View source for Ammar al-Baluchi

{{Short description|Prisoner at Guantanamo Bay detention camp}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox War on Terror detainee
| name                = Ammar al-Baluchi<br>{{Nobold|{{lang|ur|{{Script/Arabic|عمار البلوچی}}}}}}
| image               = Ammar al-Baluchi circa 2004 (cropped 2).png
| image_size          = 
| caption             = Al-Baluchi in a CIA black site, [[Romania]], 2004
| birth_name          = Ali Abdul Aziz Ali
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1977|08|29|df=y}}<ref name=statusreview06>{{cite web|url=https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/82615-isn-10018-abd-al-aziz-ali-jtf-gtmo-detainee/29173755eec3f38b/full.pdf|title=JTF-GTMO Detainee Assessment for Ammar al-Baluchi|date=8 December 2006|access-date=16 March 2022|via=The New York Times}}</ref>
| birth_place         = [[Al Ahmadi, Kuwait|Al Ahmadi]], Kuwait
| date_of_release     = 
| place_of_release    = 
| death_date          = <!-- {{Death-date and age| death date | birth date }} -->
| death_place         = 
| citizenship         = Pakistani
| detained_at         = [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantánamo Bay]], Cuba
| id_number           = 10018
| group               = 
| alias               = 
| charge              = 
| penalty             = 
| status              = 
| csrt_summary        = 
| csrt_transcript     = 
| occupation          = [[Computer technician]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Aafia Siddiqui]]|February 2003|May 2003|reason=divorced}}
| relatives           = {{unbulletedlist
| [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] (uncle) 
| [[Zahid Al-Sheikh|Zahid al-Sheikh]] (uncle)
| [[Ramzi Yousef|Ramzi Ahmed Yousef]] (cousin)}}
| children            = 
|arrest_place=[[Karachi]], Pakistan|arrest_date=29 April 2003}}

'''Ammar al-Baluchi''' (born '''Ali Abdul Aziz Ali''', 29 August 1977; {{langx|ur|{{Script/Arabic|عمار البلوچی}}}}), or '''Amar Baloch''', is a Kuwaiti-born Pakistani citizen who has been in American custody at the [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]] since 2006.<ref name=":3" /> He was arrested in the Pakistani former capital city of [[Karachi]] in 2003 before being transferred;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rulit.net/books/the-black-banners-read-249656-135.htm |title = Loading...}}</ref><ref name="time">Shannon, Elaine. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20030504070328/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,448922,00.html Al-Qaeda Moneyman Caught], 1 May 2003</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name="bbc6jun08">{{cite news |date=6 June 2008 |title=Guantanamo 9/11 suspects on trial |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7437164.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216052225/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7437164.stm |archive-date=16 February 2009 |access-date=8 December 2008 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> the series of criminal charges against him include: "facilitating the [[Hijackers in the September 11 attacks|9/11 attackers]], acting as a courier for [[Osama bin Laden]] and plotting to crash a plane packed with explosives into the [[Pakistan–United States relations|U.S. consulate in Karachi]]."<ref name="guardian-16-4-2011">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/26/guantanamo-files-aafia-siddiqui-alqaida|title=Guantánamo files paint Aafia Siddiqui as top al-Qaida operative|date=26 April 2011|agency=The Guardian|access-date=20 February 2017}}</ref> He is a nephew of the Pakistani terrorist [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], who served as a senior official of [[al-Qaeda]] between the late 1980s and early 2000s; and a cousin of the Pakistani terrorist [[Ramzi Yousef|Ramzi Ahmed Yousef]], who played a key role in the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]], the [[Philippine Airlines Flight 434|Philippine Airlines Flight 434 bombing]], and the high-profile [[Bojinka plot]].

American authorities have stated that al-Baluchi was a "key lieutenant" of his uncle [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] during al-Qaeda's preparation for the [[September 11 attacks|9/11 attacks]],<ref name="comm"/> and that he had told investigators that he had sought help in al-Qaeda's efforts to develop biological weapons to use against enemy forces and other targets.<ref name="DSWW2012:246" /> al-Baluchi's ex-wife [[Aafia Siddiqui]], a Pakistani cognitive neuroscientist, was arrested by Afghan police in [[Ghazni Province]] in 2008 and subsequently transferred to American custody at [[Federal Medical Center, Carswell|FMC Carswell]], where she remains incarcerated on terrorism charges.<ref name="DSWW2012:246">[[#DSWW2012|Scroggins, ''Wanted Women'', 2012]]: p.246</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 January 2010 |title=USA: Amnesty International to observe the trial of Dr Aafia Siddiqui |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/amr510042010en.pdf |access-date=1 February 2024 |website=[[Amnesty International]]}}</ref> Siddiqui's family has denied that she was ever married to al-Baluchi, but the marriage has been attested by Pakistani and American intelligence personnel, Mohammed, and Siddiqui herself.

