Lakhdar Boumediene ( ar, لخضر بومدين) is an
Algeria
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, map_caption =
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, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...
n-born citizen of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
who was held in military custody 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 ...
beginning in January 2002.
[
]
Boumediene was the lead plaintiff in ''
Boumediene v. Bush
''Boumediene v. Bush'', 553 U.S. 723 (2008), was a writ of ''habeas corpus'' submission made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by ...
'' (2008), a U.S. Supreme Court decision that Guantanamo detainees and other foreign nationals have the right to file
writs of habeas corpus in U.S. federal courts.
He and four other of the
Algerian Six plaintiffs were released from Guantánamo on May 15, 2009, after a US Federal judge found that "the Bush administration relied on insufficient evidence to imprison them indefinitely as 'enemy combatants.'"
[
] He now lives in
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
, France, with his wife and children.
Background
Born and raised in Algeria, as an adult Boumediene worked for various humanitarian causes. He worked for the
Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates
The Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates is the United Arab Emirates (UAE) affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The authority was founded in Abu Dhabi in 1983 with support of the late She ...
. It also had an office in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
and, at the request of his employer, Boumediene moved with his family to Bosnia, where he served as director of humanitarian aid for children who had lost relatives during the
Balkan conflicts. He became a Bosnian citizen in 1998.
In early October 2001, less than a month after
al Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
's attacks of
September 11, 2001
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
, in the United States,
intelligence analysts
Intelligence analysis is the application of individual and collective cognitive methods to weigh data and test hypotheses within a secret socio-cultural context. The descriptions are drawn from what may only be available in the form of deliberate ...
in the
United States Embassy in Sarajevo became concerned that an increase in
chatter was a clue that al-Qaeda was planning an attack on the embassy there. At their request, Bosnia arrested
Bensayah Belkacem, the man they believed had made dozens of phone calls to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, and five acquaintances of his, including Boumediene. All six were
Algeria
)
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, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
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, largest_city = capital
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n-born residents of Bosnia, and five were Bosnian citizens; one had permanent residency status. They all worked for charities and non-profits.
In January 2002, the Supreme Court of Bosnia ruled that there was no evidence to hold the six men, and ordered the charges dropped and the men released. American forces, including troops who were part of a 3,000-man American peace-keeping contingent in Bosnia, were waiting for the six men upon their release from Bosnian custody. They immediately seized the six and transported them to the
Guantánamo 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 ...
on a US naval base in Cuba. They were detained and interrogated without being charged.
In the summer of 2004, the
Algerian Six filed suit against the US government with the help of the
Center for Constitutional Rights
The Center for Constitutional Rights[The Center for Constitutional Rights](_blank)
(CCR) is a Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, also known as Hale & Dorr and WilmerHale, is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. It is co-headquartered in Washington, D.C. and Boston. It was formed in 2004 thr ...
, challenging their detention without charges and claiming the protection of ''
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 ...
''.
Hunger strike and force-feeding
Boumediene went on a two-year
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
while imprisoned, because "no one would tell me why I was imprisoned". He was
force fed
Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into t ...
twice a day by having a feeding tube inserted in his nose and down into his stomach.
His lawyer, Stephen Oleskey, described the force feeding as follows:
[
]
:Twice a day he is strapped onto a chair at seven points. One side of his nose is broken, so they put it (the tube) in the other side ... Sometimes it goes to his lung instead of his stomach. He can't say anything because he has the mask on: that's torture.
US Supreme Court case
In ''
Boumediene v. Bush
''Boumediene v. Bush'', 553 U.S. 723 (2008), was a writ of ''habeas corpus'' submission made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by ...
'' in October 2008, the US Supreme Court ruled in their favor, saying that the detainees and other foreign nationals had the right to file in federal courts under ''habeas corpus.''
On November 20, 2008, U.S. District Judge
Richard J. Leon
Richard J. Leon (born December 3, 1949) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Early life and education
Leon was born in South Natick, Massachusetts, in 1949. He is the son of ...
ordered the release of Lakhdar Boumediene and four of the Algerian Six based on lack of sufficient evidence. The sixth detainee, Bensayah Belkacem, was recommended for continued detention, but his case was later reviewed. Belkacem was eventually released.
Release to France
On May 15, 2009, Boumediene was transferred to France, where he has relatives.
[
] His wife and children have joined him and they have settled in Provence. He has had difficulty in getting employment, due to his lengthy imprisonment.
In January 2020, in an interview with RFI France, Boumediene stated that he hadn't left France in 10 years, expressing his concerns about still-existing legal uncertainty, in relation to U.S. law and practice towards former Guantánamo prisoners.
Open letter to President Biden
On January 29, 2021 the ''
New York Review of Books
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'' published an open letter from Boumediene, and six other individuals who were formerly held in Guantanamo, to newly inaugurated
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Biden, appealing to him to close the detention camp.
[
]
See also
*Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
* Algerian Six
*Murat Kurnaz
Murat Kurnaz (born 19 March 1982) is a Turkish citizen and legal resident of Germany who was held in extrajudicial detention by the United States at its military base in Kandahar, Afghanistan and in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp at Guantana ...
, German citizen imprisoned five years at Guantanamo and released
References
External links
Ex-Detainee Describes Struggle for Exoneration
Recently Released Gitmo Detainee Talks to ABC News
Report on Torture, Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment of Prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. (Boumediene)
After 7 Years, Judge Orders Release of Guantánamo Kidnap Victims
Andy Worthington
Andy Worthington is a British historian, investigative journalist, and film director.
He has published three books, two on Stonehenge and one on the war on terror, been published in numerous publications and directed documentary films. Artic ...
November 25, 2008
Judge Leon’s unclassified opinion
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boumediene, Lakhdar
1966 births
Living people
Algerian emigrants to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Guantanamo detainees known to have been released
Victims of human rights abuses
People from Saïda Province
People subject to extraordinary rendition by the United States
Combatant Status Review Tribunals
Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Algerian descent