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UNITED STATES DISTIUCT COURI' FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLlr:vIBIA ) 

### l'\ADIR OMAR

### ABDlJl
...LAJI 

### BIN ) SA',,(DOliN :\.LSA'AIO' (ISN 030). ) ) PelitiIHH'r, ) ) Civil :'in. 09-i45**(l~CL)** 

### v. ) 

### I BARACK H. OBAMA, 

### et al., ) ) Respondents. ) --------------) l'vlEM.ORA.NDUM OPINION Petitioner is challenging the legality ofhis detention at the United States ;-.Javal Base in Guantanamo Bay. Cuba ("Guantanamo"). Before the Court is petitioner's J 7irst i\1otion 11096] for Leave to Take Discovery, As explained herein. petitioner's motion shall be granted in pali and denied in pan.

I. BACKGROUND The Court is operating under the Case Jv1anagcment Order ("C1\.10") issued 

### by Judge: Hogan ofthis Court in the consolidated Guantanamo habeas cases 

### (!'.Iisc. 

### ND. 08-442) on November 6, 2008. 

### as a.mended on Decemher 

### 16,2008. 1 Petitioner seeks discovery under

I'The l\.mended ('1\,10 was later amended further 

### by Judge \\ralton ofthis Court 

### Gherebi v 

### Bush, (iv. No. 04-1164, Order l797] ('O.D.C. Dec. 19,2008) (V/alton, 

### J). Because that Order was issued before petitioner's case was transferred from JUdge \Valton to the undersigned member ofthe Court, it is binding on petitioner's case. However. Judge 'Walton's amendments do not affect Amended eMO § I.E, which is the only section at issue for most ofpetitioner's requests.UNCLASSIFIEDIIFOR PUBLIC RELEASE**Am',~mled C~lO**  

## S1.E.1, (tvlo!. 

### at 3,) !vlast 

### (\fpeI'ltioner's requests stem from 

### stl1CI"llen!s made 

### by p:spondents in 

### t.heir Factual ,Return ('·Return"). in 

### \:vhich respondents set forth their pcritiol,er"s detenli()\). Section 

### LE.1 states 

### that [tlbe lv'lerits Judge nUIY, for good 

### cause, permit the petitioner to obtain limited discoverY beyond 

### that described in [Section 1.E.I. which deab 

### with dOCUl11cnts thaI arc 

### themselves cited in the Return and 

### the petitioner"s o\\"n**staIernen~sl,** 

### Discover'y reguc:sts shall
... (1) 

### he narrowly tailored. not open-ended: t,1) 

### spc::ify 

### the discovery 

### s()ught: 

### (3) explain 

### \vh) the request, ifgranted, is 

### likely to 

### lxoduce evidence that demonstrates that petitioner's detention 

### is unlawful: 

### and (4) explain ,:vhy the requested 

### discovery will enable 

### the petitioner to rebut**thcf~lctual b,~sis**  

### f"f his deh:ntion without unfairly disrupting or unduly burdening the governrnem. Amended CMO § I.E.2 (citations omitted). The Court 

### will consider 

### each ofpetitioner's requests and wilt only grant those which comply with the Amended CMO, Before moving on to petitioner's individual discovery requests, the Court \v.il1 address the ,1.mended 

### CivIO 

### § 1.E.2 requirement that requests 

### not be unfairly 

### disruptive or unduly burdensome to the government. Petitioner does not 

### specify \vhere any ofthe discovery he is seeking is located. In order to avoid undue burden on the government. the Court will**(ml~i** considerpetitioner's discovery requests insofar as they seek reasonably available' evidence. In the context ofthis opinion, "reasonably available" evidence means evidence contained in any information rcvie'wed by attorney's preparing factual returns for all detainees held at Ciuantanamo Bay or any other United 

