Ameziane v. Obama / Ameziane v. United States

Synopsis

Djamel Ameziane is an Algerian refugee who has been detained in Guantánamo Bay for more than six years.  He has a pending habeas corpus petition, Ameziane v. Obama, in the D.C. District Court.   He has a petition and request for precautionary measures, Ameziane v. United States, filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Like many other habeas petitions, Mr. Ameziane’s habeas case was stayed pending the outcome of the Boumediene and Al Odah cases in the Supreme Court, which was decided June 12, 2008.  The Supreme Court ruled that detainees at Guantánamo Bay have the constitutional right to have their habeas corpus petitions heard in a U.S. Federal Court.  Subsequently, the stay in Mr. Ameziane’s habeas case was lifted and the case is now moving forward.

Mr. Ameziane’s IACHR petition and request for precautionary measures is the first ever petition by a person detained by the United States at Guantánamo Bay, asking the IACHR to consider the torture, abuse, and other human rights violations perpetrated against him.

Status

Mr. Ameziane’s habeas corpus petition is currently pending in the D.C. District Court; Mr. Ameziane’s IACHR petition is currently pending.

Description

Ameziane v. Obama is a petition for habeas corpus filed on behalf of Djamel Ameziane.  Respondents in the case include President George Bush, the Secretary of Defense, and military commanders of the Joint Task Force – Guantanamo.   Ameziane v. United States, is a petition to consider the torture, abuse, and other human rights violations perpetrated against him at Guantánamo Bay, and requests that the IACHR issue precautionary measures requiring the United States to honor its non-refoulement obligations and cease all mistreatment of Mr.  Ameziane.

Mr. Ameziane is an ethnic Berber from Algeria, where he obtained a college diploma and held a respectable job.  In the early 1990s Mr. Ameziane left Algeria to escape escalating instability and oppression under the Algerian government then in power.  He lived and worked legally as a chef in a high-class restaurant in Vienna, Austria.  Following the 1995 election of a new, conservative, anti-immigrant government in Austria, Mr. Ameziane’s visa and work permit were not renewed and he was forced to leave the country.  He then traveled to Canada where he sought asylum.  However, after five years in Canada his application was denied and he was forced to uproot again.

With few options left, Mr. Ameziane went to live in Afghanistan.  He never participated in any military training or fighting.  Soon after the war started, he fled to escape the violence, but was abducted by local police while trying to cross the border into Pakistan and was sold to U.S. forces for a bounty.   On or around February 11, 2002, Mr. Ameziane was sent to Guantánamo, where he has suffered immensely from abuse and solitary confinement.  The U.S. government has never alleged that Mr. Ameziane has engaged in hostilities, terrorism, or any acts of violence.

Mr. Ameziane is now a refugee held in Guantánamo Bay.  He seeks asylum in a safe third country where he may begin to rebuild his life.  He is currently seeking resettlement in Canada, where he legally resided for five years prior to his detention.

Timeline

On February 24, 2005, pro-bono counsel filed Ameziane v. Bush, a petition for habeas corpus in the D.C. District Court.

On April 19, 2007, respondents entered a motion to dismiss the case of Ameziane v. Bush.

On May 3, 2007, the Center for Constitutional rights and pro bono co-counsel filed their opposition to respondents' motion to dismiss.

On July 5, 2007, U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle denied without prejudice respondents' motion to dismiss pending the Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene v. Bush, and Al Odah v. United States.

On January 3, 2008, the D.C. District Court stayed the case of Ameziane v. Bush.

On June 12, 2008, the Supreme Court decided Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. Bush, ruling that detainees at Guantánamo Bay have the constitutional right to habeas corpus.

On June 13, 2008, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a motion to lift the stay and schedule an immediate status conference.

On July 29, 2008, Judge Thomas F. Hogan ordered that the stay be lifted in Ameziane v. Bush, and all other habeas petitions for detainees at Guantánamo Bay.

On August 6, 2008, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Center for Justice and International Law filed Ameziane v. United States, a petition and request for precautionary measures with the IACHR.

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