Noor Uthman Muhammaed
Encyclopedia
Noor Uthman Muhammed is a citizen of Sudan
confined in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba
where he is serving a sentence for terrorism convictions before the Guantanamo military commission
The Department of Defense reports that Muhammed was born in Kasala
, Sudan.
As of September 14, 2010, Noor Uthman Muhammed has been held at Guantanamo for eight years one months
, in Afghanistan
, from the mid-1990s, until it was shut down in 2000. He first worked as a small-arms instructor, but after a few months of discontent he asked for a transfer. Instead, Noor Uthman Muhammad was assigned as Khalden training camp's quartermaster. He was responsible for the collection and distribution of camp supplies, such as food, water and firewood. He denies membership in al Qaida or the Taliban, and described the Khalden camp as being an independent camp.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
counter-terrorism
analysts describe him as being a senior member of al Qaida's leadership cadre.
Noor Uthman Muhammaed was captured in Abu Zubaydah's house in Faisalabad on March 24, 2002, along with Abu Zubaydah
, Sufyian Barhoumi
, Ghassan al-Shirbi, Jabran Al Qahtani, Abdul Zahir and several other suspects. Four of the other captives captured in that house were to face charges before the Guantanamo military commission
s, in 2005 and 2006.
Charges were initiated against Noor Uthman Muhammed on May 23, 2008.
The charges won't be official until they are confirmed by Susan J. Crawford
, the Office of Military Commissions Appointing Authoriy.
On 21 October 2008 Susan J. Crawford
the official in charge of the Office of Military Commissions announced
charges were dropped being dropped against Noor Uthman and four other captives, Jabran al Qahtani, Ghassan al Sharbi, Sufyian Barhoumi
, and Binyam Mohamed.
Carol J. Williams, writing in the Los Angeles Times
reports that all five men had been connected by Abu Zubaydah
-- one of the three captives the CIA has acknowledged was interrogated using the controversial technique known as "waterboarding
".
Williams quoted the men's attorneys, who anticipated the five men would be re-charged in thirty days.
They told Williams that: "... prosecutors called the move procedural",
and attributed it to the resignation of fellow Prosecutor Darrel Vandeveld, who resigned on ethical grounds. Williams reported that Clive Stafford Smith
speculated that the Prosecution's dropping of the charges, and plans to subsequently re-file charges later was intended to counter and disarm the testimony Vandeveld was anticipated to offer, that the Prosecution had withheld exculpatory evidence.
The current charges against Noor Uthman were instated on 5 December 2008.
The Barack Obama
Presidency was granted a continuance on October 21, 2009.
The military commissions for five other captives have been granted continuances, until November 16, 2009.
On 13 November 2009, the Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Noor Uthman's case would continue in a military commission.
On April 8, 2010, Carol Rosenberg
, writing in the Miami Herald, reported Captain Moira Modzelewski
, the Presiding Officer
over Noor's military commission, predicted she would require a year to review the secret evidence against Noor.
According to Rosenberg the provisions within the Military Commissions Act of 2009
allowed the use of classified evidence, but only after a review by the Presiding Officer.
The Prosecution could submit a summary of classified evidence, in lieu of the evidence itsel, but the Presiding Officer was required to review every document the summary was based on, to ensure it was a fair summary.
On September 21, 2010, Carol Rosenburg
, again writing in the Miami Herald, reported that prosecutor Marine Major James Weirick stated that “Noor Uthman Mohammed for a number of years was the principal trainer and in charge of all training at the Khalden training camp
in Afghanistan that provided numerous individuals who went on to serve for al Qaida.
On 15 February 2011, Noor Uthman Muhammed pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism, and conspiracy to providing material support to an international terrorist organization and terrorism. He was sentenced to 14 years of confinement.
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
confined in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
where he is serving a sentence for terrorism convictions before the Guantanamo military commission
Guantanamo military commission
The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
The Department of Defense reports that Muhammed was born in Kasala
Kassala
Kassala is the capital of the state of Kassala in eastern Sudan. Its 2008 population was recorded to be 419,030. It is a market town and is famous for its fruit gardens. It was formerly a railroad hub, however, as of 2006 there was no operational railway station in Kassala and much of the track...
, Sudan.
As of September 14, 2010, Noor Uthman Muhammed has been held at Guantanamo for eight years one months
Background
Noor Uthman Muhammaed is a citizen of Sudan who described working at the Khalden training campKhalden training camp
The Khalden training camp was a military training camp in Afghanistan. According to the documentary Son of al Qaeda there were hundreds of military training camps in Afghanistan which were tied to al Qaeda...
, in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, from the mid-1990s, until it was shut down in 2000. He first worked as a small-arms instructor, but after a few months of discontent he asked for a transfer. Instead, Noor Uthman Muhammad was assigned as Khalden training camp's quartermaster. He was responsible for the collection and distribution of camp supplies, such as food, water and firewood. He denies membership in al Qaida or the Taliban, and described the Khalden camp as being an independent camp.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo is a U.S. military joint task force based at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on the southeastern end of the island. JTF-GTMO falls under US Southern Command...
counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
analysts describe him as being a senior member of al Qaida's leadership cadre.
Noor Uthman Muhammaed was captured in Abu Zubaydah's house in Faisalabad on March 24, 2002, along with Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah is a Saudi Arabian citizen, sentenced to death in Jordan and currently held in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Not neutral: Arrested in Pakistan in March 2002, he has been in US custody for more than eight years, four-and-a-half of them spent incommunicado in solitary confinement...