### Stales military facility; it is not 

### limited to the evidence discovered 

### by al.l()rneys preparing factual returns fl.)r this petitioner. See Gherebi 1'. Bush, C1\. No. (14-1164, ()rder (7971 (D.D.C. Dec, 19,2008) (Walton, l) (amending 

### sl1ghtly :\mended 

### CI"\'1.O § 1.D.1).



### 2

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### II. PETlTlO:"iEJl'S DISCOVERY**REQl.~ESTS** A. Circumstances Sunounding Pctitiollerls Statements Cited in Return (Pet'r Req. #19) 

### Pelitlclner seeks**"un~'** and documents discussing**Ih~** circmnstances sUrf(lunding" pctltioncr\; statcnlcnls 

### ciLcd in the 

### I\.ctllrn. including "the location ofthe in1cnogalion and any reports ofabuse. coercion[,J or inhmnan or degrading trcarmelll [petitioner] may have suffered," Respondel]!.." recognize tbat illformation as to the circumstances ofpetitioner'5 sUllements**J~lJls** clearly within the discovery allowed by Amended 

### CI'v10 §IT.1. Howcver. resp:Hldents**argm~** that they have already conlp1ied \"lith their 

## SI.E.] obligation by discIc\sing ".information about the 

### circumstances" surrounding 

### all such statements. Petitioner offers no reason to believe that the g()vernment has not fulfi lied its obligation here, nor does he allege abuse. coercilm. or inhuman
or degrading treatment. Accordingly. petitioner's request shall be denied as mon1.

B.**Statemt~nts** hy Otbt'r Detainees RcHed Upon in the Return (Pet'r Reqs, # 2, 6,8, 10, 13, 15, 17) Respondents' Return relies upon statements by other Guantanamo detainees in setting fonh its legal basis /()r petitioner's detention. Respondents have disclosed those statements (or smnlllaries thereof) but only in the 

### forms in which the RetuIl1 relied upon them. Petitioner now seeks "any audi(lOr video tapes, transcripts[.] or original repOlis 

### ofinterrogations" for seven of these other detainees::-·tha.t is, all other forms ofthe relied-:"lpOl1 statements. In support ofthese requests petitioner citcs an opinion 

