El Mashad v . Bush El Mashad v . Bush ( Civil Action No . 2005 - 0270 ) is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of several Guantanamo detainee s , including Sherif el - Mashad , Adel Fattouh Aly Ahmed Algazzar and Alladeen . Prior to 1997 , Egyptian Sharif Fathi el - Mashad was living in Italy . In 1997 , el - Mashad moved to Afghanistan to trade in clothing , but subsequently became involved in the ongoing Afghanistan civil war by joining " Islamic charities operating in Afghanistan . " In late December 2001 , U . S . forces arrested 27 - year old el - Mashad as he was seeking to leave Afghanistan for neighboring Pakistan . El - Mashad ' s family then received a letter from the International Committee of the Red Cross informing them that el - Mashad was being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp . In December 2003 , Ambassador to Egypt David Welch indicated that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was holding no more than five Egyptians . In June 2004 , the U . S . Supreme Court upheld the right of hundreds of prisoners detained without charges to challenge their detentions in U . S . courts . Subsequently , detainees Sharif el - Mashad , Ayman Matrafi , Fadel Reda el - Wakili , Adel Fathi Ali , el - Gazzar and Ahmed Habib at the U . S . Naval base in Guantanamo , Cuba were categorized among the " least dangerous " detainees at the prison . Each had Egyptian nationality , with Ahmed Habib additionally having Australian nationality . In August 2004 , the Egyptian human rights group Human Rights Association for Assistance to Prisoners ( HRAAP ) requested that Ambassador Welch provide " the truth on the fate of Sharif Fathi el - Mashad and the precise reasons for his continued detention " and to allow HRAAP ' s lawyers to visit the detainee . In November of that same year , Egypt asked the United States to return these five Egyptian detainees to Egypt . In June 2006 , the United States Department of Defense reported that three captives died in custody . The Department of Defense stated the three men committed suicide . At that time , lawyer - client communications between detainees and their counsel were governed by a protective order that sought to balance attorney access to their detainee clients with an eye to protecting national security interests . Camp authorities called the deaths " an act of asymmetric warfare " , and suspected plans had been coordinated by the captive ' s attorneys — so they seized all the captives ' documents , including the captives ' copies of their habeas documents . The Department of Justice reported the seizure of the habeas documents . The Military Commissions Act of 2006 mandated that Guantanamo captives were no longer entitled to access the US civil justice system , so all outstanding habeas corpus petitions were stayed . In July 2008 , the United States Supreme Court ruled , in Boumediene v . Bush , that the Military Commissions Act could not remove the right for Guantanamo captives to access the US Federal Court system . And all previous Guantanamo captives ' habeas petitions were eligible to be re - instated . The judges considering the captives ' habeas petitions would be considering whether the evidence used to compile the allegations the men and boys were enemy combatants justified a classification of " enemy combatant " . On 9 September 2008 , Zachary Katznelson filed a " " Notice of Joinder in Petitioners ' Response to Respondents ' Request for Relief from Scheduling Order " " with regard to Mohammed Abdulmalik in Civil Action No . 05 - cv - 764 , 05 - cv - 1504 , 05 - cv - 2349 , 05 - cv - 748 , 04 - cv - 2215 , 05 - 1457 , 05 - cv - 270 , 08 - cv - 1440 , 05 - cv - 2386 ( CKK , RMC , GK , JR , RBW ) . Katznelson wrote : On 12 September 2008 , Zachary Katznelson filed a " " Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Access to Classified National Security Information " " in Civil Action No . 05 - cv - 764 , 05 - cv - 1504 , 05 - cv - 2349 , 05 - cv - 748 , 04 - cv - 2215 , 05 - 1457 , 05 - cv - 270 , 08 - cv - 1440 , 05 - cv - 2386 ( CKK , RMC , GK , JR , RBW ) .