Fethi Boucetta (aka ''Abu Mohammed'') is a citizen of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, who was held in

extrajudicial detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...

s, in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. His Guantanamo

Internment Serial Number An Internment Serial Number (ISN) is an identification number assigned to captives who come under control of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) during armed conflicts. History On March 3, 2006, in compliance with a court order from D ...

was 718. The Department of Defense reports that he was born on September 15, 1963, in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

Combatant Status Review

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his tribunal. The memo listed the following allegations against him:Summarized transcripts (.pdf)
from Fethi Boucetta's ''

Combatant Status Review Tribunal The Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were esta ...

'' - mirror - pages 50-54/ref>

Determined not to have been an Enemy Combatant

The

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

reports that Boucetta was one of 38 detainees who was determined not to have been an enemy combatant during his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. They report that Boucetta has been released. The ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'' speculates that Boucetta may be one of a select number of detainees under consideration for an offer of Asylum.

Habeas corpus

At least one

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

petition was submitted on his behalf. On April 17, 2007 the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

submitted a motion to dismiss his habeas corpus petition, and approximately 100 other habeas corpus petitions, because he was no longer in US custody. The motion says his case was amalgamated into Mohammon v. Bush. The motion identifies him as: "Abu Mohammed", "Dr. Abu Mohammed", and "Boucetta Fihi". His case was heard before US District Court Judge Reggie Walton. The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

published 179 habeas petitions, but they didn't publish his.

Release

Three of the remaining Guantanamo captives who were determined not to have been enemy combatants were released to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in November 2006. The men were not identified, other than by nationality. One of the released men was an Algerian. They were reported to have been the last of the men classified as "

no longer enemy combatants No Longer Enemy Combatant (NLEC) is a term used by the U.S. military for a group of 38 Guantanamo detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) determined they were not "enemy combatants". None of them were released right away. Ten of ...

to have remained in custody.

UN refugee status

An article in the ''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

'' describes how the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

High Commission for Refugees only learned in December 2006 that the Americans had been holding internationally protected refugees in Guantanamo. The article says the UNHCR wrote the Pentagon, on December 20, 2006, seeking information on why Mammar Ameur and

Mohammed Sulaymon Barre Mohamed Saleban Bare (known to the Pentagon as Mohammed Sulaymon Barre) () is a Somali people, Somali refugee who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo count ...

were being detained in Guantanamo. The article stated that Fethi Boucetta, was also an internationally protected refugee, and that the Americans had transferred him to

. The article added that Boucetta was a medical doctor. The BBC later interviewed him in Albania, where he was using the name "Abu Mohammed" Neil Arun: Guantanamo refugee rues asylum deal

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, 18 May 2007, Retrieved November 30, 2007 He told the BBC:

McClatchy interview

On June 15, 2008 the

McClatchy News Service The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and ...

published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Abu Mohammed.
mirror
He reports he remains mystified as to why he was originally captured, and why he continued to be detained. He reports he was held for two months in the Bagram Theater Detention Facility, was told he was being sent home, but, instead, was sent to Guantanamo.

References

External links

McClatchy News Service - video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boucetta, Fethi Living people Guantanamo detainees known to have been released Bagram Theater Internment Facility detainees People from Algiers 1963 births Algerian expatriates in Pakistan