A total of 134 Saudi citizens have been held in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps at its naval base in Cuba since January 2002. Most had been swept up in Afghanistan following the US invasion in the fall of 2001, and they were classified by the US government as enemy combatants.

In addition, a United States citizen, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was born in Louisiana but moved as a child with his parents to Saudi Arabia, where he also had citizenship, was initially held there. As an American citizen, he was transferred to a military prison brig on the mainland of the United States. His challenge to his detention, without being informed of charges or brought to trial, was a case that reached the United States Supreme Court. In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004), the Supreme Court ruled that detainees who are U.S. citizens must have the rights of due process, and the ability to challenge their enemy combatant status before an impartial authority. After this decision, the government made a deal with Hamdi. After he agreed to renounce his US citizenship and observe travel restrictions, in October 2004 Hamdi was deported to Saudi Arabia. He has returned to his family.

Following the deaths of two Saudi citizens in custody on June 10, 2006, and another on May 30, 2007, which the Department of Defense claimed were due to suicides, the Saudi government put pressure on the United States to release its citizens. Nearly 100 were returned to Saudi Arabia from June 2006 through 2007.

Two Saudi citizens are believed to still be held at the detention camp as of January 2024.

History

In January 2002, the United States completed the first phase of construction of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp at its naval base in Cuba. It was designed to hold enemy combatants captured in its war on terror - most taken during action in Afghanistan beginning in the fall of 2001. In total, the US has held 133 Saudi Arabian citizens at Guantanamo. The United States has held a total of 778 detainees in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps at its naval base in Cuba since the camps opened on January 11, 2002. The camp population peaked in 2004 at approximately 660.

Three Saudis: Yasser Talal Al Zahrani, Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi Al-Utaybi and Abdul Rahman al-Amri, died at Guantanamo in 2006 and 2007 during their detention. All were announced by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) as suicides.

The first two were among three men who died on June 10, 2006; the circumstances of their deaths have been strongly questioned by numerous sources, including the Saudi government and the men's families. Journalists and the Center for Policy and Research in its 2009 report have noted glaring inconsistencies in the NCIS report of 2008. Based on an account by four former guards at Guantanamo, Scott Horton suggested in 2010 that the men died as a result of torture and government agencies tried to cover this up."The Guantánamo 'Suicides': A Camp Delta sergeant blows the whistle", Scott Horton, Harper's Magazine, January 2010. Al-Amri died on May 30, 2007, an apparent suicide, according to the United States DOD.

As a result of these deaths, the Saudi government strongly pressured the United States to repatriate its citizens. It developed a reintegration program for former detainees and has worked with them on religious re-education, and reintegrating them into society by arranging for marriages and jobs. From June 2006 and December 2007, a total of 93 Saudi citizens were returned to the country.Andy Worthington, "Forgotten: The Second Anniversary Of A Guantánamo Suicide", May 30, 2009, Andy Worthington website, accessed February 8, 2013 As of today, two Saudi citizens are still held at the detention camp.

