Jelazee Refugee Camp

The Jelazee Refugee Camp was a refugee camp in Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border.[1]

American intelligence analysts alleged, during the Administrative Review Board hearing of Guantanamo detainee Adel Hassan Hamad, that the camp was directed by Zahid Al-Sheikh, an older brother of senior al Qaeda planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.[1] American analysts allege that Zahid Al-Sheikh was also an extremist with ties to terrorism.

Hamad acknowledged that when he first started working for the Hira Islamic Institute Al-Sheikh was the director of Lajnat Al-Da'wa al Islamia, and his ultimate boss, but he was never the director of the Jelazee Refugee Camp.[1] He said that while his relationship with him was a distant business relationship he never saw any clue that Al-Sheikh was an extremist, or tied to terrorism.

Médecins Sans Frontières reported that the camp was closed in early 2002.[2] Médecins Sans Frontières called the camp "infamous", and recounted that it had been known as "a living cemetery".

In a report in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, published in late December 2001, an Afghan refugee named Haji Dost Mohammad, who was then in charge of the camp's security, reported that Osama bin Laden had made a food delivery to the camp in the late 1980s.[3]

“He may have lived in Peshawar, but I never had close contacts with him. Once he came to the camp, 14 years ago, to deliver dates. He came only once. I haven’t seen him since, and at the time I didn’t know who he was.”

References

  1. 1 2 3 Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Adel Hassan Hamad's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 248
  2. "Infamous Refugee Camp at Jalozai Shuts Down: Refugees Moved to More Remote, Less Secure Areas". Médecins Sans Frontières. February 20, 2002. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
  3. "PESHAWAR: On Osama's trail in Peshawar". Dawn (newspaper). December 31, 2001. Retrieved 2008-05-04. “At that time all these Arabs came to the mosque,” he said. “I don’t remember if Osama was here or not.” One who remembers him well is Haji Dost Mohammad, an Afghan living here for 22 years, who runs security at the Jalozai refugee camp.

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