[[FIle:ISN 10018's Guantanamo detainee assessment.pdf|thumb|upright|Baluchi's detainee assessment memorandum by the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]], 8 December 2006 ]]

After being arrested in Karachi, al-Baluchi was transferred to [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Afghanistan]] and detained at the [[Salt Pit]], a now-defunct [[CIA black sites|CIA black site]] near [[Bagram Airfield]]. It has been reported that he was tortured extensively, being used as a "training prop" to teach [[enhanced interrogation techniques]] to new agents; trainees took turns shoving his head into a wall in sessions that lasted for hours, inflicting considerable [[brain damage]]. He was also doused with icy water and kept in [[stress position]]s, though these techniques ultimately failed to contribute to the acquisition of any useful intelligence.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Greg |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |last3=Nakashima |first3=Ellen |title=CIA misled on interrogation program, Senate report says |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-misled-on-interrogation-program-senate-report-says/2014/03/31/eb75a82a-b8dd-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html |access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref> In 2018, the [[United Nations]] released a public announcement stating that al-Baluchi's ongoing captivity "breaches [[International human rights law|human rights law]]" and called on American authorities to immediately end his [[Arbitrary arrest and detention|arbitrary detention]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22730&LangID=E|title=OHCHR &#124; Guantanamo detention of Ammar al-Baluchi breaches human rights law, UN experts say|website=www.ohchr.org|access-date=2 August 2020}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Ammar al-Baluchi was born on 29 August 1977, in [[Al Ahmadi, Kuwait]]. His family was of ethnic [[Baloch people|Baloch]], originally from [[Balochistan, Pakistan]].<ref name=statusreview06/> And his name "al-Baluchi" also comes from his ethnic identity. He is the nephew on his mother's side of [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] (the organizer of the September 11 attacks) and the cousin of [[Ramzi Yousef]], the organizer of the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]].<ref name="time" /><ref name=":1" /> The extended family of al-Baluchi is ethnically [[Baloch people|Baluch]] and originally from Balochistan. The family patriarch and his brother were lay [[Deobandi]] preachers. They moved the family to Kuwait in the 1960s.<ref name="DSWW2012:60">[[#DSWW2012|Scroggins, ''Wanted Women'', 2012]]: p.60</ref>

Baluchi grew up in Kuwait but spent most of his teenage years in [[Iranian Balochistan|Iranian Baluchistan]].<ref name="DSWW2012:219">[[#DSWW2012|Scroggins, ''Wanted Women'', 2012]]: p.219</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pegc.us/archive/White_House/detaineebiographies1.pdf|title=Detainee Bios|date=September 2006|website=PROJECT TO ENFORCE THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS (also on FAS.org)|access-date=24 February 2017|archive-date=6 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006021529/http://www.pegc.us/archive/White_House/detaineebiographies1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> He is a citizen of [[Pakistan]].<ref name="transcript" /> Trained as a computer technician, he dressed in Western clothes and "introduced himself as a businessman",<ref name="DSWW2012:219"/> but had been "groomed ... since boyhood" by his cousins and uncles "to join their clandestine war," according to journalist [[Deborah Scroggins]].<ref name="DSWW2012:219" /> According to a U.S. government biography, his "chief mentor" was his cousin and [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]] orchestrator [[Ramzi Yousef]], "who taught him in the early 1990s in Iran about the importance of war against the West."<ref name=":0" />

He is fluent in English and worked at Mohammed's [[honey]]-processing company in [[Karachi]] for a while before being hired in 1998 as a computer technician for ''Modern Electronics Corporation'' in [[Dubai]].<ref name="transcript" /> According to some evidence given at the [[Combatant Status Review Tribunal]], he was "very open-minded and western-oriented",<ref name="transcript" /> while his ex-wife told investigators he was "a very strict Muslim" who opposed his wife's leaving the home.<ref name="DSWW2012:246" />

==Career==
=== Preparation for the 9/11 attacks ===
According to a U.S. government biography, al-Baluchi "volunteered his services" to his uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in 1997.<ref name=":0" />

According to U.S. officials, the majority of money that came to the [[Saudi people|Saudi]] hijackers for the [[September 11 attacks]] was transferred through al-Baluchi and [[Mustafa al-Hawsawi]].<ref name="comm" /><ref name="odni14">{{cite web|url=http://www.odni.gov/announcements/content/DetaineeBiographies.pdf|title=Detainee Biographies|publisher=[[Office of the Director of National Intelligence]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901110613/http://www.odni.gov/announcements/content/DetaineeBiographies.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 September 2009}}</ref>
The [[9/11 Commission]] reported that he "helped them with plane tickets, traveler's checks, and hotel reservations", and "taught them about everyday aspects of life in the West, such as purchasing clothes and ordering food".<ref name="comm" /> In his defence, al-Baluchi claims that he often helped people in Dubai with such things to supplement his income, and he had no way of knowing whether any of them were criminals.<ref name="transcript" />

On 10 October 1998, al-Baluchi used his passport to open a bank account with the Emirates Bank International, using the name "Ali" based on his [[Arabic name#Nasab|nasab]] ''Ibn Abdulaziz Ali'' and listing his employer's address with [[PO box]] 16958, [[Jebel Ali|Jebel Ali, Dubai]].<ref name="transcript" />

He was then introduced to [[Marwan al-Shehhi]] by his uncle, and Shehhi allegedly asked him to help transfer money from Shehhi's company in Dubai to his company in the United States, ostensibly to help avoid banking fees if he transferred the money himself.