### by anotherjudge ofthis Court ordering production of

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statements, 

### in various f"lmns, relied upon in a 

### factual retum, Zaidv, ()bamo. 

### Civ, "\;0. 

### 1646, Order [I 16J 

### (Jan, 14,2009) (Bates, 1). 

### But 

### Judge Bates' Order dealt 'with additional f()nns 

### of

no,ftll,t'.IU,"· 's**st3temeJl!~,** relied upon on the Return, a maHer add:essed 

### by Amended ('\10 LE.l , IIere 

### petitioner 5e,::1';:5 

### additional forIns of

### statements made not 

### by him but 

### by other detainees, which would fall 

### under .\melKled C:-"IO 1.1:.2. Petitioner's request fails 1.1 [nee! the 

### requirements of § 

### I.E.2 in at 

### kasl one 

### imp(}l·l.ant respect: petitioner 

### docs not explain 

### "the recues!.,

,; ifL'Tanted, is 

### like/r to p ..

### roduce evidence 

### that demonstrates 

### that petitioner's**dett~ntion** is , "".' .. 

### unlawfuL" Amended CvtO 

### § LE.2 (emphasis added). Petitioner speculates that the statements 

### may have 

### been recorded 

### or translated incorrectly. Such 

### speculation. though possible. 

### does not indicate a likelihood that additional 

### l;:mns (lfthe statements will sho'\' that petitioner's 

### detention is unlawful. Acc()rcling.ly, petitioner's 

### requests fCll' additional 

### forms ofdetainee stalements shall 

### h-: denied.

C. Circumstances of**Stah:~.ments** by Various 

### Other Detainees 

### Petitioner also requests the circumstances surrounding tbe detainee statements discussed in the 

### previous subsection. Again, these requests will be evaluated under 

### Amended CvlO § J.E.2, 1. C'lrcumslaJlces ((lSratemctlls 

### by DeTainee (l'ct'rReq. i; 1) 

### Petitiol1<1:!1' requests the circumstances surrounding statements by



### _ Petitioner supports this 

### request with evidence ol_harsh 

### treatment. Jpetitioner's motion requests ;'all documents discussing 

### the circumstances surrounding the statements aggressive and harsh 

### treatment [sic] at

### Guantan~mo through 

### A.pril 14,2003" of'.

_ Although 

### petitioner's

### requc.~st appears to 

### be missing severa.! 

### \vords, the Court shall 

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### Petition:.:r draws 

### extensively from a report by 

### tbe Department 

### ofJusticc's 

### ()ffice ofInspectOJ Genera! (hereinafter "OIG report") 

### provided by respondents 

### in discovery. 

### (PetYs :'-.101. 

### <It 3-12; 

### set a/so IZesp' Is' (fPf,"r, 

### at 6 (noting respcindc:11S'**produ~:li(ln** 

### oC the ()1Ci repOrli. 

### According to ",.!,I, '"
...... the 

### rcp,.',t**dl~scrihl.'d** 

### rdiginus insults, the use dogs. sleep**is~>lati** 

### em. other tactics thaI could reasonably be ex!)ecte(! to result 

### in coercion. Petitioner did not 

### allach relevam portions of' the Ole; reporlto 

### his filings, but respondents did not 

### contradict his 

### SUlllmary. The OTG report 

### suppons plaintiff's claim that it is likely Ihm documents exist that w(luJd 

### coniiTm
or expand upon rhe harsh 

### treatment_has endured. If_has endured harsh treaunen: that\veakens the credibility ofhis statements, respondents' case that petitioner is being legally detained is \veakened. Accordingly, any reasonably available evidence ofabuse, coercion, or inhuman or degrading treatment suffered by_after

### his c,:pllU'C 

### but before any statement llf

### his**relie~d** 

### upon in the Return must be disclosed to 

### petitioner. In addition l0 

### evidence harsh treatment. petitioner also requests the locations in \vhich 

# _was held since his tra.nsfer and 

### generalized information as to "the 

### conditions under

w.hich he \'las held during that period." (:-1ot. at 9.) But petitioner has not 

### claimed that the locntlons in**\vhjc~\vas** 

### held would negatively affect_credibility or otherwise 5ho
...\ that petitioner is being unlawfuJly detained. Nor has petitionermade such a claim as to the generalized conditions in which petitioner was held. Petitioner has rhus failed to 

### meet the requirement that the sought discovery be likely to prove his detention is unlawful. pelitioner's request must be denied in these two regards.

construe the 

### request as seeking t.he circumstances surrounding
_ statements, as well as evidence Dfaggressive and harsh treatment through April 14, 2003. 

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### ], Circul1Istances of'Swfemcnls by

### Delainc'e i: 51 Petiti(Hler seeks the \..IJLl'UL""'''.''''.:l of**stutenl(~nts** detainee cited in the Return (including the location ofhis interrogation), To support his claim 

### ()f_'squestJ:,:lnahlc credibility 

### petitioner submits l\VO independent 

### news accounts focusing on the harsh trealment alleged visited upon _since his capturc,C (See ]\[01. at 16-]7 (citing "F'rum German) to Guanta:lamo: the Career of ]lrisoncr No, .'. Spiegel (()ct. 9, 2008,; "The Conscience of ColoneL" 

### St, J. (i\lar. 31. 2007)).) Two !l('\VS stories 

### are not a.\together consistent with each other, but they both specifically allege harsh treatment against

_. The two independen.t news accounts from m,\jor periodicals specifically alleging harsh**lreatmt~nt** 

### agains1_is i.n this case enough to meet the likelihood requir.::menl 

### ofthe and accordingly respondents are ordered to disclose any reasonably available c\'idence ofabuse. coercion. or inhuman or degrading trean:nenl suffered by_after capture bef;:Jre 

