Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul | |
---|---|
Born |
Hudaydah, Yemen |
September 11, 1969
Detained at | Guantanamo (since 2002) |
Alternate name | Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman Ismail Ali Hamza Ahmed Suleiman al Bahlul Anas al-Mekki Abu Annas al-Yemeni |
ISN | 39 |
Charge(s) |
|
Status | detained at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp |
Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul (born September 11, 1969, Hudaydah, Yemen) is a Yemeni citizen who has been held as an enemy combatant since 2002 in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He boycotted the Guantanamo Military Commissions, arguing that there was no legal basis for the military tribunals to judge him.
He was convicted in November 2008 of performing media relations for the Saudi Osama bin Laden, the founder of Al-Qaeda, and sentenced to life imprisonment, after a jury of nine military officers deliberated for less than an hour.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned most of his convictions on January 25, 2013. In October 2016, a divided D.C. Circuit affirmed Bahlul's final remaining conviction, which was for criminal conspiracy.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts describe Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul as al Qaida's public relations director. He is alleged to have created propaganda videos glorifying attacks against the United States. He set up a satellite receiver for Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist organization, to listen to live radio coverage of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, which al Qaida caused.
He faced charges before the first Guantanamo military commissions, before the United States Supreme Court ruled that they were unconstitutional under existing executive authority. In 2004 he was held in solitary confinement.