In January 2000, an order using Shehhi's credit card had a [[Boeing 747]]-400 [[flight simulator]] program, a [[Boeing 767]] flight deck video, and some [[flight attendant]] literature and flight manuals shipped to al-Baluchi's work address. al-Baluchi then shipped them to his uncle to pass onto Shehhi.<ref name="comm">[http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/fullreport.pdf 9/11 Commission Report Findings] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423032225/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/fullreport.pdf |date=23 April 2016 }}</ref><ref>[[FBI]] Report: "Summary of Penttbom Investigation", 29 February 2004. pp. 78</ref>

On 18 April, al-Baluchi sent a [[wire transfer]] of $5,000 to Adel Rafeea, the administrator of the Islamic Center of San Diego, from the Wall Street Exchange Centre in Dubai, using his PO Box, passport and listing his phone number as 0506745651.<ref name="transcript"/> Rafeaa later claimed that [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] had asked him to accept the money on his behalf.<ref name="time"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html|title=Statement of Robert S. Mueller: Joint Investigation Into September 11|date=26 September 2002|website=fas.org|access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Tracing the calls made to al-Baluchi's phone number, authorities discovered that he had received 16 calls from 28 to 30 June from a pre-paid [[Voicestream]] mobile purchased in Manhattan on 4 June. The phone was deactivated on 11 July, and authorities allege it belonged to Atta, while al-Baluchi insisted that he only ever spoke with Shehhi, who had hired him.<ref name="transcript"/> Around this time, al-Baluchi complained to Mohammed that he couldn't do all this additional work himself, and his uncle told him that [[Mustafa al-Hawsawi]] would co-ordinate with him to act as an assistant.<ref name="comm"/>

On 29 June, a man named "Isam Mansur" wired $5,000 to the [[Western Union]] at 1440 Broadway in New York, where Shehhi picked it up. This is alleged to have been al-Baluchi, since two later direct payments into Shehhi's Sun Trust account from the Exchange Center, a $10,000 payment to Shehhi on 18 July from "Isam Mans''u''r" and a $9,500 5 August payment from "Isam Mans''ou''r", gave al-Baluchi's PO Box number.<ref name="time"/><ref name="transcript"/><ref name=":1" />

On 8 August, al-Baluchi opened a bank account at [[Dubai Islamic Bank]], using his name, passport and phone number.<ref name="transcript"/> A $20,000 payment from al-Baluchi's bank account to Shehhi's Sun Trust account on 29 August gave a phone number one digit different from the one given by Isam Mansour on 5 August.<ref name="transcript" />

A $70,000 payment was made to Shehhi's account by "Hani (Fawaz Trading)" on 17 September from the same exchange centre. Hani gave a telephone number one digit removed from the one al-Baluchi used on the transfer from his bank account on 29 August.<ref name="time"/><ref name="transcript"/><ref name=":1" />

In September, [[Hani Hanjour]] went to Dubai, where al-Baluchi gave him $3,000 to open a new bank account, and later deposited $5,000 in the account which Hanjour later accessed from [[Automated teller machine|ATM]]s in the United States.<ref name="comm"/> When [[Ahmed al-Ghamdi]] went to Dubai, al-Baluchi helped him purchase a cell phone. It is believed nine of the hijackers met with him in Dubai and received various levels of aid.<ref name="comm"/>

The ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'' stated that he "relied on the unremarkable nature of his transactions, which were essentially invisible amid the billions of dollars flowing daily across the globe."<ref name="comm"/>

On 27 August 2001, al-Baluchi applied for a visa to travel to the United States for a week after his employer announced the closing of their Dubai branch, and the government had sent notices informing the employees their work permits had been rescinded and they had to leave the country. He was declined since he appeared to be an economic immigrant, and instead moved back home to Pakistan a few days before the attacks.<ref name="comm"/><ref name="transcript"/>

=== Post-9/11 period ===
Moving back in with his parents in [[Karachi, Pakistan]], al-Baluchi saw his uncle several times when he came to visit. According to a short biography written by the United States government's [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA), after the Taliban was initially driven from power after the 9/11 attack, al-Baluchi assisted KSM in organizing the movement of al-Qaeda operatives and their families to safehouses in Pakistan.<ref name=":0" /> 
* According to US government information, KSM had Baluchi be the "communications intermediary" between al-Qaeda and "shoe bombers" [[Richard Reid]] and [[Saajid Badat]]. In early 2002 Baluchi helped his uncle "prepare operatives" for travel from Pakistan to the United States, "ostensibly to carry out attacks".
* Another plan was to hijack airliners and crash them into London's [[Heathrow airport]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528332/Mastermind-of-911-had-plot-to-hit-Heathrow.html|title=Mastermind of 9/11 had 'plot to hit Heathrow'|last=Gardham|first=Duncan|newspaper=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=21 February 2017|language=en}}</ref> but this plan was set aside in order to focus on a plan to bomb the US Consulate and other Western targets in [[Karachi]].<ref name="DSWW2012:252">[[#DSWW2012|Scroggins, ''Wanted Women'', 2012]]: p.252</ref>
* He also worked with his uncle to prepare Majid Khan and others for travel to the United States to conduct terrorist operations.<ref name=":0" />
* Baluchi reportedly sent [[Majid Khan (detainee)|Majid Khan]] to Thailand in late 2002 to deliver $50,000 to finance a plan by [[Jemaah Islamiyah|Jemaah Islamiya]] leader [[Riduan Isamuddin|Hambali]] (Riduan Isamuddin) to attack US and Israeli targets in Southeast Asia.<ref name=":0" />{{pb}}
{{np}}
He later told investigators he helped his uncle arrange travel visas for people, but didn't know whether any of them were militants or not.<ref name="transcript" /> In August 2002, the [[FBI]] questioned Abdul Samad Din Mohammed, the brother-in-law of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He reported that al-Baluchi was often in the company of his uncle, and would pick people up from the airport.<ref name="transcript" /> His uncle KSM was arrested in [[Rawalpindi]] on 1 March 2003. al-Baluchi spent the next two months with [[Walid bin 'Attash]]. According to US reports, following his uncle's arrest al-Baluchi took charge of some of the new attacks being planned.<ref name=":0" /> [[File:Afia-grad-01a.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Pakistani cognitive neuroscientist [[Aafia Siddiqui]], who was married to al-Baluchi from February 2003 to April/May 2003. She is currently incarcerated at [[Federal Medical Center, Carswell|FMC Carswell]] in the [[United States]].]]

