Djamel Ameziane v. Barack Obama et al.

Court	United States Court of Appeals, United States
Case number	No. 09-5236
Decision title	Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 1:05-cv-00392-UNA)
Decision date	8 January 2010
Parties	Djamel Ameziane Barack Obama et al.
Categories	Terrorism
Links	Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Other countries involved	Algeria

Summary

Djamel Ameziane is an Algerian national who has been detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) since 2002. In 2005, he filed for a petition for a writ of habeas corpus (a legal action allowing the person to challenge the legality of his/her detention). In May 2009, the US Government filed a motion requesting the designation as ‘protected’ (meaning that it can be shared only with the counsel of the detainee and the Court) of the decision of the Guantanamo Review Task Force approving Ameziane for a transfer from Guantanamo Bay (Cuba).

On 30 June 2009, the District Court denied the request of the US Government since the Government failed to explain why the disclosure of “this one piece of information”, referring to the Task Force decision, would be harmful.

On 8 January 2010, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned this decision on the grounds that the District Court applied inappropriately the standard for determining whether the Task Force decision should be designated as ‘protected’. The Court of Appeals considered that the US Government has met the required standard and, therefore, the District Court should have granted its motion for designation. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals reversed the District Court’s decision.

Procedural history

Djamel Ameziane has been held at the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) since 2002. On 24 February 2005, Djamel Ameziane petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

On 30 June 2009, the District Court found in favour of Ameziane’s request for the disclosure of certain protected information.

Related developments

On 6 August 2008, Ameziane filed a complaint against the US before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), alleging torture, inadequate medical treatment and denial of other human rights.

On 20 August 2008, the IACHR issued an Urgent precautionary measure in which it urged the US to take all necessary measures to ensure that Ameziane would not be subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment.

On 20 March 2012, the IACHR issued an admissibility report, finding that the petition was admissible and it will proceed to the merits of the case. This decision marks the first time the IACHR has accepted jurisdiction in a case relating to a Guantanamo detainee.

In September 2012, the D.C. Circuit granted the US Government motion to unseal the 8 January 2010 Opinion and all other appellate records.

On 5 December 2013, Ameziane is forcibly repatriated to Algeria. In September 2015, Amezian filed a Merits brief with the IACHR, urging it to declare that the United States violated his human rights and to recommend relief.

Legally relevant facts

Djamel Ameziane, an Algerian national, has been detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) since 2002 (p. 2).

In the context of the proceedings in the US courts, Ameziane filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in 2005. On 8 May 2009, the Guantanamo Review Task Force (who is able to determine whether it is possible to transfer or release certain detainees pursuant to the President’s Executive Order of 22 January 2009) issued a decision approving Ameziane’s transfer. On 15 June 2009, the US Government filed a motion seeking the designation of this decision as ‘protected’ information, barring it from being disclosed to the public. On 30 June 2009, the District Court denied the US Government’s motion, ruling that the disclosure of the decision will not “interfere in anything” (pp. 2-4).

Core legal questions

Did the District Court err in its findings with respect to the denial of the US Government’s motion to designate the Task Force decision as ‘protected’?

Court's holding and analysis

The Court of Appeals, relying on the 2008 Parhat v. Gates decision, found that “the government first must demonstrate what kind of information requires protection and why, and then must show exactly what information in the case at hand it seeks to protect” (p. 11).

The Court continued that “[h]ere, the district court failed properly to apply Parhat’s two-part standard” (p. 12). Further, the Court of Appeals considered that “here the government provided a detailed rationale tailored specifically to the information in the narrow category” (p. 13) and “[t]he government also satisfied the second part of the Parhat standard because we face no difficulty “determin[ing] whether the information [the government] has designated properly falls within the catergor[y] is has described” (p. 14). Therefore, “the government met its burden for protection under Parhat” (p. 15).

Accordingly, “the government’s motion to designate Ameziane’s Task Force transfer decision as “protected” information under the Protective Order should have been granted. Thus, the order of the district court is reversed” (p. 19).

Further analysis

Center for Constitutional Rights, Ameziane v. Obama / Ameziane v. United States

Related cases

US District Court for the District of Columbia, Jamel Ameziane v. George W. Bush et al., Case 1:05-cv-00392-ESH, Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, 24 February 2005;
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Parhat v. Gates et al., Case No. 06-1397, On Petition for Review of an Order of a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, 20 June 2008.
US District Court for the District of Columbia, Djamel Ameziane v. Barack Obama et al., Case No. 05-392, Transcript, 30 June 2009, in US District Court for the District of Columbia, Djamel Ameziane v. Barack Obama et al., Appellants’ Appendix, 8 October 2009, p. 53;
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Djamel Ameziane v. United States, Petition and Request for Precautionary Measures, 6 August 2008;
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Djamel Ameziane v. United States, Report no. 17/12, Petition P-900-08, Admissibility, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.144, Doc. 21, 20 March 2012;
Organization of American States, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Letter of Santiago A. Canton, Ref: Djamel Ameziane, Precautionary Measures no. 211-08, United States, 20 August 2008.