Belkacem Bensayah v. Barack Obama et al.
| Court |
United States Court of Appeal, District of Columbia, Unites States of America, United States |
| Case number |
08-5537 |
| Decision title |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia |
| Decision date |
28 June 2010 |
| Parties |
- Belkacem Bensayah
- Barack Obama et al.
|
| Categories |
Terrorism |
| Keywords |
Boumediene v. Bush, enemy combatant, Habeas corpus, Terrorism |
| Links |
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| Other countries involved |
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back to topSummary
Belkacem Bensayah, an Algerian national, was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovine in 2001 on the suspicion of plotting an attack against the United States Embassy in Sarajevo. Together with five other Algerians, Bensayah was turned over to the United States Government and transferred to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba). Bensayah was one of the plaintiffs in the Boumediene case, in the context of which, the Supreme Court of the United States found, in 2008, that Guantanamo detainees have a right to petition writs of habeas corpus (a legal action allowing the detainees to challenge the legality of their detention).
In November 2008, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the release of five of the six plaintiffs. Bensayah, the sixth plaintiff, was denied release.
On 28 June 2010, the District Court of Appeals overturned the decision of the District Court, finding that the evidence against Bensayah must be reviewed since the Government changed its position and the evidence upon which the District Court relied in concluding that Bensayah supported the Al-Qaeda is now insufficient to show that he was also part of the organization.
back to topProcedural history
Bensayah, an Algerian national, was arrested in Bosnia in 2011 together with five other Algerian nationals.
Bensayah was one of the plaintiffs in the Boumediene et al. v. Bush et al. case. In that case, the Supreme Court of the United States held in 2008 that the detainees held at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay (Cuba) can petition for writs of habeas corpus before the US federal courts.
On 20 November 2008, Judge Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the release of five of the six plaintiffs in the case of Boumediene et al. v. Bush et al..
back to topLegally relevant facts
In late 2001, Bensayah, an Algerian national, was arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina together with five other Algerian men on the suspicion of plotting an attack against the United States Embassy in Sarajevo. The men were turned over to the United States and transferred to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) in 2002 (pp. 2-3).
On 20 November 2008, Judge Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the release of five of the six plaintiffs in the case of Boumediene et al. v. Bush et al.. The case concerned the legal rights of detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, in particular the right to petition for writs of habeas corpus (pp. 3-5).
The sixth plaintiff in the case, Belkacem Bensayah, was denied his application for release. Judge Leon in the US District Court for the District of Colombia ruled that the US government had provided “credible and reliable evidence” that linked Bensayah to al-Qaida, and one senior facilitator in particular. The Court ruled that he had provided “support” within the meaning of the definition of an ‘enemy combatant’ to a terrorist organisation (p. 5).
back to topCore legal questions
- Can the Court grant the appeals of Bensayah?
back to topSpecific legal rules and provisions
back to topCourt's holding and analysis
On 28 June 2010 a three-judge panel of the District Court of Appeals ruled that the evidence against Bensayah must be reviewed, overturning the District Courts decision and remanding the case back to the District Court to consider all the available evidence (p. 17).
The decision comes after three new developments since the 2008 decision. According to the Court, the US government has “eschewed reliance” on evidence that the facilitator with whom Bensayah allegedly had contact with was in fact a senior al-Qaida facilitator, and has changed its opinion regarding the source and scope of its authority to detain Bensayah. Furthermore, the Government has now abandoned its argument that his detention is lawful because of the support he rendered to al-Qaida, now contending that he was simply “part of” al-Qaida (p. 6).
According to the Court, the evidence upon which the District Court relied in concluding that Bensayah supported al-Qaida is insufficient to show that he was part of the organisation, as the Government now contends (p. 17).
back to topInstruments cited
back to topRelated cases
- Supreme Court of the United States, Boumediene et al. v. Bush et al., Case No. 06-1195, Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 12 June 2008.
back to topAdditional materials
- S. Miley, 'DC Circuit Rules Detainees Denied Habeas Must be ‘Part of’ Terrorist Group', Jurist, 4 July 2010;
- AP, 'Belkacem Besayah Wins Appeal: Guantanamo Detainee Will Get New Hearing Over Terrorism Charges', The Huffington Post,3 July 2010;
- AP, 'Bensayah Belkacem, The Guantanamo Docket, Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the Case of Belkacem, Bensayah', The New York Times, 28 December 2005.
back to topSocial media links
