IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION

Filing 279

STATUS REPORT by MUIEEN ADEEN JAMAL ADEEN ABD AL F. ABD AL SATTAR. (Johnson, Jacqueline)

IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION

Doc. 279

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________________________ ) ) IN RE: ) ) GUANTANAMO BAY ) ) DETAINEE LITIGATION ____________________________________)

Misc. No. 08-442 (TFH) Civil Action No. 08-1236

STATUS REPORT BY PETITIONER MUIEEN ADEEN JAMAL ADEEN ABD AL F. ABD AL SATTAR

Pursuant to Judge Hogan's Order entered August 15, 2008 (Docket Entry 8), undersigned counsel for Petitioner Muieen Adeen Jamal Adeen Abd Al F. Abd Al Sattar state the status of the case is as follows: 1. This case began with a "Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus" filed on July 17, 2008, by Sami Al Hajj on behalf of Petitioner Muieen Adeen Jamal Adeen Abd Al F. Abd Al Sattar. The petition states Mr. Sattar is from the United Arab Emirates and has been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for four to five years without access to legal counsel. 2. This Court appointed the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Ohio, to represent Mr. Sattar on August 8, 2008.

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3.

To date, counsel have had no contact with Mr. Sattar. Likewise, counsel have not yet had any contact with Sami Al Hajj (who filed the petition on behalf of Mr. Sattar) to determine his relationship with Mr. Sattar.

4.

Undersigned counsel obtained ECF registration on August 21, 2008, and promptly entered a notice of appearance. Attorney Jacqueline Johnson and Attorney Vicki Werneke are engaged in the process of obtaining the necessary security clearance to be permitted to visit Mr. Sattar in Guantanamo Bay. One or more of the undersigned counsel intend to travel to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to visit with Mr. Sattar as soon as possible, and will pursue an express authorization of the petition in compliance with this Court's order of July 29, 2008 (Docket Entry 210 in Case No. 08-mc-442). In the event undersigned counsel, for reasons beyond their control, are unable to obtain the necessary security clearance and travel to Guantanamo Bay before the deadline imposed by that order, counsel will seek leave of Court for additional time to pursue an authorization.

5.

Through a Department of Defense ("DOD") website, counsel have obtained three unclassified documents appearing to pertain to Mr. Sattar: (1) a Combat Status Review Board Tribunal memorandum dated October 12, 2004, which contains six sentences of allegations regarding Mr. Sattar's alleged "association" with Al Qaida; (2) a DOD memorandum dated August 9, 2005, containing an unclassified summary of evidence for Administrative Review Board regarding Mr. Sattar; and (3) a DOD memorandum dated May 5, 2006, containing an unclassified summary of evidence

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for Administrative Review Board regarding Mr. Sattar. This is the extent of the information undersigned counsel have obtained regarding Mr. Sattar. 6. Counsel will confer with the relevant attorneys from the Department of Justice representing Respondents in this case about access to discovery and other caserelated issues. August 21, 2008 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Jacqueline A. Johnson JACQUELINE A. JOHNSON (LCvR 83.2(e)) First Assistant Federal Public Defender Office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Ohio 1660 West Second Street, Suite 750 Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Telephone: [phone]; Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] /s/ Vicki Werneke VICKI WERNEKE (LCvR 83.2(e)) Assistant Federal Public Defender Office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Ohio 1660 West Second Street, Suite 750 Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Telephone: [phone]; Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] /s/ Amy B. Cleary AMY B. CLEARY (LCvR 83.2(e)) Attorney at Law Office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Ohio 1660 West Second Street, Suite 750 Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Telephone: [phone]; Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Counsel for Petitioner Muieen Adeen Jamal Adeen Abd Al F. Abd Al Sattar 3