==== Marriage to Aafia Siddiqui ====
al-Baluchi also married [[Aafia Siddiqui]]. She was accused of being an al-Qaeda member and in February 2010 was convicted of assaulting with a deadly weapon and attempting to kill U.S. soldiers and FBI agents who were seeking to interrogate her while she was in custody, claimed to be married to al-Baluchi.<ref name="TIME1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100122205608/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1954598,00.html Al-Qaeda Woman? Putting Aafia Siddiqui on Trial], ''[[TIME]]'', 18 January 2010</ref> The marriage was confirmed by Pakistani and US intelligence,<ref name="guardian1">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/24/aafia-siddiqui-al-qaida The mystery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 24 November 2009</ref> a defense psychologist,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/nyregion/09marry.html|title=Family Affair, Just Maybe, at Courthouse|first=Benjamin|last=Weiser|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 December 2009|access-date=2 August 2020}}</ref> and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's family,<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7544008.stm Mystery of Siddiqui disappearance], [[BBC]], 6 August 2008</ref> while Siddiqui's own family denies she was married to al-Baluchi.<ref name="guardian-16-4-2011" />

According to the FBI, after her arrest, Aafia Siddiqui told them that after she learned she was wanted by the US government she had gone into hiding around late March 2003 with the al-Baluchi clan. Divorced at the time, she stated she married al-Baluchi out of religious piety, since she "could not live in the same house with an unmarried male" (namely al-Baluchi).<ref name=DSWW2012:246/> Their marriage was held in Hub Chowki outside of Karachi in the inner courtyard of al-Baluchi's house, with female al-Baluchi family members present.<ref>''United States of America v. Aafia Siddiqui'', Document 256, 17 August 2010, p.8</ref> Siddiqui describes al-Baluchi as very kind to her, "a good man who is wrongly accused"; however, Siddiqui later repudiated all statements given by her to the FBI.<ref name="DSWW2012:245-6">[[#DSWW2012|Scroggins, ''Wanted Women'', 2012]]: p.245–6</ref>

The marriage lasted only a couple of months. According to one of KSM's uncles, Mohammed Hussein, al-Baluchi felt alienated by Aafia's "liberal way of life". Aafia told the FBI that al-Baluchi divorced her after he was arrested.<ref name="DSWW2012:253">[[#DSWW2012|Scroggins, ''Wanted Women'', 2012]]: p.253</ref>

==Arrest by U.S. authorities in Pakistan==

Siddiqui was arrested 29 April 2003 in Karachi along with al-Attash.<ref name=DSWW2012:251>[[#DSWW2012|Scroggins, ''Wanted Women'', 2012]]: p.251</ref><ref name=AsiaTimes20030521>
{{cite news
| title=Bomb jitters in Pakistan, too
| author=B Raman
| author-link=B Raman
| url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EE21Df01.html
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030618121400/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EE21Df01.html
| url-status=unfit
| archive-date=18 June 2003
| date=21 May 2003
| publisher=[[Asia Times]]
| access-date=9 July 2007
}}</ref><ref name="time"/><ref name=LAConfession>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-20-na-cole20-story.html 
|title=Detainee confesses in Cole bombing|access-date=15 March 2022 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |last=Meyer |first=Josh |date=20 March 2007}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine|date=1 May 2003|title=Al-Qaeda Moneyman Caught|magazine=Time|url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,448922,00.html|access-date=16 January 2021|last1=Shannon|first1=Elaine}}</ref> al-Baluchi had a copy of a letter to [[Osama bin Laden]] from Saudi scholars in his pocket, a computer disk containing a draft of a letter to bin Laden, two images of the September 11 attacks, and a perfume bottle containing low-concentration [[cyanide]] used to bleach and perfume clothes.<ref name="transcript" /> al-Baluchi was also accused of discussing the possibility of exporting explosives to the United States through [[textile]] companies, but claims to have no knowledge of what conversation is being referenced.<ref name="transcript" /> The arrests led to the arrests of Jawad al-Bashar and Farzand Shah.<ref>[[CNN]], [https://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/south/05/03/pakistan.terror/index.html Arrests amid Karachi terror plot], 3 May 2003</ref> On 7 November 2003, a detainee was interrogated and said that [[Mohamed Atta]] and [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]] spoke briefly in August 2000 about a "Losh" who had asked Atta if he could travel to the United States to help with any potential plots, having already asked Mohammed three months earlier. Authorities allege this is a reference to al-Baluchi.<ref name="comm" />

