IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION

Filing 589

NOTICE of Authorization by ABD AL ZAHER (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C)(Wilson, Richard)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA IN RE: GUANTÁNAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION ) Misc. No. 08-442 (TFH) ) ) Civil Action No. 05-2386 (RBW) ) )

NOTICE OF AUTHORIZATION ABD AL ZAHER Pursuant to the Court's July 29, 2008 Order (Misc. No. 08-442, Document 358), counsel for petitioner Abd Al Zaher respectfully submits the attached declaration stating that Mr. Al Zaher has authorized counsel to pursue this action and explaining why counsel does not have a signed authorization as of this date. Dated: September 29, 2008 Respectfully submitted, ABD AL ZAHER, Petitioner /s/ Richard J. Wilson Richard J. Wilson International Human Rights Law Clinic American University Washington College of Law 4801 Mass. Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20016-8184 [phone] [e-mail]

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA IN RE: GUANTÁNAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION ) Misc. No. 08-442 (TFH) ) ) Civil Action No. 05-2386 (RBW) ) )

DECLARATION OF RICHARD J. WILSON Richard J. Wilson declares as follows pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746: 1. I am an attorney licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia. I am

Professor of Law and Director, International Human Rights Law Clinic, at American University, Washington College of Law, in Washington, DC. 2. My client Abd Al Zaher is a prisoner in the prison maintained by the United

States military at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Mr. Al Zaher was among the petitioners in the Mohammon case, No. 05-2386, filed in December, 2005, in which he identified his wish to proceed through his next friend, Sami Al Hajj, also a prisoner. 3. Mr Al Hajj filed a detailed request for counsel for Mr. Al Zaher, noting that he

was also known as Poolad T. Tsiradzho, on December 15, 2006 (Attached here as Exhibit A) 4. Over a period of several months from March through June of 2008, counsel for

the petitioner attempted to obtain access to Mr. Al Zaher, through motions filed before Judge Walton to that effect. Such motions, opposed by the government on grounds that the petitioner's identity was unclear, were still pending without decision at the end of June, 2008. 5. Following the decision by the Supreme Court in Boumediene v. Bush, 128 S. Ct.

2229 (2008), in proceedings before Judge Hogan in this matter, the government conceded the

identity of ISN #89 as Abd Al Zaher in Exhibit 1 to its Joint Status Report filed on June 27, 2008 with Judge Hogan. (Attached here, in relevant part, as Exhibit B) 6. I wrote to Mr. Al Zaher on July 28, 2008, indicating that I would act as his

attorney, and indicating that I would try to arrange a visit with him. 7. I have requested the United States Department of Defense to allow me to visit

with Mr. Al Zaher between October 21-23, 2008. I have not yet received a response to that request. 8. On August 5, 2008, Mr. Al Zaher wrote back to me in Azeri, the national

language of Azerbaijan. I received that letter, unclassified in its entirety, on September 11, 2008. In that letter, Mr. Al Zaher indicated that he is "very glad to have an attorney." 9. Mr. Al Zaher has not signed an authorization because I have not yet visited with

him, nor asked him to do so. I have not asked him to sign such an authorization because I did not believe that any rule or order of this Court required me to do so. 10. Upon entry of my appearance as counsel for Mr. Al Zaher, and with agreement

from Andrew Warden, in an email dated July 10, 2008, (Attached as Exhibit C), I filed a memorandum of understanding under the protective order issued on November 8, 2004 in In re Guantanamo Detainee Cases, 344 F.Supp.2d 174 (D.D.C. 2004) and certain subsequent related orders in this case (the "Protective Order"). (Case No. 05-CV-2386, Document 66.) The Protective Order did not require petitioners to sign an authorization stating that a petitioner had authorized counsel to pursue the action. Rather, the Protective Order provided that "Counsel shall provide evidence of his or her authority to represent the detainee. . . ." (Prot. Order, Revised Procedures for Counsel Access to Detainees at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, § III.C.2.) It has been my understanding during my representation of Mr. Al Zaher that

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evidence of my authority to represent a detainee may take the form of a sworn statement. See Adem v. Bush, Case No. 05-CV-723 (RWR) (AK), Document 42, at 14-15 ("Here, a sworn statement provides evidence that [petitioner] was actively seeking a lawyer to represent him."). To my knowledge, the Government has abided by this order since that time in cases involving other men imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay. 11. The Government has not denied me access to Mr. Al Zaher on the purported basis

that I lack the authority to represent him. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.

______/s/ Richard J. Wilson___________ Richard J. Wilson

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned states that on September 29, 2008, I electronically filed the foregoing NOTICE OF AUTHORIZATION BY ABD AL ZAHER with the Clerk of the Court using the ECF system, which will send notification of such filings to all counsel of record.

/s/ Richard J. Wilson Prof. Richard J. Wilson American University Washington College of Law 4801 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20016-8184 [phone] [e-mail]