nationalsecuritylaw Alsabri v. Obama (D.D.C. Feb. 3, 2011) (GTMO habeas petition denied)

* Alsabri v. Obama (D.D.C. Feb. 3, 2011) (GTMO habeas petition denied)

In a 60-page opinion issued earlier this month but released in unclassified form last Friday, Judge Urbina has denied habeas relief to Mashour Abudllah Muqbel Alsabri, a GTMO detainee from Yemen. Highlights from the opinion:

Substantive Scope of Detention Authority – Judge Urbina cites the Circuit’s al Bihani opinion for the proposition that detention can rest either on membership or material support grounds. The opinion states that the evidence of material support is weak in this instance, but also that there is no need to address it since the government carries its burden with respect to membership (see n.12).

Facts Supporting Membership – Key facts found in the government’s favor, contributing to a showing of membership in al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces, include: traveling to Afghanistan to obtain military-style training and to fight there, staying at multiple Pakistani and Afghan guesthouses operated by al Qaeda and the Taliban, actually obtaining military training from the Taliban or al Qaeda, traveling to the Taliban’s front lines, and continuing to be associated with al Qaeda or the Taliban thereafter until his capture.

By Robert M. Chesney

Robert M. Chesney is Charles I. Francis Professor in Law at UT-Austin School of Law. Chesney is a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. Professor Chesney recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force created by Executive Order 13493. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, a senior editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board, a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Chesney has published extensively on topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege. He served previously as chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools and as editor of the National Security Law Report (published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security). His upcoming projects include two books under contract with Oxford University Press, one concerning the evolution of detention law and policy and the other examining the judicial role in national security affairs.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *