View source for Adel al Zamel

{{Infobox War on Terror detainee 
 | name           = Adel al Zamel
 | image          =
 | image_size     = 
 | caption        = 
 | birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|1963|8|23}}
 | birth_place    = [[Kuwait City]], [[Kuwait]]
 | death_date     = 
 | death_place    = 
 | detained_at    = [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo]]
 | id_number      = 568
 | group          = 
 | alias          = Adil Zamil Abdull Mohssin al Zamil<br>Adel al Zamel
 | charge         =
 | penalty        = 
 | status         = Repatriated to Kuwait, charged, tried, acquitted
 | occupation     = 
 | spouse         = 
 | parents        = 
 | children       = 
}}

'''Adel al Zamel''' (عادل عبد المحسن الزميل) is a citizen of [[Kuwait]] who was held in [[extrajudicial detention]] in the United States [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]s, in [[Cuba]].<ref name=DoDList2>
{{Cite web
| url = http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf
| title=List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006
| author = OARDEC
| author-link = OARDEC
| publisher = [[United States Department of Defense]]
| date = May 15, 2006
| accessdate = 2007-09-29
| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184034/http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf| archivedate= 30 September 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>

[[Joint Task Force Guantanamo]] [[counter-terrorism]] analysts report that Al Zamel was born on August 23, 1963, in [[Kuwait City]], Kuwait.

Al Zamel was captured in Pakistan in February 2002 and he was transferred to Kuwait on November 2, 2005.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/568-adel-zamel-abd-al-mahsen-al-zamel | work=The New York Times | title=Adel Zamel Abd al Mahsen al Zamel - The Guantánamo Docket| date=18 May 2021 }}</ref>

==Al Odah v. United States==
Adel al Zamel was among the eleven captives covered in the July 2008 "Petitioners' Status Report" filed by [[David J. Cynamon]] in ''[[Al Odah v. United States]]'' on behalf of the four remaining Kuwaiti prisoners in Guantanamo. Seven other prisoners were [[Wiktionary:amalgamate|amalgamate]]d to the case, which charged that none of the men had been cleared for release, even though the government had completed [[factual return]]s for them—and those factual returns had contained redacted sections.<ref name=Cv08-0442Doc88>{{cite web
| url=http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2008mc00442/131990/88/0.pdf
| title=Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation: Doc 88 -- petitioners' status report
| publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]
| author=[[David J. Cynamon]]
| date=2008-08-19
| access-date=2008-08-23
| archive-date=2008-12-01
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201020344/http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2008mc00442/131990/88/0.pdf
| url-status=bot: unknown
}}</ref>

The decision, striking down the [[Military Commissions Act of 2006|Military Commissions Act]], was handed down on  June 12, 2008.<ref name=NYT>Stout, David. ''[[The New York Times]]'', [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/washington/12cnd-gitmo.html Justices Rule Terror Suspects Can Appeal in Civilian Courts], June 13, 2008</ref><ref>[{{SCOTUS URL|oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/06-1195.pdf}} Transcript of Supreme Court oral arguments for Boumediene v. Bush (No. 06-1195) and Al Odah v. US (06-1196)]</ref>

==Repatriation and Acquittal==
Al Zamil was one of five Kuwaitis repatriated to Kuwaiti custody on November 4, 2005.<ref name=Bbc051104>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4403498.stm Kuwaitis released from Guantanamo], ''[[BBC]]'', November 4, 2005</ref>

The five stood trial in a Kuwaiti court, and were acquitted.<ref name=IOL>[http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=22&art_id=vn20060522043620128C944859 Kuwaiti court acquits ex-Guantanamo prisoners] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313073606/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=22&art_id=vn20060522043620128C944859 |date=2007-03-13 }}. ''[[Independent Online (South Africa)]]'', May 22, 2006</ref>

''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported that the two main charges were that the detainees had helped fund [[Al Wafa]], an Afghan charity with ties to [[Al Qaeda]], and that they had fought alongside the [[Taliban]].<ref name=Wapo060522>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/21/AR2006052101476.html 5 Ex-Guantanamo Detainees Freed in Kuwait]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', May 21, 2006</ref>

The detainees'
defense had argued that testimony secured in Guantanamo could not be used in Kuwaiti courts, because the detainees and interrogators hadn't signed them.<ref name="Wapo060522"/>  

Al Zamil's trial began in March 2006, and he was acquitted on July 22, 2006.<ref name=KuwaitTimes060723>[http://www.kuwaittimes.net/Navariednews.asp?dismode=article&artid=326646425 Kuwait's Gitmo men acquitted - again] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310221426/http://www.kuwaittimes.net/Navariednews.asp?dismode=article&artid=326646425 |date=2007-03-10 }}, ''[[Kuwait Times]]'', July 23, 2006</ref>

==McClatchy interview==
On June 15, 2008, the [[McClatchy News Service]] published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives.  McClatchy reporters interviewed Adel al Zamel.<ref name=McClatchyCaptiveDatabasePg6>
{{Cite news
 |url = http://services.mcclatchyinteractive.com/detainees?page=6 
 |title = Guantanamo Inmate Database: Page 6 
 |publisher = [[McClatchy News Service]] 
 |author = Tom Lasseter 
 |author-link = Tom Lasseter 
 |date = June 15, 2008 
 |accessdate = 2008-06-16 
 |url-status = dead
 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110714055929/http://services.mcclatchyinteractive.com/detainees?page=6
 |archivedate = 2011-07-14
}}  
</ref><ref name=MyrtleBeach20080618>
{{Cite news
 |url = http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/611/story/491372.html 
 |title = U.S. hasn't apologized to or compensated ex-detainees 
 |publisher = [[Myrtle Beach Sun]] 
 |author = Tom Lasseter 
 |author-link = Tom Lasseter 
 |date = June 18, 2008 
 |accessdate = 2008-06-18 
 |url-status = dead
 |archiveurl = https://archive.today/20080619010921/http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/611/story/491372.html
 |archivedate = 2008-06-19
}}  
</ref><ref name=McClatchyPentagonDenied>
{{Cite news
 |url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38771.html 
 |title = Pentagon declined to answer questions about detainees 
 |publisher = [[McClatchy News Service]] 
 |author = Tom Lasseter 
 |author-link = Tom Lasseter 
 |date = June 15, 2008 
 |accessdate = 2008-06-20 
 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080615214204/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38771.html 
 |archivedate = 15 June 2008 
 |url-status = bot: unknown 
}}  
</ref><ref name=McClatchyDocumentsUndercut>
{{Cite news
 |url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38776.html 
 |title = Documents undercut Pentagon's denial of routine abuse 
 |publisher = [[McClatchy News Service]] 
 |author = Tom Lasseter 
 |author-link = Tom Lasseter 
 |date = June 16, 2008 
 |accessdate = 2008-06-20 
 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080619001329/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38776.html 
 |archivedate = 19 June 2008 
 |url-status = bot: unknown 
}}  
</ref><ref name=McClatchyDeckStacked>
{{Cite news
 |url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38887.html 
 |title = Deck stacked against detainees in legal proceedings 
 |publisher = [[McClatchy News Service]] 
 |author = Tom Lasseter 
 |author-link = Tom Lasseter 
 |date = June 19, 2008 
 |accessdate = 2008-06-20 
 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080620122327/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38887.html 
 |archivedate = 20 June 2008 
 |url-status = bot: unknown 
}}  
</ref><ref name=McClatchyAbuseRoutine>
{{Cite news
 |url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38775.html 
 |title = U.S. abuse of detainees was routine at Afghanistan bases 
 |publisher = [[McClatchy News Service]] 
 |author = Tom Lasseter 
 |author-link = Tom Lasseter 
 |date = June 16, 2008 
 |accessdate = 2008-06-20 
 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080620001639/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/38775.html 
 |archivedate = 20 June 2008 
 |url-status = bot: unknown 
}}  
</ref><ref name=McClatchyAdelAlZamel>{{Cite news
 |url         = http://detainees.mcclatchydc.com/detainees/60
 |title       = Guantanamo Inmate Database: Adel al Zamel
 |publisher   = [[McClatchy News Service]]
 |author      = Tom Lasseter
 |author-link      = Tom Lasseter
 |date        = June 15, 2008
 |accessdate  = 2008-06-15
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080620105846/http://detainees.mcclatchydc.com/detainees/60
 |archivedate = 2008-06-20
 |url-status     = dead
}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110827014632/http://services.mcclatchyinteractive.com/detainees/60 mirror]</ref>

Adel al Zamel told McClatchy reporters he had worked for the [[Kuwait]] housing authority until 2000 when he moved to Afghanistan to work for the [[al Wafa]] charity, and that he had never been anything more than a charity worker, distributing food and overseeing small infrastructure projects.<ref name=McClatchyAdelAlZamel/>

Adel al Zamel told McClatchy reporters that he still hadn't recovered from his initial meetings two and a half months earlier, when he was transferred to Guantanamo.<ref name=McClatchyAdelAlZamel/>  He described being shown a diagram, with three names on it, linked by arrows: [[Usama bin Laden|UBL]], [[Abu Ghaith]], "you", linked by arrows.  When he denied being linked to Osama bin Laden he was locked, for a month, in a small metal box, with no toilet facilities:
:{| class="wikitable" border="1"
| 
*"The cell was hot. I couldn't sleep at night. The pillow was soaked with my sweat. There was a small opening in the cell wall; I used to push my nose to it. I used the bathroom on the floor; there was nothing else to do."<ref name=McClatchyAdelAlZamel/>
*"I thought they were going to kill me, and then I thought they were going to leave me in there until I died. I was losing my mind. I started to think that one day they were going to open the door and let a lion in to eat me. The world was getting smaller and smaller."<ref name=McClatchyAdelAlZamel/>
|}

Adel al Zamel told reporters that during 2005, his last year in Guantanamo, interrogators repeatedly threatened that he would be transferred to a torture state for more brutal interrogation.<ref name=McClatchyAdelAlZamel/> Adel al Zamel said that, finally, the interrogators treatment cracked his will, and he told them:<ref name=McClatchyAdelAlZamel/>

<blockquote>I told them, 'I am [[Osama bin Laden]]. Please kill me. I just wanted it to end.</blockquote>

The McClatchy report stated Adel Al Zamel and some associates had been sentenced to a year in prison for an attack on a young woman they thought was being too publicly affectionate with her boyfriend.<ref name=McClatchyAdelAlZamel/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[[Abdul-Aziz al-Shimmiri]]
*[[Abdallah Saleh Ali Al Ajmi]]
*[[Saad Madhi al-Azmi]]
*[[Mohammed Fnaitil al-Dehani]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/guantanamo/ McClatchy News Service - video]

{{WoTPrisoners|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zamel, Adel}}
[[Category:Guantanamo detainees known to have been released]]
[[Category:Kuwaiti extrajudicial prisoners of the United States]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Kuwaiti expatriates in Pakistan]]