Bensayah Belkacem

Bensayah Belkacem
JTF-GTMO official photo of Bensayah Belkacem.
Born (1962-09-10) September 10, 1962 (age 62)[1]
Ouargla, Algeria
Detained at Guantanamo
ISN10001
Charge(s)no charge
Statusrepatriated
Occupationclergyman

Bensayah Belkacem (born September 10, 1962) is a citizen of Bosnia, previously held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[2] Born in Algeria, he was arrested in his home in Bosnia, on October 8, 2001, shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001.[3]

Bensayah Belkacem arrived at the Guantanamo detention camps on January 21, 2002, and was held there for 11 years, 10 months and 14 days.[4][5][6] In October 2008, his case was heard by the US District Court for the District of Columbia, which recommended his continued detention. This was later overturned on appeal.

Belkacem and five other men, native-born Algerians who were charity workers and colleagues of his, were arrested on suspicion of plotting to bomb the American embassy in Bosnia. They are known as the Algerian Six.[7] The other five men were released in 2009. This followed the Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush (2008) that said the military commissions were unconstitutional and provided for detainees to have their habeas corpus petitions heard by the US federal civilian court. After reviewing their cases, US District Court Judge Richard J. Leon ruled each of the five was being held illegally, but he ordered the continued detention of Belkacem.

His decision was appealed to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On June 28, 2010, a three-judge panel reversed Leon's ruling, holding that Belkacem could not be considered a member of al-Qaeda. The Justice Department said it would respond.

On December 5, 2013, U.S. Department of Defense released a statement saying that Belkacem had been returned to Algeria.[8]

Main article: Algerian Six
  1. ^ "Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN US4AG-010001DP (S)" (PDF). Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  2. ^ OARDEC (2006-05-15). "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  3. ^ Man linked to Bin Laden arrested in Bosnia, The Guardian, October 8, 2001
  4. ^ JTF-GTMO (2007-03-16). "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba". Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  5. ^ "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version)" (PDF). Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, from DoD data. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-13.
  6. ^ Margot Williams (2008-11-03). "Guantanamo Docket: Bensayah Belkacem". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  7. ^ "Institute for War and Peace Reporting -". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Detainee Transfer Announced", U.S. Department of Defense, 2013-12-05