=== Custody at CIA black sites in Afghanistan ===
Baluchi was extensively tortured by the CIA after his arrest, while being held at a [[CIA black site]] north of [[Kabul|Kabul, Afghanistan]]. The extent of his torture was detailed in a 2008 report by the [[Central Intelligence Agency Office of Inspector General|CIA's inspector general]], declassified in March 2022. According to the inspector general, al-Baluchi was held there "extra-legally" as he was a Pakistani citizen who no longer presented a terrorist threat, and it was not clear to him whether al-Baluchi's torture was even intended to elicit information; the inspector general concluded that al-Baluchi's torture ultimately yielded no useful intelligence.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Borger |first=Julian |date=14 March 2022 |title=CIA black site detainee served as training prop to teach interrogators torture techniques |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/mar/14/cia-black-site-detainee-training-prop-torture-techniques |access-date=15 March 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

While in CIA custody, al-Baluchi served as a "training prop" to teach torture techniques to trainee CIA interrogators. One torture technique, known as "[[walling]]", was often practiced on al-Baluchi. In it, trainees would line up and take turns "shoving" a naked and tied-up al-Baluchi head-first into a [[plywood]] wall behind him, with sessions typically lasting for a few hours each. One of the instructors identified the goal being to "bounce" al-Baluchi's head off the wall. Analysis carried out by a [[Neuropsychology|neuropsychologist]] in 2018 found "abnormalities indicating moderate to severe [[brain damage]]" consistent with [[traumatic brain injury]] in al-Baluchi's brain. In addition, the inspector general said that interrogators in the black site also carried out torture that went beyond the CIA's guidelines, including dousing him with ice water and forcing him to kneel backwards with a stick behind his knees in a [[stress position]].<ref name=":2" /> In a senate report from 2014, officials noted: "al-Baluchi was tortured and forcibly dunked into a tub filled with ice water. CIA interrogators forcibly kept his head under water while he struggled to breathe and beat him repeatedly with a truncheon-like object hitting him and smashing his head against a wall."<ref name=":3" />

==== Discovery of other plots to attack civilian targets ====
According to US investigators, al-Baluchi told them that al-Qaeda had set up a biological weapons lab and he asked [[Aafia Siddiqui]] (who has a biology degree from [[MIT]]) advice on how long it would take to develop such weapons and whether the man in charge was capable of developing the weapons.<ref name="DSWW2012:246" /> Siddiqui replied that she "was willing to participate in a biological weapons (BW) project if al-Qaida tasked her to do so".<ref name="guardian-16-4-2011" />

Another plot involving al-Baluchi alleged by US investigators involved [[Heathrow airport]]. <blockquote>According to al-Baluchi's file, he told interrogators that he became aware of a plan to attack Heathrow airport in January 2003 and had intended to seek help from a more senior al-Qaida operative, [[Walid bin Attash]], to carry it out.

An "analyst note" in the files notes that the plot called for "crashing numerous airplanes into Heathrow, with a secondary explosion immediately outside of the airport as a diversion". It collapsed after KSM was arrested in March 2003.<ref name="guardian-16-4-2011" /></blockquote>

== Transfer to the U.S. Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba ==
[[File:Ammar al-Baluchi mug shot.jpg|thumb|Mug shot of Ammar al-Baluchi taken shortly after he was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in September 2006. The photo was obtained by reporters of ''[[McClatchy]]DC.'']]
In December 2005, [[Human Rights Watch]] listed al-Baluchi as a "[[ghost detainee]]" held in the [[CIA prison system]].<ref>[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/30/usdom12109.htm List of "Ghost Prisoners" Possibly in CIA Custody], ''[[Human Rights Watch]]'', 1 December 2005</ref> al-Baluchi was kept in CIA custody until 6 September 2006, when he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay Prison in Cuba.<ref name=":3" />
On 6 September 2006, al-Baluchi was transferred from a [[black site]] location to [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]. He was given the Internment Serial Number 10018 and is currently detained at a top-secret site at the Guantanamo base that allegedly houses approximately 15 "high-value" prisoners.<ref name=odni14/> Its location and the conditions inside are withheld from public knowledge and there are suspected grave human rights concerns regarding its conditions.<ref name=CNN20060906>{{cite web
 |title=Bush: CIA holds terror suspects in secret prisons
 |publisher=CNN
 |date=7 September 2006
|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/06/bush.speech/index.html 
 |access-date=10 August 2007 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516183504/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/06/bush.speech/index.html 
 |archive-date=16 May 2008 
}}</ref> Al-Baluchi's attorney James G. Connell III visited him there in August 2013 under an order issued by the military commission.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McKelvey|first1=Tara|title=A Visit to Guantanamo's Secretive Camp 7|work=BBC News|date=20 August 2013|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23771851|access-date=24 June 2014}}</ref>

