Khalid al-Odah

Khalid al-Odah is the father of Guantanamo Bay detainee, Fawzi al-Odah, and the founder of the Kuwaiti Family Committee, a group established in 2004 to heighten global awareness of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.[1] Over the past five years, Khalid has waged legal, media, and public relations campaigns to promote the need for due process for the prisoners at Guantanamo. In 2004, Khalid brought his son's case to the Supreme Court Rasul v. Bush/ al-Odah v. Bush.[2]

Khalid is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Kuwait Air Force and has five children.[3][4] He is committed to seeking justice for his son and other detainees. Khalid lives in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

Al Odah commented on a poll on American's attitudes towards the Guantanamo detainees.[5] The poll found that:[6]

  • Nearly 60 percent of the Americans surveyed, "...believe the prisoners being held in Guantanamo Bay should either be granted a hearing before an independent judge or be released to their home countries."
  • 52 percent of the Americans surveyed, "...believe the Military Commissions Act, a new law created in October that denies "enemy combatants" the right to challenge their imprisonment in front of an independent judge, is unfair."
  • Less than 20 percent of the Americans surveyed, "...believe that the detainees should be held indefinitely."

Al Odah said:[5]

"I am heartened that so many Americans agree that my son and others in Guantanamo Bay deserve a hearing before an independent judge,"

Al Otah's son received a habeas corpus hearing before a federal judge, who ruled on August 24, 2009 that he was detained legally.[7][8][9]

On October 28, 2011, CNN reporter Jenifer Fenton visited Khalid al-Odah's house, where she met and interviewed several former Guantanamo captives, including Fouad al Rabiah and Abd Al Aziz Sayer Uwain Al Shammeri.[10] Fenton reported that former captives routinely met at al Odah's house for moral support.

References
  1. Interview with Khalid Al-Odah, father of Fawzi Al-Odah who is detained in Guantanamo Bay Archived 2006-09-06 at the Wayback Machine, Amnesty International, January 6, 2005
  2. Rasul v. Bush & Al Odah v. United States Archived 2004-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, Duke University
  3. Put My Son on Trial -- Or Free Him, Washington Post - Op-Ed, September 1, 2006
  4. Prisoner's father hopes courts find, fix 'big mistake', USA Today, April 18, 2004
  5. Poll: Most U.S. Voters Say Guantanamo Bay Prisoners Deserve Legal Rights, Newswire, November 13, 2006
  6. Americans Disagree with Congress on Interrogation Archived 2008-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, Angus Reid, November 13, 2006
  7. Carol Rosenberg (2009-09-01). "Judge rules Kuwaiti at Guantánamo was foot soldier". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03.
  8. Colleen Kollar-Kotelly (2009-08-24). "Al Odah v. USA" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-02.
  9. Jaclyn Belczyk (2009-09-01). "Federal judge denies Al Odah Guantanamo habeas petition". The Jurist. Archived from the original on 2009-09-02.
  10. Jenifer Fenton (2011-10-28). "Former Guantanamo inmates tell of confessions under 'torture'". CNN. Archived from the original on 2012-01-15. Retrieved 2011-10-29. I met Al Shammeri at Khaled Al Odeh's house, where the former detainees meet on a regular basis for support.
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