Stephen Abraham
Encyclopedia
Stephen Abraham is an American
lawyer and officer in the United States Army Reserve
.
He is notable because he is the first officer who served with the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants
to publicly criticize the operations of the Combatant Status Review Tribunal
s. His affidavit
was key to the United States Supreme Court decision to hear petitions from Guantanamo detainees regarding their detention, and the subsequent decision (Boumediene v. Bush, 2008) that Guantanamo detainees have Habeas rights.
According to the Boston Globe Abraham's reserve and active duty, since 1982, has been in intelligence
.
As of June 23, 2007, he is a Lieutenant Colonel
.
He served with OARDEC from September 2004 through March 2005. The Combatant Status Review Tribunals of the 558 captives then present at Guantanamo lasted from August 2004 through January 2005, and their confirmation by then Secretary of the Navy Gordon England was finished in March 2005.
quoted from an affidavit Abraham provided for a habeas corpus
appeal on behalf of Fawzi al-Odah:
According to the Washington Post Abraham felt compelled to come forward after hearing his former boss, Rear Admiral
James M. McGarrah
call the Tribunal process "fair".
According to the Boston Globe Fawzi al-Odah's lawyers first contacted Abraham after his sister had attended a presentation they had made, and volunteered the information that her brother had been one of the Tribunals officers.
The Department of Defense keeps the Tribunal officer's identity a secret.
During a telephone interview Abraham defended making the affidavit:
The Washington Post reported that Abraham had compared the hearsay evidence the Guantanamo captives faced to "a game of telephone".
Paraphrasing Abraham the Associated Press
reported:
The Washington Post reports:
The Boston Globe reports that more senior OARDEC officials met with the Tribunal members to determine "what went wrong" with the case, after they declined to confirm the captive's "enemy combatant
" status during their second, extraordinary Tribunal session.
David Cynamon, one of al-Odah's lawyers praised Abraham's courage in making the affidavit, but expressed fears that it was "career suicide".
Lt. Cmdr. Chito Peppler, responded to the affidavit by claiming that the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatant:
Peppler also responded:
The Washington Post quotes officials who asked for anonymity who claimed Abraham never raised his concerns with McGarrah, a fact Abraham disputes.
According to the Boston Globe, after Abraham sat on a Tribunal he was assigned to serve as a liaison officer with the JTF-GTMO teams who were compiling the allegations against the captives for the Tribunals.
They report that Abraham charactized the JTF-GTMO teams he worked with as:
filed an affidavit from a second officer who had served with OARDEC.
Like Abraham this second officer, whose name was redacted, was also a reservist. Like Abraham he was a lawyer, in civilian life.
He wrote: ``"training was minimal" -and- ``"the process was not well defined".
Abraham, was only allowed to sit on one Tribunal.
The second officer sat on 49 Tribunals.
Abraham said that most of his work, and that of his colleagues, was performed in Washington DC. He only traveled to Guantanamo three times.
Abraham explained his reservations with calling the allegations in the Summary of Evidence memos
"evidence".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer and officer in the United States Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
.
He is notable because he is the first officer who served with the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants
Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants
The Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants, established in 2004 by the Bush administration's Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, is a United States military body responsible for organising Combatant Status Review Tribunals for captives held in...
to publicly criticize the operations of the Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals 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 established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
s. His affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
was key to the United States Supreme Court decision to hear petitions from Guantanamo detainees regarding their detention, and the subsequent decision (Boumediene v. Bush, 2008) that Guantanamo detainees have Habeas rights.
Civilian career
Abraham currently works for the law firm of Fink & Abraham in Newport Beach, California.Military career
Abraham was commissioned in 1981.According to the Boston Globe Abraham's reserve and active duty, since 1982, has been in intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
.
As of June 23, 2007, he is a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
.
He served with OARDEC from September 2004 through March 2005. The Combatant Status Review Tribunals of the 558 captives then present at Guantanamo lasted from August 2004 through January 2005, and their confirmation by then Secretary of the Navy Gordon England was finished in March 2005.
Abraham's affidavit
CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
quoted from an affidavit Abraham provided for a habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
appeal on behalf of Fawzi al-Odah:
According to the Washington Post Abraham felt compelled to come forward after hearing his former boss, Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
James M. McGarrah
James M. McGarrah
James "Jim" M. McGarrah is the director of the Information and Communications Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and a retired officer of the United States Navy Reserve.-Early life and education:McGarrah attended Francis C...
call the Tribunal process "fair".
According to the Boston Globe Fawzi al-Odah's lawyers first contacted Abraham after his sister had attended a presentation they had made, and volunteered the information that her brother had been one of the Tribunals officers.
The Department of Defense keeps the Tribunal officer's identity a secret.
During a telephone interview Abraham defended making the affidavit:
The Washington Post reported that Abraham had compared the hearsay evidence the Guantanamo captives faced to "a game of telephone".
Paraphrasing Abraham the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported:
The Washington Post reports:
The Boston Globe reports that more senior OARDEC officials met with the Tribunal members to determine "what went wrong" with the case, after they declined to confirm the captive's "enemy combatant
Enemy combatant
Enemy combatant is a term historically referring to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. Prior to 2008, the definition was: "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war." In the case of a civil war or an...
" status during their second, extraordinary Tribunal session.
David Cynamon, one of al-Odah's lawyers praised Abraham's courage in making the affidavit, but expressed fears that it was "career suicide".
Lt. Cmdr. Chito Peppler, responded to the affidavit by claiming that the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatant:
Peppler also responded:
The Washington Post quotes officials who asked for anonymity who claimed Abraham never raised his concerns with McGarrah, a fact Abraham disputes.
According to the Boston Globe, after Abraham sat on a Tribunal he was assigned to serve as a liaison officer with the JTF-GTMO teams who were compiling the allegations against the captives for the Tribunals.
They report that Abraham charactized the JTF-GTMO teams he worked with as:
A second OARDEC officer comes forward
On Friday October 5, 2007 the lawyers for Adel Hassan HamadAdel Hassan Hamad
-Lawsuit:On May 14, 2008 the Daily Times of Pakistan reported that "Salim Mahmud Adam" and "Adel Hasan Hamad" had announced plans to sue the United States government over their detention....
filed an affidavit from a second officer who had served with OARDEC.
Like Abraham this second officer, whose name was redacted, was also a reservist. Like Abraham he was a lawyer, in civilian life.
He wrote: ``"training was minimal" -and- ``"the process was not well defined".
Abraham, was only allowed to sit on one Tribunal.
The second officer sat on 49 Tribunals.
Interviews
Abraham has agreed to be interviewed multiple times.Abraham said that most of his work, and that of his colleagues, was performed in Washington DC. He only traveled to Guantanamo three times.
Abraham explained his reservations with calling the allegations in the Summary of Evidence memos
Summary of Evidence (CSRT)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of the 558 captives who remained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba in the fall of 2004.-The 2005 release:...
"evidence".