- Source: Al Halmandy v. Bush
Al Halmandy v. Bush, No. 1:05-cv-02385, is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of 63 Guantanamo detainees, on December 13, 2005. It was one of over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
The writ was filed shortly before the passage of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, which contained provisions to close off captives' ability to initiate new habeas petitions.
Seizure of privileged lawyer-client documents
On June 10, 2006, the Department of Defense reported that three captives died in custody.
The Department of Defense stated the three men committed suicide.
Camp authorities called the deaths "an act of asymmetric warfare", and suspected plans had been coordinated by the captive's attorneys—so they seized all the captives' documents, including the captives' copies of their habeas documents.
Since the habeas documents were privileged lawyer-client communication the
Department of Justice was compelled to file documents about the document seizures.
When the Department of Defense reported to the Justice Department the names of the captives whose privileged documents they seized, they were unable to name half of the captives in this petition.
Military Commissions Act
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 mandated that Guantanamo captives were no longer entitled to access the U.S. civil justice system, so all outstanding habeas corpus petitions were stayed.
Boumediene v. Bush
On June 12, 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Boumediene v. Bush, that the Military Commissions Act could not remove the right for Guantanamo captives to access the U.S. Federal Court system, and all previous Guantanamo captives' habeas petitions were eligible to be re-instated.
On July 18, 2008 Shayana D. Kadidal of the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a status report on Al Halmandy v. Bush No. 05-CV-2385 (RMU) on behalf of seven Guantanamo captives Kadidal wrote that of the 63 captives initially listed in the petition, all but those seven had either been repatriated, or were named in other petitions.
On July 29, 2008 U.S. District Court Judge Thomas F. Hogan ordered that all the other petitioners would be dismissed from the petition, except for:
Known original petitioners dismissed from the petition
Muhammed Saad Iqbal Madni
On September 2, 2008,
Muhammed Saad Iqbal Madni's lawyers were informed he had been repatriated to Pakistani custody.
On September 5, 2008, the Department of Justice filed a motion to have his habeas petition dismissed as moot because he was no longer in U.S. custody.
On September 19, 2008
Richard L. Cys, James P. Walsh filed "Petitioner Muhammed Saad Iqbal Madni's response to court order to show cause why his petition should not be dismissed as moot".
Madni's lawyers argued his habeas petition should not be dismissed because he was entitled to continue to seek relief if his original detention was not legally justified. Further, his lawyer had not been advised of the conditions agreed upon by the U.S. Government and the Pakistani Government.