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Abdullahi Sudi Arale
Guantanamo portrait, via WikiLeaks
Born	1964 (age 59–60) Mogadishu, Somalia
Arrested	2007 Djibouti
Released	2009-12-19
Citizenship	Somalia
Detained at	Guantanamo
Other name(s)	Mohamed Ali Omar Abdullahi Sudi Ismael Arale Ismail Mohammed Mahmoud
ISN	10027
Alleged to be a member of	Somali Council of Islamic Courts al-Qaeda
Charge(s)	No charge (held in extrajudicial detention)
Status	Released
Occupation	Airline ticket agent

Abdullahi Sudi Arale (Somali: Cabdillaahi Suudi Caraale; born 1964) is a citizen of Somalia who was held for two and a half years in extrajudicial detention by the United States. Arale's transfer to the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba, was confirmed on Wednesday, June 6, 2007.

Arale's capture was said to have occurred "in recent weeks". Arale was alleged to have helped courier weapons and explosives between al Qaeda elements in Pakistan and the horn of Africa. A Department of Defense spokesman said, "We believe him to be an extremely dangerous member of the al-Qaida network,"

Xinhua reports that American officials claimed Arale had held a leadership position in the Somali Council of Islamic Courts. Xinhua also reported American officials claimed Arale had been living in Pakistan until a return to Somalia, "eight months ago".

On November 3, 2008, The New York Times published a page summarizing the official documents from each captive. The New York Times stated that no further official records of his detention—no Combatant Status Review Tribunal had been published.

Habeas corpus petition

Arale has had a writ of habeas corpus filed on his behalf. Carol Rosenberg attached a set of heavily redacted habeas related documents to an article she published in the Miami Herald about Arale when he was repatriated. A heavily redacted Narrative for Ismael Arale stated that he said he traveled to Syria in 1999 to study, failed to get a place. He then traveled to Pakistan in 2000, where he studied at an Islamic University in Islamabad, from 2000 to 2006, while working part-time as an airline ticket agent.

Repatriation

Abdullahi has two half-sisters, who were able to become refugees in Finland, in 1999, when they were children. His half-sisters worked to try to get Finland to offer him asylum, fearing he would be killed if he were repatriated to Somalia. In a profile in the Helsingin Sanomat his half-sisters said he had a wife and four children in Somalia. Two other siblings helped support his family in Somalia. The Helsingin Sanomat published a picture of his sister Amina Muumin holding a picture of Abdullah.

Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald reported that Ismael Arale [sic] was one of twelve men transferred from Guantanamo on December 19, 2009.

The other eleven men were: Ayman Batarfi, Jamal Alawi Mari, Farouq Ali Ahmed, Muhammaed Yasir Ahmed Taher, Fayad Yahya Ahmed al Rami, Riyad Atiq Ali Abdu al Haf, Abdul Hafiz, Sharifullah, Mohamed Rahim, Mohammed Hashim and Mohamed Suleiman Barre. Abdul Hafiz, Sharifullah, Mohamed Rahim and Mohammed Hashim were Afghans. Mohamed Suleiman Barre was the other Somali. The other six men were Yemenis.

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Detainee Assessment

On April 25, 2011, Guantanamo Detainee Assessment Briefs, signed by the commandants of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, released to the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks, were published by a selection of cooperating newspapers. Unlike most briefs, Abdullahi's seven page memo was unsigned.

References

1. DetaineeAssessment Department of Defense
2. Michael Sung (June 6, 2007). "East African terror suspect transferred to Guantanamo". The Jurist. Archived from the original on 22 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
3. "Terror suspect transferred to Guantanamo" (PDF). The Wire (JTF-GTMO). June 8, 2007. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2012. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
4. ^ "Defense Intelligence Agency: Background Declaration -- Terrorist Organization" (PDF). Defense Intelligence Agency. 2008-09-19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-02. (U) When Matrafi needed funds for charitable activities in Afghanistan, he called upon Shaykh al-Rayis in Saudi Arabia. Rayis would then call Abu Ahmed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who would transfer funds through a hawala to the Sheer Khan Exchange Office in Kabul. The Sheer Khan Exchange Office was in the Exchange District and was run by an Afghan named Samsour [sic]. Matrafi kept the money in a safe in Kabul. The largest transfer was for $300,000 USD after the U.S. strikes began in October 2001.
5. ^ Margot Williams (2008-11-03). "Guantanamo Docket: Abdullahi Sudi Arale". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2008-12-02.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. "Suspected Terrorist Taken to Guantanamo". Associated Press. June 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
7. Josh White (2007-06-07). "Pentagon Says Terror Suspect Has Been Moved to Guantanamo". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30.
8. "Pentagon sends Somalian captive to Guantanamo". Xinhua. June 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
9. Margot Williams (2008-11-03). "The Detainees". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-02.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
10. Thomas F. Hogan (2009-02-27). "Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation: Doc 1656 -- RESPONDENTS' STATUS REPORT AND MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE FACTUAL RETURNS AND LEGAL JUSTIFICATION" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
11. Tommi Nieminen (2009-09-27). "Our brother in Guantánamo". Helsingin Sanomat. Archived from the original on 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
12. ^ Carol Rosenberg (2009-12-19). "Guantánamo detention census drops to 198". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22.
13. "Abdullahi Sudi Arale: Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Abdullahi Sudi Arale, DJ9SO-010027DP, passed to the Telegraph by Wikileaks". The Daily Telegraph. 2011-04-15. Archived from the original on 2013-07-08.

External links

• The Stories Of The Two Somalis Freed From Guantánamo Andy Worthington

• 1964 births
• Living people
• Somalian extrajudicial prisoners of the United States
• Guantanamo detainees known to have been released
• Somalian expatriates in Pakistan