Saudi citizens held in Guantanamo releasedate isn name notes 2007-12-29 00005 Abdul Aziz Al Matrafi 2007-07-16 00013 Fahed Nasser Mohamed Reports being tortured in custody. Reports being sold for a bounty. Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. 2007-02-20 00025 Majeed Abdullah Al Joudi Defense Department's April 7, 2009, analysis of Guantanamo recidivists lists Joudi as a "confirmed" recidivist.|| 2015-09-21 00042 Abdul Rahman Shalabi On hunger strike for more than five years. Reportedly suffering health problems caused by the hunger strike. Shalabi has been force fed for many years by means of strapping him forcefully into a restraint chair and pumping liquid nutrients through his nose into his stomach. Shalabi said after enduring this procedure for over four years, it causes him extreme pain and he feels as if he is treated like an animal. Held 00049 Assem Matruq Mohammad Al Aasmi 2007-09-05 00051 Majid Al Barayan 2007-07-15 00053 Saud Dakhil Allah Muslih Al Mahayawi 2006-12-13 00055 Muhammed Yahia Mosin Al Zayla 2006-06-24 00058 Musa Abed Al Wahab 2007-11-09 00059 Sultan Ahmed Dirdeer Musa Al Uwaydha 2007-07-15 00062 Muhamad Naji Subhi Al Juhani Described as having "no ties to militancy whatsoever". 2022-03-06 00063 Mohammed al-Qahtani Allegedly tried to enter the United States to take part in the September 11 attacks as the 20th hijacker. Tortured in Guantanamo.Exclusive: "20th Hijacker" Claims That Torture Made Him Lie, Time, March 3, 2006 2006-05-18 00064 Abdel Hadi Mohammed Badan Al Sebaii Sebaii Allegedly built mosques in Bosnia.David Frum, Nov. 11, 2006: Gitmo Annotated , National Review Online, November 11, 2006 Claims he was sold, for a bounty. 2007-07-15 00066 Yahya Samil Al Suwaymil Al Sulami Described as having "no ties to militancy whatsoever". 2007-11-09 00068 Khalid Saud Abd Al Rahman Al Bawardi 2003-05-14 00071 Mish'al Muhammad Rashid Al-Shedocky Released prior to the institution of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals in July 2004. One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 In 2014, AQAP indicated in a three-part documentary about the group's former deputy leader Said Ali al-Shihri's life and death that al-Shedocky was dead by having the phrase "May Allah accept him" posted next to his name. The phrase is reserved for jihadists who have been killed in battle. The group did not provide any details on al-Shedocky's death. 2006-06-24 00073 Yusif Khalil Abdallah Nur 2007-12-28 00074 Mesh Arsad Al Rashid Repatriated on December 2, 2007, with nine other men. 2007-09-05 00079 Fahed Al Harazi 2003-05-14 00080 Fahd Abdallah Ibrahim Al-Shabani Released prior to the institution of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals in July 2004. Died in custody 00093 Yasser Talal Al Zahrani US government withheld body parts needed for independent post mortem., Gulf News, June 21, 2006Gitmo detainee buried after body cross-examined , Yemen Times, June 25, 2005 2006-05-18 00094 Ibrahim Daif Allah Neman Al Sehli Released May 19, 2006. 2006-05-18 00095 Abdul Rahman Ahmed Uthman 2006-06-24 00096 Muhammad Surur Dakhilallah Al Utaybi 2006-05-18 00105 Adnan Muhammed Ali Al Saigh One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 Turned himself in to Saudi authorities July 2012 author of "The Fight over the Mountains" for Inspire magazine, Summer 2010 issue. 2006-12-13 00109 Yusef Abdullah Saleh Al Rabiesh 2007-09-05 00112 Abdul Aziz Saad Al Khaldi 2007-11-09 00114 Yussef Mohammed Mubarak Al Shihri 14 years old when captured. Killed in a shootout with Saudi security forces along the Saudi border with Yemen in October 2009. When killed, Yousef al Shihri was dressed as a woman Shihri's female garments concealed a suicide explosives belt 2006-12-13 00121 Salman Saad Al Khadi Mohammed Released with thirteen other men on November 12, 2007. 2007-07-15 00122 Bijad Thif Allah Al Atabi Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. Present during the riot at Mazari Sharif. 2003-05-14 00125 Fawaz Abd Al Aziz Al Zahrani Repatriated on May 15, 2003, and then convicted of leaving Saudi Arabia without getting prior permission. 2007-09-05 00126 Salam Abdullah Said 2003-05-14 00127 Ibrahim Rushdan Brayk Al Shili Released prior to the institution of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals in July 2004. 2007-11-09 00130 Faha Sultan 2006-06-24 00132 Abdul Salam Gaithan Mureef Al Shehry 17 years old when captured. 2007-07-15 00154 Mazin Salih Musaid Al Awfi Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. 2005-07-19 00155 Khalid Sulaymanjaydh Al Hubayshi There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. 2006/05/19 00157 Saed Khatem Al Malki Repatriated May 19, 2006. 2007-02-20 00158 Majid Abdallah Husayn Muhammad Al Samluli Al Harbi 2007-09-28 00172 Ali Muhammed Nasir Mohammed 2007-02-20 00176 Majid Aydha Muhammad Al Qurayshi 2006-05-18 00177 Fahd Salih Sulayman Al Jutayli Was a minor when captured. Reportedly killed in a shootout between the Yemeni Army and Houthi rebels in 2009 2007-07-15 00179 Abdul Rahman Owaid Mohammad Al Juaid Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. Described as having "no ties to militancy whatsoever". 2005-11-04 00181 Maji Afas Radhi Al Shimri There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. 2007-07-15 00182 Bandar Ahmad Mubarak Al Jabri Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. 2006-06-24 00184 Othman Ahmed Othman Al Omairah Following his transfer, reportedly became an operational commander for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula 2007-11-09 00185 Turki Mash Awi Zayid Al Asiri Allegedly fled from the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan. One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 2007-02-20 00186 Rashed Awad Khalaf Balkhair There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. 2007-11-09 00187 Murtadha Al Said Makram One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 2006-12-13 00188 Jabir Jubran Al Fayfi One of 11 former Guantanamo detainees listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in February 2009 2006-06-24 00191 Saleh Ali Jaid Al Khathami 2006-12-13 00192 Ibrahimj Sulayman Muhammad Arbaysh Repatriated on December 14, 2006. Following Repatriation, reportedly became al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's chief theologian and ideologue, responsible for justifying terrorism on religious grounds 2016-01-11 00195 Mohammad Al Rahman Al Shumrani 2007-09-05 00196 Musa Ali Said Al Said Al Amari Died in custody 00199 Abdul Rahman Ma Ath Thafir Al Amri Held 00200 Said Muhammad Husayn Qahtani 2007-07-15 00204 Said Ibrahim Ramzi Al Zahrani 2006-12-13 00206 Abdullah Muahammed Abdel Aziz 2005-07-19 00207 Mishal Awad Sayaf Alhabiri Suffered serious brain damage in Guantanamo. Alleged serious beatings in Guantanamo. 2007-07-15 00214 Muhammad Abd Al Rahman Al Kurash 2007-11-09 00215 Fahd Umr Abd Al Majid Al Sharif 2007-12-28 00216 Jamil Ali Al Kabi There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. 2007-09-05 00218 Fahd Muhammed Abdullah Al Fouzan in extrajudicial detention in Guantanamo Bay detainment camp because he attended an "Abu Nasir military camp".[ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf)] of Fahd Muhammed Abdullah Al Fouzan Administrative Review Board - page 94 2006-12-13 00226 Anwar Al Nurr There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. 2007-07-15 00230 Humud Dakhil Humud Sa'id Al-Jad'an Claims he was sold for a bounty. Repatriated on July 16, 2007, with fifteen other men. Listed in the DoD's April 2009 recidivism analysis as a "suspected" recidivist. 2007-09-05 00231 Abdulhadi Abdallah Ibrahim al Sharakh There is no record this captive participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.