R 100959Z JUL 07
FM USMISSION GENEVA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4692
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK

UNCLAS GENEVA 001755 
 
 
STATE FOR IO-RHS, DRL-MLA, L-HRR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM UNHRC
SUBJECT: Death in Custody of Ahmed Ali Abdullah - #19 in Geneva 2007 
Communications Log 
 
¶1.  Mission has received a communication from the Special Rapporteur 
on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, 
regarding the death in custody of Ahmed Ali Abdullah.  This 
communication has been sent via e-mail to IO-RHS and is #19 on the 
Geneva 2007 Communications Log. 
 
¶2.  Begin text of letter: 
Excellency, 
 
I have the honour to address you in my capacity as Special 
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions 
pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/37, to 
General Assembly resolution 60/251 and to Human Rights Council 
decision 2006/102. 
 
In this connection, I would like to bring the attention of your 
Excellency's Government information I have received regarding the 
death in custody of Mr. Ahmed Ali Abdullah, named Salah Addin Ali 
Ahmed Al-Salami in other reports, at the Guantanamo Bay detention 
facility on 10 June 2006. 
 
According to the information I have received, 
 
Mr. Abdullah was a citizen of Yemen detained at the Guantanamo Bay 
detention camp since 2002. He died there on 10 June 2006, on the 
same day as two other detainees of Saudi citizenship, Messrs. Yassir 
Talal Az-Zahrani and Mani' Shaman Al-Utaybi. Your Excellency's 
Government explained that the three men had committed suicide by 
hanging themselves in their cells. A medical team directed by Dr. 
Craig T. Mallak, Armed Forces Medical Examiner, carried out an 
autopsy. A few days after the incident, the bodies of the three men 
were transported back to their respective home countries. 
 
Refusing to accept your Government's statement that Mr. Abdullah had 
committed suicide, his family asked a Geneva-based non governmental 
organisation, Alkarama for Human Rights, to assist with organising 
an autopsy. Alkarama gave a mandate to this effect to a medical team 
headed by Prof. Patrice Mangin, director of the Institut de Medecine 
legale of Lausanne University in Switzerland. This autopsy was 
carried out at the military hospital of Sanaa and was followed by 
further laboratory analysis at the Institut in Lausanne on samples 
taken from Mr. Abdullah's body. 
 
By letter to Dr. Mallak, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, dated 29 
June 2006 and sent to the US Embassy in Bern with a request to 
forward it to the addressee, Alkarama expresses the wish "to put you 
[Dr. Mallak] in touch with the Lausanne medical team which needs 
some documents, materials and explanations from your side in order 
for them to formalize their report of autopsy". The letter then sets 
forth some specific requests, in particular a copy of the autopsy 
report of the US Armed Forces Medical Examiner and a copy of the 
report of the investigation carried out by the authorities of the 
detention facility into the death, including information on the 
circumstances of the discovery of the deceased, on the ligatures he 
used to hang himself, on reanimation attempts, on the reasons all 
the finger and toe nails were cut, on his psychological state in the 
days preceding his death, as well as on previous suicide attempts by 
Mr. Abdullah. Neither your Excellency's Government nor Dr. Mallak 
ever replied to this request. 
 
On 20 July 2006, Prof. Mangin transmitted his team's autopsy report 
to Alkarama. The conclusions of the report, insofar as relevant to 
the present letter, are: 
 
1)  That Mr. Abdullah's death was most probably caused by 
asphyxiation through violence against the neck due to hanging, 
although other dynamics could not be formally excluded; 
 
2)  That it should be possible to explain the traces of 
puncture/injection with bleeding into the skin and the dental trauma 
found on the body as consequences of attempts to reanimate Mr. 
Abdullah. If that was not the case, they would constitute elements 
of suspicion with regard to the cause of death; 
 
3)  That at the current state of the medical team's investigation 
(and subject to (2) above), the findings are not incompatible with 
suicide by hanging. 
 