### made any the statements relied upon in the Return. 

### tImvever, petitioner 

### has not claimed that

### the Iocation(sl in 

### \l,'hich 

### _was interrogated negatively affected credibility or 

### \>,'ould demonstrate that petitioner's detention is unlawful. Petitioner's request shall be denied in that respect. 

### 3.**C'ircumS£a17Ct'~S (~f**  S'lafemenlS 

### bJ' ()ther Delainees 

### (Pct 'r

### Reqs, i' 7 9. )'2, 1,J. Petitioner seeks the circumstances ofstatements 

### by other 

### detainees:_

"Although media reports cannot, ofcourse, be considered as evidence, 

### tbey can be considered here the Court in determining whether to grant petitioner's discoveryrequest under the A.mended**C~10,** 

### 6

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### ilnplies that these detainees may have been subjected to 

### harsh treatment thal would negatively arrec; their credibility. Bm petitioner offers l1Dthiug 

### that WCILlid 

### nise his iInplicarions above 

### mere speculation to 

### the likelihood required by 

### Amended Ch·l(l 

### § 

### .:2. Accordingly, petitioner does not meet the requirements ofthe Amended ClvIO. and his requests for the 

### circumstances surrounding 

### the statements these fjVt: other dc:ainees III US! be denied.

D. ()thcr Information Rehlted to the Credibility ofOthcr**Dct~lirll~es** 

### 1. "Al1y

### mul./lll Documents" Related 10

### fhe Credibility of ond 

### ('Pel ',. Reqs. #- 3, 4) 

### Petitioner seeks "any and all documents" related to 

### the creelibiI ity oftwo detainees \\lhose statements 

### arc relied upon in the Return:_(discussed aboy;:1 

### and



### .. For_petitioner also seeks "sp::cifically any 

### assessments related to 

### his credibility by the Oft1ce ofAdnlinistrative R.eview for the Detention ofEnemy Combatants." Again. these requests 

### \:vill be evaluated according 

### to /\mended 

### CMO § 

### 1.E.2. As au initial matler, 

### the request for "any 

### and all" documents "related" to !hc credibility of either detainee is not namnvly tailored 

### as requin:d by § 

### 1.E.2. Considering that § I.E.2 applies by its terms only to**e\'id'~:nce** 

### that is likely to 

### prove that petitioner is unlawfully detained, the 

### Court will consider these requests only insoflu as they seek any documents that reflect '·""",.·,I,u,", ,I" 

### upon the credihility ofeither detainee. Even after that limitation, petitioner 5ti11111u5t establish that 

### it is in fact likely 

### that the discovery request will yield evidence that 

### will sho'>\' that petitioner is unlawfully detained: in


### 7

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(Ither woros. thJl such negative assessments ofthe dellliIH::es' eredibiE!\' arc likeh'

. 

# .,. ..

.. Peliti,Hler bas met hi" burdell as t(

__ with the ()Ie; rep()rt ddailing_barsh lre,urnent Given the lreaHnent described in**th,~** ()IG rqxl1"t, it is likely that negative assessment,: or_credibilttyexist As fbr_petilioner attclches as Appendix i'!, 11 classined

nn'111lP"m 

### by anotherjudge oft111s (ShIi 

### v, Bush, Cis, 05-429 (D,D.C 

### Jan 30,2(09) (Ll",J!L 

### .1.») concluding that_lacked credibility, 'That opinion cited a June 2007 v.:arning the Office: Admi.l1istrative Review and Detention ofEnemy (\'mbatants ((}\RI)EC) at (iuantananlO Bay stating thal_"t'irst-hand knowledge in reporting has come into question since 2005," (Mot App, /\. at 5,) The finding ofanolherjudge ofthis Court supported by a government st<nement questioning_reliability, establishes that 

### it is likely that documents exisl that renee! negatively upon _credibiliry, Accordingly, respondents
are ordered 10 disclcisc any reasonably 3\'ailable documents that refleclncgativcJy on either. credibility. For_respondentsare specifically ordered to disclose the OARDEC rep(lI1 cited in Judge Leon':; Sliti opinion. 

