The Case of Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi

Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi (al Darbi), a Saudi citizen and alleged brother-in-law of one the of the September 11 hijackers, has been detained at Guantánamo since March 2003. He was arrested in Azerbaijan in early 2002 and held in U.S. military custody at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan until being transferred to Guantánamo. During the 2006 court martial of an Army soldier accused of detainee abuse, al Darbi alleged in an affidavit and sworn deposition that he was subjected to humiliating and brutal treatment at Bagram. The solider was ultimately acquitted.

Al Darbi is accused of receiving training at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan and working as a weapons instructor at another al Qaeda training camp in the late 1990s, when he allegedly met with Osama bin Laden. The government further alleges that between 2000 and 2001, al Darbi became involved in a plot to attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz or off the coast of Yemen by traveling to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan to procure a vessel and GPS device on behalf of al Qaeda.  

Al Darbi was designated an "enemy combatant" at a Combatant Status Review Tribunal ("CSRT") on September 23, 2004. On December 20, 2007, the Convening Authority swore charges against al Darbi for providing material support for terrorism and conspiring with others to attack civilians, commit murder, destroy property, and hazard a vessel to commit terrorism.

The charges against al Darbi were referred for military commission trial on March 3, 2008. He was arraigned on March 13, 2008, and met with his appointed counsel for the first time. At a pretrial hearing on April 9, 2008, al Darbi rejected the legitimacy of the proceedings, refused to be present during the proceedings, refused legal representation, and refused to represent himself.

A discovery hearing date, previously scheduled for May 21, 2008, has been adjourned.

Al Darbi’s pretrial hearing is set to begin on July 30, 2008.

Case Documents
Sworn Charges Sheet (12/20/07)

Charges Referred for Trial (3/3/08)