As your Excellency's Government will know, the family of Mr. 
Abdullah and others have raised doubts as to whether he really did 
commit suicide. In support of their doubts they argue that: 
 
1)  according to co-detainees, Mr. Abdullah (as well as Messrs. 
Yassir Talal Az-Zahrani and Mani' Shaman Al-Utaybi) was in good 
spirits in the days preceding his death; 
 
2)  as a person known to follow strictly the precepts of Islam, he 
would never have committed suicide; 
 
3)  the tight surveillance of the cells, with permanent 
video-surveillance and guards passing in front of each cell every 
two to five minutes, would make a suicide by hanging impossible in 
the absence of collusion by the guards; and 
 
4)  it is materially impossible for a detainee to hang himself in 
the cell, as there is (again according to reports of other former 
detainees) absolutely no place a detainee could fix the ligature 
used to hang himself. 
 
The suspicions harboured by Mr. Abdullah's family have been 
reinforced by the reported refusal of your Excellency's Government 
to share the results of its investigation into the death with a 
US-based law firm retained by them or with any of the other entities 
who have requested information (including Prof. Mangin and a 
renowned US-based non-governmental organisation). 
 
Notwithstanding these arguments, I do not at present have reason to 
doubt your Government's assertion that Mr. Abdullah's death was due 
to suicide. I would like, however, to draw your Government's 
attention to a fundamental principle applicable under international 
law to this case: When the State detains an individual, it is held 
to a heightened level of diligence in protecting that individual's 
rights. As a consequence, when an individual dies in State custody, 
there is a presumption of State responsibility. In this respect, I 
would like to recall the conclusion of the Human Rights Committee in 
a custodial death case (Dermit Barbato v. Uruguay, communication no. 
84/1981 (21/10/1982), paragraphe 9.2): 
 
"While the Committee cannot arrive at a definite conclusion as to 
whether Hugo Dermit committed suicide, was driven to suicide or was 
killed by others while in custody; yet, the inescapable conclusion 
is that in all the circumstances the Uruguayan authorities either by 
act or by omission were responsible for not taking adequate measures 
to protect his life, as required by article 6 (1) of the Covenant." 
 
In order to overcome the presumption of State responsibility for a 
death in custody, there must be a "thorough, prompt and impartial 
investigation of all suspected cases of extra-legal, arbitrary and 
summary executions, including cases where complaints by relatives or 
other reliable reports suggest unnatural death in the above 
circumstances" (Principle 9 of the Principles on the Effective 
Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary 
Executions). This principle was reiterated by the 61st Commission on 
Human Rights in Resolution 2005/34 on "Extrajudicial, summary or 
arbitrary executions" (OP 4), stating that all States have "the 
obligation ... to conduct exhaustive and impartial investigations 
into all suspected cases of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary 
executions". I would like to add that even the most "thorough, 
prompt and impartial investigation" of a custodial death will not 
satisfy your Excellency's Government's obligations under 
international law if its results are not shared with the family of 
the victim and subjected to public scrutiny. 
 
I therefore urge your Excellency's Government to respond positively 
and exhaustively to the requests for information and copies of 
reports or other documents regarding your Government's investigation 
into the death of Mr. Abdullah, particularly so when these requests 
are made by persons acting with due authorization on behalf of his 
family. 
 
It is my responsibility under the mandate provided to me by the 
Commission on Human Rights, extended by the Human Rights Council and 
reinforced by the appropriate resolutions of the General Assembly to 
seek to clarify all cases brought to my attention. Since I am 
expected to report on this case to the Human Rights Council, I would 
be grateful if you could also share with me copies of all the 
clarification and documents you will provide to Mr. Abdullah's 
family through their US lawyers (Dickstein Shapiro LLP), Prof. 
Mangin or Alkarama. 
 
I would appreciate a response within sixty days. I undertake to 
ensure that the response of your Excellency's Government to each of 
these questions is accurately reflected in the reports I will submit 
to the Human Rights Council for its consideration. 
 
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest 
consideration. 
 
Philip Alston Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or 
arbitrary executions 
End of text. 
 
Chammas 
 
 
NNNN