Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmad
Encyclopedia
Hamed Abderrahman Ahmad (born 1974) is a Spaniard
who was captured in Pakistan
in 2001. He was detained in Guantanamo Bay
, then extradited to Spain
on February 14, 2004. Spanish authorities alleged that Abderrahman Ahmad is a member of a Spanish al-Qaeda
cell. Ahmed was convicted of those charges in 2005 and sentenced to six years in prison.
Ahmad is popularly known as "the Spanish Taliban".
, prepared the indictment against Ahmad. Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Ahmed had gone to Afghanistan to train with Osama bin Laden's followers. Following his trial, Ahmed was convicted. On October 5, 2005, Ahmed was sentenced to six years in prison.
Three other detainees indicted with Ahmad were Moroccan
Lahcen Ikassrien
, and two British
residents, Omar Deghayes
and Jamil al Banna. Spanish authorities alleged that these four may have had some involvement, not only with the September 11, 2001 attacks
, but also with planning the later Madrid bombings
.
The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2006 that Ahmad's conviction was overturned, on appeal, by the Spanish Supreme Court.
According to the Washington Post article, the Spanish High Court that had originally convicted Ahmad, had not taken into account his right to the presumption of innocence. In November 2006, the USG Embassy in Madrid sent a cable, released on WikiLeaks 2010-11-30, detailing the Supreme Court findings to Washington. The Supreme Court found that any confessions or evidence obtained outside of Spain could not be included in the case and in the absence of any other compelling evidence there was no case, to quote "interrogations, euphemistically called "interviews," took place under unequal circumstances because (the defendant) was in detention" at the time of the interrogations.. Several comments are also made regarding his mistreatment while in US custody, which appear to the writer to have affected the Supreme Court appeal decision.
The Washington Post quoted from the Spanish Supreme Court's decision:
, the Spanish magistrate who requested Ahmad's extradition, speaking at a legal conference in late May 2006, said of the Guantanamo detainment camps:
Garzón, speaking of the evidence against Ahmad supplied to him by American intelligence officials, said:
, the Spanish enclave on the North African coast, early on the morning of December 12, 2006.
Two of arrested suspects are said to be brothers of Ahmad. Initial reports incorrectly said that Ahmad himself was one of the arrested men.
Press reports claim the arrested men were associated with the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group.
The arrested men were believed to have sent recruits to fight in Iraq
.
and three other former Guantanamo captives were the result of the use of abusive interrogation techniques.
Ahmed
and the other three men: Lahcen Ikassrien
, Jamiel Abdul Latif al Banna and Omar Deghayes
, had previously faced charges in Spanish courts, based on confessions they made while in US custody.
Their charges had been dropped based on their claims that their confessions were false and were the result of abusive interrogation techniques.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
who was captured in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 2001. He was detained in Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
, then extradited to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on February 14, 2004. Spanish authorities alleged that Abderrahman Ahmad is a member of a Spanish al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
cell. Ahmed was convicted of those charges in 2005 and sentenced to six years in prison.
Ahmad is popularly known as "the Spanish Taliban".
Terrorism conviction in Spain
Spanish Judge Baltasar GarzonBaltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón Real is a Spanish jurist who served on Spain's central criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional. He was the examining magistrate of the Juzgado Central de Instrucción No...
, prepared the indictment against Ahmad. Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Ahmed had gone to Afghanistan to train with Osama bin Laden's followers. Following his trial, Ahmed was convicted. On October 5, 2005, Ahmed was sentenced to six years in prison.
Three other detainees indicted with Ahmad were Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
Lahcen Ikassrien
Lahcen Ikassrien
Lahcen Ikassrien is a citizen of Morocco who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.Ikassrien's Guantanamo ISN was 72....
, and two British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
residents, Omar Deghayes
Omar Deghayes
Omar Deghayes is a Libyan citizen with residency status in the United Kingdom, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. He currently lives in the United Kingdom....
and Jamil al Banna. Spanish authorities alleged that these four may have had some involvement, not only with the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, but also with planning the later Madrid bombings
11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
The Madrid train bombings consisted of a series of coordinated bombings against the Cercanías system of Madrid, Spain on the morning of 11 March 2004 , killing 191 people and wounding 1,800...
.
The Washington Post reported on July 24, 2006 that Ahmad's conviction was overturned, on appeal, by the Spanish Supreme Court.
According to the Washington Post article, the Spanish High Court that had originally convicted Ahmad, had not taken into account his right to the presumption of innocence. In November 2006, the USG Embassy in Madrid sent a cable, released on WikiLeaks 2010-11-30, detailing the Supreme Court findings to Washington. The Supreme Court found that any confessions or evidence obtained outside of Spain could not be included in the case and in the absence of any other compelling evidence there was no case, to quote "interrogations, euphemistically called "interviews," took place under unequal circumstances because (the defendant) was in detention" at the time of the interrogations.. Several comments are also made regarding his mistreatment while in US custody, which appear to the writer to have affected the Supreme Court appeal decision.
The Washington Post quoted from the Spanish Supreme Court's decision:
- "Neither the motivation the subject had to travel to Afghanistan, nor the activities he carried out, justifies the verdict passed by the High Court,"
Garzón's comments on Guantanamo
Baltasar GarzónBaltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón Real is a Spanish jurist who served on Spain's central criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional. He was the examining magistrate of the Juzgado Central de Instrucción No...
, the Spanish magistrate who requested Ahmad's extradition, speaking at a legal conference in late May 2006, said of the Guantanamo detainment camps:
- "A model like Guantánamo is an insult to countries that respect laws, It delegitimizes us. It is a place that needs to disappear immediately."
Garzón, speaking of the evidence against Ahmad supplied to him by American intelligence officials, said:
- "Everything obtained from there was useless because it went against the rules."
Associates
Eleven terrorist suspects were arrested in CeutaCeuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
, the Spanish enclave on the North African coast, early on the morning of December 12, 2006.
Two of arrested suspects are said to be brothers of Ahmad. Initial reports incorrectly said that Ahmad himself was one of the arrested men.
Press reports claim the arrested men were associated with the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group.
The arrested men were believed to have sent recruits to fight in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Torture claims investigation
On April 29, 2009, that Spanish investigating magistrate Baltazar Garzon initiated a formal investigation into whether confessions from Ahmedand three other former Guantanamo captives were the result of the use of abusive interrogation techniques.
Ahmed
and the other three men: Lahcen Ikassrien
Lahcen Ikassrien
Lahcen Ikassrien is a citizen of Morocco who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.Ikassrien's Guantanamo ISN was 72....
, Jamiel Abdul Latif al Banna and Omar Deghayes
Omar Deghayes
Omar Deghayes is a Libyan citizen with residency status in the United Kingdom, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. He currently lives in the United Kingdom....
, had previously faced charges in Spanish courts, based on confessions they made while in US custody.
Their charges had been dropped based on their claims that their confessions were false and were the result of abusive interrogation techniques.
External links
- an archival photograph of Hamed Abderrahman Ahmad, Yahoo! Noticias BrasílYahoo! NewsYahoo! News is an Internet-based news aggregator provided by Yahoo!. It features Top Stories, U.S. National, World, Business, Entertainment, Science, Health, Weather, Most Popular, News Photos, Op/Ed, and Local news....
, October 5, 2005 - Spanish inmate to be transferred from Guantanamo, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, February 12, 2004 - COURT FREES, wikileaksWikileaksWikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
, July 28, 2006