IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION

Filing 40

Memorandum in opposition to re (451 in 1:05-cv-02386-RBW) MOTION for Order Requiring Respondents To Provide Counsel And The Court With Thirty-Days' Advance Notice Of Any Intended Removal Of Petitioners From Guantanamo And To Specify The Country or Countries To Which They Seek To Transfer Petitioners

EXHIBIT 1

DECLARATION OF SANDRA L. HODGKINSON

I, Sandra L. Hodgkinson, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, hereby declare and say as follows: 1. I am the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs in the

Department of Defense ("DoD"). My office is organized under the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. The Office of Detainee Affairs, which I supervise, is responsible for providing policy advice to the Under Secretary of Defense on matters regarding detainees in DoD control. I have served in this position since July 9, 2007. The statements in paragraphs 5 through 8 of this Declaration provide a general overview of the process of transferring detainees in DoD control at the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba ("GTMO"), to the control of a foreign government. These statements are not intended to be an exhaustive description of all of the steps that might be undertaken in particular cases, but rather they reflect United States policy and practices with respect to transfers of detainees from GTMO. I make this declaration based upon my personal knowledge and upon information made available to me in the performance of my official duties. 2. One of DoD's current missions is to use all necessary and appropriate force to defeat the al Qaeda terrorist network and its supporters. In the course of that campaign ­ which remains ongoing ­ the United States and its allies have captured thousands of individuals overseas, virtually all of whom are foreign nationals. Through a screening and evaluation process, DoD determines whether the individuals should be detained during the conflict as enemy combatants. As of July 2, 2008, approximately 265 foreign nationals are being held by DoD at GTMO.

3. It is lawful and appropriate for DoD to detain enemy combatants as long as hostilities are ongoing. Nonetheless, DoD has no interest in detaining enemy combatants longer than necessary. Accordingly, DoD conducts regular reviews of GTMO detainees who have been determined to be enemy combatants but have not been referred to military commission or previously cleared for transfer or release to determine whether continued detention is warranted based on factors such as whether the detainee continues to pose a threat to the United States and its allies. Where continued detention is deemed no longer necessary, a detainee may be transferred to the control of another government for release. Furthermore, the United States also transfers GTMO detainees, under appropriate circumstances, to the control of other governments when those governments are willing to accept responsibility for ensuring, consistent with their laws, that the detainees will not continue to pose a threat to the United States and its allies. Once transferred, detainees may be subject to detention, investigation, and/or prosecution if appropriate under the receiving country's laws. Such governments can include the government of a detainee's home country, or a country other than the detainee's home country, including a country that may have a law enforcement, prosecution, or other interest in the detainee. 4. Since 2002, approximately 500 detainees have departed Guantanamo for other countries including Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Yemen. 5. When the DoD transfers GTMO detainees to the control of other governments, the DoD does so after dialogue with the receiving government. Such dialogue may be initiated by the receiving government or may be initiated by the United States. Unless a transfer is to be a transfer for release, a purpose of the dialogue is to ascertain or establish what measures the receiving government intends to take pursuant to its own domestic laws and independent

determinations that will ensure that the detainee will not pose a continuing threat to the United States and it