{{As of|2023}}, al-Baluchi was stuck in a state of legal limbo, yet to face trial. No journalist has been able to talk to him since his detention, due to strict restrictions imposed by the US government. Declassified CIA documents revealed that the CIA had been using al-Baluchi as a human experiment for interrogators learning torture techniques. He was subjected to water dousing, cramped confinement, [[sleep deprivation]], put in stress positions and [[walling]]. Medical professionals examining al-Baluchi reported serious consequences like brain damage, [[traumatic brain injury]] and [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] as a result of torture.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bayoumi |first1=Moustafa |title=This 9/11 suspect and 'torture prop' has spent 20 years in Guantánamo. Is he nearing a deal with the US? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/16/ammar-al-baluchi-guantanamo-bay-torture |access-date=2023-05-28 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2023-05-17}}</ref>

=== Combatant Status Review Tribunal (2007) ===
{{wikisource|CSRT Summary of Evidence memo for Ammar Al Baluchi}}

[[US District Court]] Justice [[Joyce Hens Green]] ruled that the [[Combatant Status Review Tribunal]]s were unconstitutional. Nevertheless, the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] scheduled Tribunals for the 14 high-value captives who were transferred from covert [[CIA]] custody, on 6 September 2006, for early winter of 2007.

The Summary of Evidence memo for al-Baluchi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal was drafted on 8 February 2007.<ref name=CsrtMustafaAhmedAlHawsawiSummaryOfEvidence>[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/ISN10018.pdf#1 Summary of Evidence (.pdf)], prepared for Ammar al-Baluchi's ''[[Combatant Status Review Tribunal]]'' – 8 February 2007</ref>

Al-Baluchi cooperated with his tribunal. Although he was not able to call [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], [[Saifullah Paracha]] or [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]] to testify about his lack of connection to al-Qaeda, he was permitted to have his legal representative field statements they had made. He chose to put forward the statements by Mohammed and bin al-Shibh as evidence, but not the statement by Paracha.<ref name="transcript">[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/transcript_ISN10018.pdf#1 Summary of Evidence (.pdf)], prepared for Ammar al-Baluchi's ''[[Combatant Status Review Tribunal]]''</ref>

Baluchi requested statements be garnered from ''Modern Electronics Corporation'' personnel, including Samir Sharin, Mohammed Mayer, Asraf Mayer, Ammar al-Tesqui and Sayed Tesqui that would testify he had no connections to militant forces, and that his employee records would show that he left several days before the attacks because his [[work permit]] had expired when MEC closed its Dubai branch.<ref name="transcript" /> The tribunal judge ruled that although al-Baluchi's leaving Dubai a few days prior to the attacks was among the reasons for his capture, it was not relevant to seek records from his employer.<ref name="transcript" /> Since the tribunal did not locate the individuals, al-Baluchi submitted two statements he had written himself as what he believed his coworkers would say, and what he believed his Israeli roommates would say.<ref name="transcript" />

In his defence, al-Baluchi argued that he often acted as a "businessman" to supplement his income, and thus his signature, telephone number and similar details were easily obtained in Dubai. He admitted dealing with [[Marwan al-Shehhi]], but said that "when [he] approached me, he never declared himself as 'hijacker Marwan al Shehhi'. He approached me the same way he approached other individuals and companies in the U.S.: a man wanting to do business".<ref name="transcript" />

The [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] announced on August 9, 2007 that all fourteen of the "high-value detainees" who had been transferred to Guantanamo from the CIA's [[black site]]s, had been officially classified as "enemy combatants".<ref name=Time20070809>{{cite news
| url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1651680,00.html
| title=Pentagon: 14 Guantanamo Suspects Are Now Combatants
| date=August 9, 2007
| publisher=[[Time magazine]]
| author=Lolita C. Baldur
| author-link=Lolita C. Baldur
| access-date=25 May 2022
| archive-date=19 October 2012
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019144816/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1651680,00.html
| url-status=dead
}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20201104104008/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20070324/ai_n18757735 mirror]</ref> Although judges [[Peter Brownback]] and [[Keith J. Allred]] had ruled two months earlier that only "''illegal'' enemy combatants" could face military commissions, the Department of Defense waived the qualifier and said that all fourteen men could now face charges before [[Guantanamo military commission]]s.<ref name=DoDKhadrChargesDismissed20070604>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46281
| title=Charges Dismissed Against Canadian at Guantanamo
| author=Sergeant Sara Wood
| author-link=Sara Wood (military writer)
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
| date=June 4, 2007
| access-date=2007-06-07
}}</ref><ref name=DoDHamdanChargesDismissed20070604>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46288
| title=Judge Dismisses Charges Against Second Guantanamo Detainee
| author=Sergeant
| author-link=Sergeant
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
| date=June 4, 2007
| access-date=2007-06-07
}}</ref>

