"Yemeni Spent 13 Years at Guantánamo because a U.S. Soldier Confused the Name of a Village with Al-Qaeda"

2015-09-25T14:26:49-04:00

From: All Gov

A single name lost in translation cost Emad Hassan 13 years of freedom.

The Yemeni was in his early twenties when he traveled to Pakistan in 2001 to study the Koran at a small university.

But following the attacks on Sept. 11 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan by the U.S., Hassan was arrested by Pakistani security forces looking for possible al-Qaeda members to turn over to the American military.

Shipped to Afghanistan, Hassan was held prisoner by U.S. soldiers and interrogated. The American grilling Hassan relied on an interpreter who spoke broken Arabic, which proved tragic for the young Yemeni.

Asked if he had any connection with al-Qaeda, Hassan said yes. But it was not the terrorist group he was admitting to being familiar with. In Yemen, not far from Hassan’s hometown, is a village called Al-Qa’idah. It was this place he was responding to, not al-Qaeda. But the translator didn’t realize the mistake, and the American soldier interrogating Hassan had all he needed.

Hassan was shipped to Guantánamo, where he was cleared for release in 2009 but remained until June of this year, when he was released in Oman.

“What had started as a comic misunderstanding became a surreal odyssey through the dark side of America’s war on terror,” Lauren Walker wrote at Newsweek.

According to the human rights group Reprieve, Hassan was “one of the first detainees to go on a peaceful hunger strike in 2007. He remained on hunger strike until the day he was freed.”

http://www.allgov.com/news/unusual-news/yemeni-spent-13-years-at-guant%C3%A1namo-because-a-us-soldier-confused-the-name-of-a-village-with-al-qaeda-150915?news=857425

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Sep 25 at 2015 2:41 PM

2015-09-25T14:41:24-04:00

That is very strange it it is true that a Yemeni spent 13 years at GITMO by mistake. I suspect that there is more to this story that can not be released - posthumous tribute to Paul Harvey - the rest of the story

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Sep 25 at 2015 2:43 PM

2015-09-25T14:43:15-04:00

...oops doesnt seem to cut it.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 25 at 2015 2:46 PM

2015-09-25T14:46:32-04:00

The rest of the story....
http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/680-emad-abdalla-hassan

Emad Abdalla Hassan - The Guantánamo Docket

Emad Abdalla Hassan is a 36-year-old citizen of Yemen. As of January 2010, the Guantánamo Review Task Force had recommended him for transfer. He was transferred to Oman on June 13, 2015.

Response by SSG John Erny made Sep 25 at 2015 2:49 PM

2015-09-25T14:49:07-04:00

Murphy's Law applies to all. 'Stuff' happens to good people all the time. Just like the folks on the four planes and their targets on 9/11. Who among you is perfect? Some on Rally Point have had to make choices that involved who lives or dies; life is not, was not, nor ever will be fair.

Response by SGT David T. made Sep 25 at 2015 3:36 PM

2015-09-25T15:36:47-04:00

Assuming this can be taken at face value, it really doesn't surprise me.

Response by 2d Lt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 26 at 2015 6:39 PM

2015-09-26T18:39:22-04:00

Where's the righteous outrage I usually see on RallyPoint?