, Sufyian Barhoumi
Sufyian Barhoumi
Sufyian Barhoumi is a citizen of Algeria, who is currently held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.The Department of Defense reports that he was born on 28 July 1973, in Algiers, Algeria....
, Ghassan al-Shirbi, Jabran Al Qahtani, Abdul Zahir and several other suspects. Four of the other captives captured in that house were to face charges before the Guantanamo military commission
Guantanamo military commission
The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
s, in 2005 and 2006.
Charges were initiated against Noor Uthman Muhammed on May 23, 2008.
Charges
On May 23, 2008 charges were initiated against Noor Uthman Muhammed .The charges won't be official until they are confirmed by Susan J. Crawford
Susan J. Crawford
Susan J. Crawford is an US lawyer, who was appointed the Convening Authority for the Guantanamo military commissions, on February 7, 2007.Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed Crawford to replace John D...
, the Office of Military Commissions Appointing Authoriy.
On 21 October 2008 Susan J. Crawford
Susan J. Crawford
Susan J. Crawford is an US lawyer, who was appointed the Convening Authority for the Guantanamo military commissions, on February 7, 2007.Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed Crawford to replace John D...
the official in charge of the Office of Military Commissions announced
charges were dropped being dropped against Noor Uthman and four other captives, Jabran al Qahtani, Ghassan al Sharbi, Sufyian Barhoumi
Sufyian Barhoumi
Sufyian Barhoumi is a citizen of Algeria, who is currently held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.The Department of Defense reports that he was born on 28 July 1973, in Algiers, Algeria....
, and Binyam Mohamed.
Carol J. Williams, writing in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reports that all five men had been connected by Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah is a Saudi Arabian citizen, sentenced to death in Jordan and currently held in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Not neutral: Arrested in Pakistan in March 2002, he has been in US custody for more than eight years, four-and-a-half of them spent incommunicado in solitary confinement...
-- one of the three captives the CIA has acknowledged was interrogated using the controversial technique known as "waterboarding
Waterboarding
Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, thus causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning...
".
Williams quoted the men's attorneys, who anticipated the five men would be re-charged in thirty days.
They told Williams that: "... prosecutors called the move procedural",
and attributed it to the resignation of fellow Prosecutor Darrel Vandeveld, who resigned on ethical grounds. Williams reported that Clive Stafford Smith
Clive Stafford Smith
Clive Adrian Stafford Smith OBE is a British [see talk] lawyer who specialises in the areas of civil rights and the death penalty in the United States of America....
speculated that the Prosecution's dropping of the charges, and plans to subsequently re-file charges later was intended to counter and disarm the testimony Vandeveld was anticipated to offer, that the Prosecution had withheld exculpatory evidence.
The current charges against Noor Uthman were instated on 5 December 2008.
The Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
Presidency was granted a continuance on October 21, 2009.
The military commissions for five other captives have been granted continuances, until November 16, 2009.
On 13 November 2009, the Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Noor Uthman's case would continue in a military commission.
On April 8, 2010, Carol Rosenberg
Carol Rosenberg
Carol Rosenberg is a senior journalist, currently with the McClatchy News Service.Rosenberg works at the Miami Herald, which has provided extensive coverage of the operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.-Biography:...
, writing in the Miami Herald, reported Captain Moira Modzelewski
Moira Modzelewski
Moira Modzelewski is an American lawyer and Captain in the United States Navy.Modzelewski is notable for her appointment to serve as thePresiding Officerover Noor Uthman Muhammaed's Guantanamo military commission.-Education:-Teaching career:...
, the Presiding Officer
Presiding Officer (Guantanamo Military Commissions)
The United States of America has charged Guantanamo captives before "Military Commissions", each presided over by a Presiding Officer.The Presiding Officer were initially to serve as the first among equals on bodies were the commission members served the roles similar to both judge and jury.In the...
over Noor's military commission, predicted she would require a year to review the secret evidence against Noor.
According to Rosenberg the provisions within the Military Commissions Act of 2009
Military Commissions Act of 2009
The United States House of Representatives passed a bill, known as the Military Commissions Act of 2009, which amended the Military Commissions Act of 2006.Formally, it is Title XVIII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 ....
allowed the use of classified evidence, but only after a review by the Presiding Officer.
The Prosecution could submit a summary of classified evidence, in lieu of the evidence itsel, but the Presiding Officer was required to review every document the summary was based on, to ensure it was a fair summary.
On September 21, 2010, Carol Rosenburg
Carol Rosenberg
Carol Rosenberg is a senior journalist, currently with the McClatchy News Service.Rosenberg works at the Miami Herald, which has provided extensive coverage of the operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.-Biography:...
, again writing in the Miami Herald, reported that prosecutor Marine Major James Weirick stated that “Noor Uthman Mohammed for a number of years was the principal trainer and in charge of all training at the Khalden training camp
Khalden training camp
The Khalden training camp was a military training camp in Afghanistan. According to the documentary Son of al Qaeda there were hundreds of military training camps in Afghanistan which were tied to al Qaeda...
in Afghanistan that provided numerous individuals who went on to serve for al Qaida.
On 15 February 2011, Noor Uthman Muhammed pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism, and conspiracy to providing material support to an international terrorist organization and terrorism. He was sentenced to 14 years of confinement.
External links
- The Prisoners of Guantánamo Esquire Magazine 18 August 2011
- A Lack of Conviction Foreign Policy
- Human Rights First blog: Military Commissions
- Guantanamo judge weighs detainee's request for psychologist
- Human Rights First; The Case of Noor Uthman Muhammed, Sudanese
- Guantanamo military commission hearing for Noor Uthman Mohammad September 22, 2010