=== First military commission (2008) ===
In February 2008, al-Baluchi was committed to a joint trial, charged with conspiracy, attacking civilians and civilian objects, causing serious bodily injury, murder, destruction of property, hijacking, terrorism and [[providing material support for terrorism]].<ref>[[Human Rights Watch]], [https://www.hrw.org/photos/2008/guantanamo/Ali-Abdul-Aziz-Ali.html Ali Abdul Aziz Ali]</ref><ref>[[United States Department of Defense]], [http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11921 9/11 Co-Conspirators Charges Referred], 13 May 2008</ref>

al-Baluchi, [[Walid Bin Attash]], and [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] chose to serve as their own attorney.<ref name=MiamiHerald20081012>
{{cite news
 |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/campaign-2008/story/723593.html 
 |title=Al Qaeda defendants get laptops at Guantánamo, judge rules 
 |publisher=[[Miami Herald]] 
 |author=Carol Rosenberg 
 |author-link=Carol Rosenberg 
 |date=12 October 2008
 |access-date=12 October 2008
 |quote=Mohammed, his nephew Ammar al-Baluchi and Walid Bin Attash have sought through standby counsel filings at the Military Commission a long list of resources they say they need to mount their defence, including Internet links to read news accounts and do live research on databases. 
 |url-status=bot: unknown 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204115106/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/campaign-2008/story/723593.html 
 |archive-date=4 December 2008
}}
</ref>
They requested laptops, and internet access, in order to prepare their defences. In October 2008, [[Ralph Kohlmann]] ruled that the men be provided with the computers, but not the internet access.
al-Baluchi's request said he was a Microsoft Certified software engineer.

On 8 December 2008, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed told the judge that he and the other four indictees wished to plead guilty; however, the plea would be delayed until after [[competency evaluation (law)|mental competency hearings]] for Hawsawi and bin al-Shibh. Mohammed said, "We want everyone to plead together."<ref>{{cite news |title=Top 9/11 suspects to plead guilty |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7770856.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |date=8 December 2008 |access-date=8 December 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081210034210/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7770856.stm| archive-date=10 December 2008| url-status= live}}</ref>

=== Executive Order 13492 of Barack Obama (2009) ===
On 22 January 2009, [[United States President]] [[Barack Obama]] issued [[Executive Order 13492]], ordering a halt to the [[Guantanamo military commission]] as part of the overall closure of [[Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp]]. On 21 April 2009, [[United States Senate]] minority leader [[Mitch McConnell]] cited "Ali Abd al-Azeez Ali" as an example of the kind of captive [[United States President]] [[Barack Obama]] might free in the United States when he closes the camp in January 2010, because he didn't know what else to do with him.<ref name=MiamiHerald2009-04-21McConnelSpeech>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/04/21/v-fullstory/1010566/verbatim-republican-leader-mcconnells.html
| title=Republican Leader McConnell's April 21, 2009 floor speech
| date=21 April 2009
| author=Mitch McConnell
| author-link=Mitch McConnell
| publisher=[[United States Senate]]
| via=[[Miami Herald]]
| url-status=dead
| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104045612/http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/04/21/v-fullstory/1010566/verbatim-republican-leader-mcconnells.html
| archive-date=4 January 2013
}}</ref><ref name=MiamiHerald2009-04-21>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/guantanamo/v-fullstory/story/1010578.html
| title=GOP leader McConnell wants more scrutiny of prison closing costs
| date=21 April 2009
| author=Carol Rosenberg
| author-link=Carol Rosenberg
| publisher=[[Miami Herald]]
| url-status=dead
| archive-url=https://archive.today/20090422223409/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/guantanamo/v-fullstory/story/1010578.html
| archive-date=22 April 2009
}}</ref>

=== Second military commission (2011) ===
In October 2011, in an operation called the "baseline review," the prison seized all legal materials belonging to "high-value detainees," starting with [[Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri]]. The prison also announced that it would change its previous policy and begin reviewing legal mail for its content.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Finn|first1=Peter|title=Guantanamo authorities reading attorney-client mail, lawyers say|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/world/national-security/guantanamo-authorities-reading-attorney-client-mail-lawyers-say/2011/11/01/gIQAXoQkdM_story.html|agency=Washington Post |access-date=29 August 2014}}</ref> In response, the [[Chief Defense Counsel (United States)]] ordered the attorneys under his supervision to stop sending privileged communications to Guantanamo prisoners.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Carol|title=Guantanamo commander: Contractors read inmate lawyer's mail |agency=mcclatchy |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/01/17/136162_guantanamo-commander-contractors.html?rh=1|access-date=29 August 2014}}</ref> Under the [[Chief Defense Counsel (United States)]] policy, Al-Baluchi could not receive mail from his attorneys until November 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Guantanamo inmates allowed mail from lawyers|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/11/correspondence-eased-guantanamo-inmates-201311762054511113.html|work=Al Jazeera|date=7 November 2013|access-date=29 August 2014}}</ref>

On 4 April 2012, the Department of Defense referred [[Guantanamo military commission]] charges against al-Baluchi and four other men for participation in the conspiracy leading up to the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref>{{ cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/04/us/khalid-9-11-charges/ |title=Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 4 others charged in 9/11 attack |date=4 April 2012 |access-date=24 February 2017 |agency=CNN}}</ref> On 5 May 2012, Military Judge [[James Pohl]] arraigned al al-Baluchi, and appointed attorneys to represent him.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/us/9-11-defendants-face-arraignment-in-military-court.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |agency=New York Times |title=At a Hearing, 9/11 Detainees Show Defiance |date=5 May 2012 |last1=SAVAGE |first1=CHARLIE |work=The New York Times |access-date=24 February 2017 }}</ref>

=== Preliminary hearing on admissibility of clean team evidence (2019) ===
During a preliminary hearing, held on 17 September 2019, the prosecution released a transcript from a conversation al-Baluchi had with another captive, when they were in two nearby recreation yards.<ref name=NYTimes2019-09-17/> It had not been known, until the release of this transcript, that the recreation yards contained hidden listening devices. According to an article by [[Carol Rosenberg]], published in ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Camp Seven]] had at least two recreation yards. Captives got a whole recreation yard to themselves, during their outdoor recreation time. But they could hear other captives in nearby yards, and could communicate with them, by yelling.

