Ba Odah v. Obama Historic Case
Date Filed:
October 1, 2006
Current Status
On April 16, 2016, Ba Odah was released to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Case Description
Ba Odah v. Obama was a habeas corpus petition on behalf of Tariq Ba Odah, a Yemeni man who was detained at Guantánamo without charge from 2002-2016. The Obama administration cleared him for release in 2009, but, like other cleared Yemenis at the prison, he remained arbitrarily detained solely because of his citizenship. He spent one-third of his life in Guantánamo.
Not long after he arrived in Guantánamo, Ba Odah began his hunger strike to protest his indefinite detention without charge. He reports that through the years the crackdown from the Guantánamo prison administration was so brutal that he was unable to maintain his peaceful strike. Periodically he would be forced to give it up before resuming it again. In 2007, however, he resolved to begin what became one of the longest running hunger strikes at Guantánamo.
As a result of his peaceful hunger strike, Ba Odah was force-fed daily, a practice widely condemned as torture. Twice a day, guards strapped him to a restraint chair, forced a rubber tube down his nose, and pumped a liquid dietary supplement into his stomach. Guantánamo prison authorities also kept him in solitary confinement because they viewed his strike as “non-compliance.” He was only permitted to be outside of his cell for 2-4 hours per day. Unfortunately, he was often too weak to walk out of his cell and take advantage of this time. He had very little human contact. At one point Ba Odah weighed 160 pounds; his strike caused his weight to drop as low as 75 pounds. For Tariq, protesting by hunger striking was the only way to communicate to those of us who have our freedom what it means to be unjustly detained, to be put in a cell for over a decade without charge.
“A captive does not possess any realistic means to send his messages to the world other than to strike. . . Freedom should be much more precious for the human being than all the desires on earth. And we should never give it up regardless of how expensive the price may be.” — Tariq Ba Odah, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, April 2013
Ba Odah was released to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on April 16, 2016, and looks forward to rebuilding his life as a free man.
Court issues minute order dismissing his habeas case as moot
April 19, 2016
Court issues minute order dismissing his habeas case as moot
After nearly ten months without ruling on Ba Odah's motion for judgment, the court issues minute order dismissing his habeas case as moot in light of his transfer.
Tariq Ba Odah released to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
April 16, 2016
Tariq Ba Odah released to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
After nine years on hunger strike and more than five years being cleared for transfer, Mr. Ba Odah is released to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
CCR files a reply in support of Ba Odah's motion for release
September 11, 2015
CCR files a reply in support of Ba Odah's motion for release
Three medical experts file supplemental declarations in further support of Ba Odah's motion for release.
Government opposes Ba Odah’s motion for judgment
August 14, 2015
Government opposes Ba Odah’s motion for judgment
After requesting three extensions to file its response, the government opposes Ba Odah’s motion requesting that the court grants his habeas petition. The opposition and exhibits are filed under seal, and public version are filed on August 24, 2015.
CCR moves for a court order granting Ba Odah's habeas petition and compelling the government to facilitate his immediate release
June 25, 2015
CCR moves for a court order granting Ba Odah's habeas petition and compelling the government to facilitate his immediate release
Three medical experts submit declarations in support of the motion, asserting that Ba Odah is severely malnourished, and because of his unstable condition he is in urgent need of adequate medical care.
Court grants Ba Odah's motion to dismiss his habeas petition
March 3, 2014
Court grants Ba Odah's motion to dismiss his habeas petition
CCR's report to U.N. Human Rights Commission regarding U.S. compliance under Convention Against Torture raises Ba Obah's case
November 28, 2014
CCR's report to U.N. Human Rights Commission regarding U.S. compliance under Convention Against Torture raises Ba Obah's case
The report includes first-person testimony from Ba Odah regarding his ongoing unlawful detention without charge.
CCR Legal Director Baher Azmy highlights force-feeding torture of Ba Odah in presentation to American Society of International Law in Washington, D.C.
April 11, 2014
CCR Legal Director Baher Azmy highlights force-feeding torture of Ba Odah in presentation to American Society of International Law in Washington, D.C.
The presentation, entitled "Is Force Feeding Torture?" includes first-hand accounts of Ba Odah's force feeding.
CCR files third status report regarding Ba Odah's habeas petition
January 31, 2014
CCR files third status report regarding Ba Odah's habeas petition
The status report notes that, in response to the court's request to either proceed or withdraw his habeas petition, Ba Odah has elected to withdraw the petition.
Defense Department institutes media blackout on reporting on Guantanamo hunger strikes
December 2013
Defense Department institutes media blackout on reporting on Guantanamo hunger strikes
The blackout hampers reporting on the status of Ba Odah's ongoing hunger strike.
CCR files second status report regarding Ba Odah's habeas petition
July 2013
CCR files second status report regarding Ba Odah's habeas petition
The status report highlights the need for a continued stay, in light of unsealing of Ba Odah's clearance and Obama's lifting of his moratorium on transfers to Yemen.
U.S. discloses that Guantanamo Review Task Force had cleared Ba Odah for release nearly four years prior.
June 17, 2013
U.S. discloses that Guantanamo Review Task Force had cleared Ba Odah for release nearly four years prior.
In response to Freedom of Information Act requests, the U.S. unseals the unanimous determination four years prior of the Task Force, which represents every government agency with a stake in Guantanamo including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, State, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to clear Ba Odah for release.
Celebrities read Ba Odah's letters at New York City event
May 28, 2013
Celebrities read Ba Odah's letters at New York City event
Vanessa Redgrave and Mia Farrow read letters from Ba Odah and other hunger strikers at an event hosted by the Culture Project in New York City.
CCR highlights Ba Odah's case at presentation before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
March 12, 2013
CCR highlights Ba Odah's case at presentation before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
The presentation to the IACHR's "Thematic Hearing on Situation of Human Rights of Persons Detained in the Guantánamo Naval Base" raises Ba Odah's ongoing unlawful detention and force-feeding.
CCR files status report regarding Ba Odah's habeas petition
July 5, 2012
CCR files status report regarding Ba Odah's habeas petition
The status report highlights Ba Odah's deteriorating health as a result of the prolonged hunger strike
U.S. transfers Ba Odah to Camp 5, places him in solitary-confinement-like conditions
May 2009
U.S. transfers Ba Odah to Camp 5, places him in solitary-confinement-like conditions
In Camp 5, Guantánamo prison authorities deny Ba Odah virtually any human contact, permitting him outside his cell only 2-4 hours per day, because they deem his peaceful hunger strike to be “non-compliance.”
Court stays habeas petition
January 13, 2009
Court stays habeas petition
The stay in part is a result of Ba Odah's compromised health due to his ongoing hunger strike.
Ba Odah begins hunger strike
February 2007
Ba Odah begins hunger strike
Ba Odah aims to raise awareness of his illegal and indefinite detention though his hunger strike.
Ba Odah files habeas petition
October 2006
Ba Odah files habeas petition
The habeas petition, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges Ba Odah's unlawful detention without charge.
U.S. renders Ba Odah to Guantanamo
February 2002
U.S. renders Ba Odah to Guantanamo
The U.S. renders Tariq Ba Odah to the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba after Pakistani authorities kidnap him and sell him to the U.S. for bounty.
Last modified: March 2, 2017
