held | 00566 | Mansoor Muhammed Ali Qattaa | |
| 2007-07-16 | 00570 | Sabri Mohammed Ebrahim Al Qurashi | |
| Held | 00572 | Slah Muhamed Salih Al Zabe | |
| 2003-05-14 | 00585 | Ibrahim Umar Ali Al Umar | Released prior to the institution of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals in July 2004. |
| Died in custody | 00588 | Mana Shaman Allabardi Al Tabi | Seventeen years old when captured. Was on a hunger strike for over nine months, before his death was reported on June 10, 2006.[citation needed] |
| 2007-09-05 | 00647 | Zaban Thaaher Zaban Al Shamaree | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2007-11-09 | 00650 | Jabir Hasan Muhamed Al Qahtani | |
| 2006-05-18 | 00652 | Abdullah Hamid Al Qahtani | Repatriated together with fourteen other men on May 19, 2006. |
| 2006-05-18 | 00664 | Rashid Awad Rashid Al Uwaydah | Repatriated together with fourteen other men on May 19, 2006. |
| 2009-06-12 | 00669 | Ahmed Zaid Salim Zuhair | Repatriated on June 12, 2009, with two other men. |
| Held | 00682 | Ghassan Abdallah Ghazi Al Shirbi | Faces charges before a military commission. |
| 2009-06-12 | 00687 | Abdalaziz Kareem Salim Al Noofayaee | Repatriated on June 12, 2009, with two other men. |
| 2017-01-18 | 00696 | Jabran Said Wazar Al Qahtani | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Faces charges before a military commission. |
| 2014-11-22 | 00713 | Muhammed Murdi Issa Al Zahrani | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| 2018-05-02 | 00768 | Ahmed Muhammed Haza Al Darbi | Testified for the court martial of Damien Corsetti, one of the soldiers accused of a role in the Bagram torture and prisoner abuse scandal where two captives were beaten to death. |
| Held | 00893 | Tolfiq Nassar Ahmed Al Bihani | There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. |
| Held | 01456 | Hassan Mohammed Salih Bin Attash | Human rights groups report he was kept in "the dark prison". Was a minor when captured. Human rights groups suggest he was captured just because his older brother was a member of al Qaeda.[citation needed] |
Saudi rehabilitation
A July 26, 2007, article from Asharq Alawsat described the Care Rehabilitation Center repatriated detainees are held in until they are finally released. According to the article the detainees received special meals, had access to satellite TV, and were able to get day passes.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the facility on November 2, 2008, and spoke with several former Guantanamo detainees.
External links
- Saudi captives Guantanamo detainee assessment briefs
- . United States Department of Defense. July 16, 2007.
- Raid Qusti (July 17, 2007). . Arab News.