Prosecutors claimed the transcript's discussion of a confession al-Baluchi was considering, drafted for him by fellow captive [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]], was evidence of al-Baluchi's guilt.<ref name=NYTimes2019-09-17/> His defense attorneys argued that his willingness to consider a confession was an aftereffect of his years of torture.

The purpose of the hearing was to help a new judge, [[W. Shane Cohen]], make a decision as to whether confessions given to the ''"[[clean team]]"'' were still compromised by al-Baluchi's torture.<ref name=NYTimes2019-09-17/>

On 11 April 2025, the military commission suppressed al-Baluchi's statements to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] on the basis that they were involuntary and obtained by torture.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Carol |title=Military Judge Throws Out Sept. 11 Case Confession as Obtained Through Torture |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/us/politics/sept-11-confession-torture.html |access-date=30 September 2025 |date=11 April 2025}}</ref> 

==In popular culture==

=== ''Zero Dark Thirty'' (2012) ===
A fictionalized account of al-Baluchi's interrogation at black sites is depicted in the 2012 film ''[[Zero Dark Thirty]]''. The character Ammar is portrayed by [[Reda Kateb]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/entertainment/2020053499_moviezerowirexml.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216183244/http://seattletimes.com/html/entertainment/2020053499_moviezerowirexml.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 February 2013 |title='Zero Dark Thirty' filmmakers pull off tricky balancing act |date=4 January 2013 |access-date=28 January 2013 |author=Steven Rea |work=[[Seattle Times]] }}</ref> Al-Baluchi has complained that the United States has provided more information to the filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal about al-Baluchi's treatment in CIA custody than it has to al-Baluchi's own attorneys.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Carol|title=Who has more info: Guantanamo lawyers or Hollywood?|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/30/3596920/who-has-more-info-guantanamo-lawyers.html|website=Miami Herald|access-date=24 June 2014}}</ref>

==== CIA acknowledgement ====
The CIA acknowledged that the character Ammar is based on al-Baluchi.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chen |first1=Adrian |title=Newly Declassified Memo Shows CIA Shaped Zero Dark Thirty's Narrative |url=http://gawker.com/declassified-memo-shows-how-cia-shaped-zero-dark-thirty-493174407 |website=Gawker |access-date=24 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140609180324/http://gawker.com/declassified-memo-shows-how-cia-shaped-zero-dark-thirty-493174407 |archive-date=9 June 2014 }}</ref> In the film, CIA interrogator Dan Fuller and other characters repeatedly describe Ammar as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's nephew. Fuller also references the arrest of Ammar and describes his role as the financial facilitator in the 9/11 attacks. "The first 25 minutes of the movie are largely taken up with torture: Ammar is strung up, beaten, water boarded and kept awake for 96 hours straight."<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Winter|first1=Jessica|title=Kathryn Bigelow: The Art of Darkness|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2134499-3,00.html|magazine=Time|date=4 February 2013|access-date=24 June 2014}}</ref>

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name=NYTimes2019-09-17>
{{cite news
| url         = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/17/us/politics/9-11-confession-tapes.html
| title       = Prosecutors Disclose Taped Confession in 9/11 Case
| work        = [[The New York Times]]
| author      = Carol Rosenberg
| author-link      = Carol Rosenberg
| date        = 17 September 2019
| page        = A15
| location    = [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]
| access-date  = 18 September 2019
| quote       = The contents of the secret recordings emerged in a pretrial hearing ordered by the judge, Col. W. Shane Cohen, who is deciding whether to let prosecutors admit a F.B.I. account of Mr. al-Baluchi's confessions at Guantánamo in January 2007, known as his "clean team statement."
}}
</ref>
}}

=== Books and journal articles ===
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQEHOTzZcXEC&q=wanted+women+scroggins|title=Wanted Women: Faith, Lies, and the War on Terror: The Lives of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Aafia Siddiqui|last=Scroggins|first=Deborah |author1-link=Deborah Scroggins|date=17 January 2012|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=9780062097958|language=en |ref=DSWW2012}}

==External links==
*[https://archive.today/20130127122116/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-baluchi21may21,1,6708051,full.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true "Al Qaeda Agent's 9/11 Role Comes Into Focus"], ''L.A. Times'', 21 May 2006.
*[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23108871 Pentagon charges 6 in 9-11 attacks]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080213220833/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23120362/ 'Clean team' interrogated 9-11 suspects]

{{9-11 hijackers}}
{{CIAPrisons}}
{{HighValue}}
{{GitmoCharges}}
{{WoTPrisoners}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baluchi, Ammar Al-}}
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Baloch people]]
[[Category:People from Kuwait City]]
[[Category:People from Karachi]]
[[Category:Kuwaiti al-Qaeda members]]
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[[Category:Detainees of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]
[[Category:Kuwaiti extrajudicial prisoners of the United States]]
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[[Category:Pakistani torture victims]]
[[Category:People associated with the September 11 attacks]]
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