Book contents
- Leaving Guantanamo
- Leaving Guantanamo
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1The Long Journey beyond the Rule of Law
- 2Why Should Kuwait Be Different?
- 3Strategizing in a New World: Navigating the New Paradigm
- 4The Rules of the Road: The Lower Courts Define a Narrow Path
- 5Twelve Men
- 6The Final Four: Habeas Hearings for the Last Four Kuwaiti Detainees
- 7The US Government Re-engages
- 8The First Periodic Review Board
- 9And Then There Was One
- 10Lessons Learned
- Notes
- Index
8 - The First Periodic Review Board
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 February 2026
Book contents
- Leaving Guantanamo
- Leaving Guantanamo
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1The Long Journey beyond the Rule of Law
- 2Why Should Kuwait Be Different?
- 3Strategizing in a New World: Navigating the New Paradigm
- 4The Rules of the Road: The Lower Courts Define a Narrow Path
- 5Twelve Men
- 6The Final Four: Habeas Hearings for the Last Four Kuwaiti Detainees
- 7The US Government Re-engages
- 8The First Periodic Review Board
- 9And Then There Was One
- 10Lessons Learned
- Notes
- Index
Summary
Chapter 8 provides a description of the process of putting together an effective Periodic Review Board (PRB) presentation for Fawzi Al Odah. Fayiz Al Kandari elected to stay with his confrontational lawyer, who attacked both the US and Kuwait and argued about human rights violations. Fawzi Al Odah adopted the strategy of the author to present Fawzi as having matured and ready to return and live a peaceful life with his family. It describes visits with the client to make him mentally ready for what might happen at the hearing and to convince him to put away his legitimate grievances and convince the decision-makers that he should not be a forever prisoner, dealing with difficult facts but focusing on the family and Kuwaiti government infrastructure that would support him. In addition, Fawzi had built trust with the military representatives who were part of the PRB team, and they supported his release. Fawzi knocked the presentation out of the park, and it was clear that the Board trusted him and the process. A month after the hearing, we were notified of a positive decision, although bureaucratic hitches resulted in an additional three months before he could go home.
Keywords
Hunger strikessplashingdisciplinary recordfamily values“Honor Bound to Defend Freedom,” “Mama’s boy,” gallows humorshackled clientshooks on the floorvisiting GTMOnew habeas proceedingspreparing to face PRBmeeting the Al Odah familyZen Muslimfamily videosblasphemous questionstrust-buildingspiritual adviserspsychiatristsintelligence headsKuwaiti ministerial assistanceadversarial vs. cooperative strategies
Information
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- Chapter
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- Leaving GuantanamoHow One Country Brought its Men Home from the Forever Prison, pp. 166 - 202Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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