### 2. Rea,I'ol1s)!)"

### Release ofDclQinee 

### (Pet ',. Req, "# 

### 11.1 Detainee w'hose statements were relied upon in the return, has been released from Guantanamo since giving those statements. Petitioner seeks the
reasons n)r_release, speculating that_mayhave beenreleased in return for providing incriminatory statements aboutpetitioner. Petitioner offers no c\'idence ofany kind to support his speculation and thus illiIs to establish that his request. ifgranted, would be likely to show that he is being unluwfi..lny detained, 

### By the terms ofAmended GvfO § 1.E,2, petitioner's request must be denied. 

### 8

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t: Bow1!.! tVa.\'Paid in Relation tu Pelitioner 's ('apTlire )' rctating to any bounty paid L\ all dCiC 

### capture, Pcritlclner notes thaI 

### anotherjudge ofthis 

### Court has held tl1:11 

### such de,cumenls 

### fall Ullder A .nlcnded (:\·10 

### § I,I),l, 

### requires :lisclosurc of 

### 1**rcascl!1ab]~** (l\'aibblc c\'idence in its possession that 

### tends material!) til underminc 

### the infoI1nation presented to**supp~m** the g(y"eml.llent'SJttml:lc,HI()11 hoJding the 

### prisoner." (!vlc1t. al ::5 !Cilin\; liro!im , 

### 05-1429, Doc, [191] (D,D,C. Jan, 

### 7, 2Cl(9) (Urbina. J.)). It appears 10 

### the Court that 

### such hounty information 

### would emly fall underi\.r'!lended ClvfO 

### §LD.l if

### it undermined theinformarion in 

### the Retum, Ifit did then it \\lould be irrelevant to respondents' case for detention. 'l'herefore, the**governln(~l1t** is ordered W disclose any reasollahJy available documents relating to any fees, bounties, or other monetary or non-monetaryremuneration or consideration given to third partiesf())" the apprehension, transfer into the government's custody, continued 

### devemion. or investigation ofpelitlclrlcr, inc.luding hUI not limited to payments. gifts, loans. promises of leniency, preferential treat111enL release, reduction 

### in charges. or

### improvements in the conditions
(\fdetention given to third parties, bUI only insofar as the information contained i:1 those doclJ.mcnts tends materially to undermine the information provided in the Return.



### E. Depositions ofOther Detainees (Pet'" Reqs. # 5,7,9,12,14, 16) 

### Finally, petitioner seeks to depose six oftbe seven detainees whose statements are cited
or relied upon in the Return regarding the circumstances ofthose statements. Petiticmers' requests itH dep()sitions appear lO fali 

### fuUy Outside the bounds ofthe Amended C\Ie). Petitioner's requests for depositions shalj be denied. 

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### HI. CONCLUSION The '''''lue::.,,)**c~ntained** 

### in petitioner's First \101ion [1 

### (JCJ6] for**Lc~;ne wLd:~**  

### Disc()\,cry shall b'c granted anc! denied as descrihed herein .t\ 

### separate Order shall issue This dak. 

# cz_ c:.

# ~._**~:~TIJ**

CHIEF JUDGE

10

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### 11;,\rrl::D STATESD.ISTRICI' 

### cOl11rr FC)R 

### DISTRICT OF ('()LL\IBLA FILeD WITH

,\AJ)JH OJ\lAR AB[)['iLLAH HI:" SA**'AD(nr~1** /\'1,SA 'AR'" (ISI'\ 03ft). ]It,'1ilioucr, CiyiI ;'\o. 09-7o-t5 (RC'L) 

# ,. BARAeK H.**OBA~lA.** 

### etal .• Responden

### Is.
------_._----. 

## --­ ORDER

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