Al Warafi's En Banc Rehearing Denied
So writes the D.C. Circuit in this terse per curiam order. It was issued Monday.
Al Warafi, a Yemeni detainee, had claimed in the District Court that he had not joined the Taliban, but instead worked only in Afghanistan at a medical clinic; and that even if he had affiliated with the Taliban, his service has a medic shielded from detention pursuant to Article 24 of the First Geneva Convention and certain Army regulations.
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So writes the D.C. Circuit in this terse per curiam order. It was issued Monday.
Al Warafi, a Yemeni detainee, had claimed in the District Court that he had not joined the Taliban, but instead worked only in Afghanistan at a medical clinic; and that even if he had affiliated with the Taliban, his service has a medic shielded from detention pursuant to Article 24 of the First Geneva Convention and certain Army regulations. Initially, the District Court denied Warafi's petition, in 2010, concluding that the government had proved that Warafi was more likely than not a member of the Taliban (and thus could detain him pursuant to the AUMF); and that Warafi could not invoke the Geneva Conventions as a source of rights.
The D.C. Circuit remanded the case, and ordered the lower court to consider Warafi's argument that he should receive protected status. Judge Royce Lamberth found on remand that the detainee had not proven that he was guaranteed protection under Article 24, as he lacked required identification. Here the judge disagreed with Warafi's argument that the First Geneva Convention required only a functional assessment of the petitioner's activity, rather than a more simple, formalistic inquiry as to his possession, or not, of an identification card. The D.C. Circuit affirmed Judge Lamberth's ruling this spring. Susan summarized the D.C. Circuit's affirmance here. Warafi then sought en banc review.
Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT.
Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.
