Ashraf Salim Abd Al Salam Sultan

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Ashraf Salim Abd Al Salam Sultan is a citizen of Libya, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] Sultan's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 263. The Department of Defense reports that Sultan was born on July 5, 1971, in Jedda, Saudi Arabia.

1 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
2 References

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct a competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

Sultan chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[2]

[edit] Tribunal President's warning

The transcript starts with Sultan's Tribunal's President warning him not to become too emotional, or he would be removed.

[edit] Sultan's comments on the Tribunal process

Sultan informed his Tribunal's President that while he agreed some aspects of the Tribunal process were reasonable, others were unreasonable.

Sultan questioned how he could refute classified evidence that was withheld from him. He asked if there was any point continuing if the Tribunal was to base its decisions on classified evidence.

The Tribunal's President justified the withholding of classified evidence on national security grounds.

Sultan then explained that he had not found the Tribunal's procedure for only allowing him contact with potential witnesses through his Personal Representative satisfactory, so he hadn't tried to call any witnesses. He was afraid asking for witnesses would result in their imprisonment.

[edit] Sultan's removal from his Tribunal

The Tribunal's President, after verifying that Sultan's dissatisfaction with the Tribunal procedure would preclude him answering questions arising from the unclassified allegations, unless he was provided with the classified portion of the evidence, so he would have a fair chance to refute it, had him removed from the Tribunal.

[edit] Personal Representative's notes

The Personal Representative who attended Sultan's Tribunal was Sultan's second Personal Representative. His first Personal Representative was reassigned prior to Sultan's Tribunal. His second Personal Representative had no notes, so they read from the notes of his first Personal Representative.

Sultan stated he surrendered -- he wasn't captured or arrested.
Sultan was a school teacher, not a fighter. He denied engaging in any hostile activity while in Afghanistan.
Sultian stated he left the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group four years prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and has had no contact since then.