Abu Zubaydah, also known as Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Husayn, has become a symbol of the U.S. national security apparatus gone wrong. After being tortured and detained without charges for 22 years, negotiations are now underway for his possible release from Guantánamo Bay. During a recent appearance before a military review board, his attorney, Solomon Shinerock, revealed that a “redacted” country could admit Abu Zubaydah and monitor his activities indefinitely. While the country was not named during the unclassified portion of the hearing, the detainee is willing to agree to any form of surveillance by the host country.
Abu Zubaydah’s case is particularly complex due to his stateless Palestinian background. He comes from a Palestinian Bedouin family whose village near Jericho was seized by Israeli settlers in 1948. His grandparents eventually settled in Gaza, where Abu Zubaydah’s father was born. Born in Saudi Arabia in 1971, Abu Zubaydah was the only one of the five Palestinians detained at Guantánamo designated as being from Gaza. The other Palestinian detainees have been released to Hungary, Germany, and Spain.
The U.S. government’s assessment of Abu Zubaydah has significantly changed over time. Initially portrayed as an important Al Qaeda operative with advance knowledge of 9/11 and other attacks, the claim that he was “No. 3” in Al Qaeda has been abandoned. The current assessment states that he “probably” served as one of Osama bin Laden’s “most trusted” facilitators. Unlike Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three other alleged 9/11 plotters, Abu Zubaydah has never been charged with any crime. The U.S. assessment notes that he never swore allegiance to bin Laden because his focus was on attacking Israel for its treatment of Palestinians.
Abu Zubaydah’s attorney, Solomon Shinerock, emphasized that his client is not a threat to U.S. security. He stated that Abu Zubaydah now believes that violence is not the answer to the problems of the oppressed. Shinerock also highlighted that Abu Zubaydah has the funds to support himself upon release. In 2022, he was awarded over $200,000 by the European Court of Human Rights as compensation for CIA torture at black sites in Lithuania and Poland. Additionally, a United Nations human rights panel urged the United States in 2023 to immediately release Abu Zubaydah.
The Department of Defense’s Periodic Review Secretariat, which consists of officials from various government agencies, regularly reviews whether the continued detention of individuals at Guantánamo is necessary to protect against a significant threat to U.S. security. Since 2016, Abu Zubaydah’s file has been reviewed or a hearing has been held with him present nine times. After each review, it has been determined that his continued detention is warranted and necessary for the security of the United States.
However, the question remains: if Abu Zubaydah ever posed a threat to U.S. security, has that threat finally subsided? As negotiations continue for his possible release and resettlement in an unknown country, it is crucial to consider the evolving assessments of his role within Al Qaeda and his current beliefs regarding violence. The case of Abu Zubaydah serves as a reminder of the complexities and challenges surrounding the detention and release of individuals at Guantánamo Bay.
