Hussein Azzam
Encyclopedia
Born in Palestine, Hussein Azzam was a former prisoner held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
s, in Cuba
.
He was released in 2004, two years after his capture, without charge and returned home to his family.
According to the Department of Defense's official list of release dates, a captive listed as "Abdul Qadir Yousef Husseini" was transferred on March 31, 2004.
His Internment Serial Number was 1018.
However, on the first full official list of captives names, published on May 15, 2005, he was named Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad
.
He was reported to have been born in Al-Zarqa in 1976.
in Saudi Arabia and received his Masters degree before returning to Palestine, where he had trouble finding work as a teacher in the West Bank
.
In 1985 he moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, as he heard that the country had begun setting up schools for the refugees flooding in from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
He remained as a teacher in the region through the 2001 American invasion of Afghanistan, but was not targeted by any forces and reported that he felt no fear as he had no connection to local militants.
He was transferred to the Bagram collection point facility, where he alleges he was sodomised and abused, before being flown to the Guantanamo detainment camps. He was interrogated five times over a captivity of 10 months.
After his arrest, his family moved back to Jordan to avoid persecution. However the increased cost of health care in the country meant that his son Abdullah's heart condition worsened, and he died in February 2004.
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
s, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
He was released in 2004, two years after his capture, without charge and returned home to his family.
According to the Department of Defense's official list of release dates, a captive listed as "Abdul Qadir Yousef Husseini" was transferred on March 31, 2004.
His Internment Serial Number was 1018.
However, on the first full official list of captives names, published on May 15, 2005, he was named Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad
Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad
Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad is a citizen of Jordan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 1018....
.
He was reported to have been born in Al-Zarqa in 1976.
Life
The cousin of noted scholar Abdullah Azzam, Azzam studied Islamic lawSharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
in Saudi Arabia and received his Masters degree before returning to Palestine, where he had trouble finding work as a teacher in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
In 1985 he moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, as he heard that the country had begun setting up schools for the refugees flooding in from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
He remained as a teacher in the region through the 2001 American invasion of Afghanistan, but was not targeted by any forces and reported that he felt no fear as he had no connection to local militants.
Arrest
Azzam's home was raided by Pakistani forces on May 25, 2002, and he was arrested along with his two sons, the 23-year old Abdullah and 18-year old Muhammad. The two boys were released, but Azzam was held.He was transferred to the Bagram collection point facility, where he alleges he was sodomised and abused, before being flown to the Guantanamo detainment camps. He was interrogated five times over a captivity of 10 months.
After his arrest, his family moved back to Jordan to avoid persecution. However the increased cost of health care in the country meant that his son Abdullah's heart condition worsened, and he died in February 2004.