Djamel Saiid Ali Ameziane was born on 14 February 1967 and is an Algerian citizen, and former resident of Canada and France, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.
14 Facts About Djamel Ameziane
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Djamel Saiid Ali Ameziane was held at Guantanamo for more than 11 years.
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Djamel Ameziane moved to Canada, entering on a false Dutch passport, where he lived in Montreal and applied for political asylum.
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Djamel Ameziane was captured by a local tribe and handed over for bounty to Pakistani authorities, who transferred him to United States forces.
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Djamel Ameziane was transferred to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2002, and has been held there since without charge.
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The CCR arranged for an attorney for Ameziane, who filed a writ of habeas corpus, Djamel Said Ali Ameziane v George Walker Bush, in July 2005 on his behalf in federal court to challenge his detention.
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In 2008, Michelle Shephard, writing in the Toronto Star speculated that Djamel Ameziane might be transferred to Canada.
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Wells Dixon, his defense lawyer, said Djamel Ameziane acknowledged attending a variety of mosques during the five years he lived in Montreal in the 1990s, but he could no longer remember their names.
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On February 10,2009, CBC News confirmed that Djamel Ameziane was among the five detainees at Guantanamo to have a refugee-sponsoring group working on his behalf.
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Janet Dench of the Canadian Council for Refugees speculated in April 2009 that Djamel Ameziane's repatriation had been stalled by the new reviews of the Guantanamo captives ordered by United States President Barack Obama.
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Barry Clarke, Bishop of the Anglican diocese of Montreal, which is helping to sponsor Djamel Ameziane, wrote about how he responded to Canadians critical of the Church's initiative on the detainee's behalf.
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Djamel Ameziane acknowledged that he couldn't guarantee that Ameziane was not tied to terrorism.
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Mr Djamel Ameziane was then sold to US military forces for a bounty.
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Djamel Ameziane has to date not suffered any injustice or persecution, and is self-supporting.