Where is Abu Zubaydah now? All about the terrorist from American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden
Abu Zubaydah was born as Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn on March 12, 1971. His name became one of the most debated in United States counterterrorism history. In March 2002, authorities captured him in Faisalabad, Pakistan. At the time, they believed he was a high-ranking al-Qaeda figure deeply involved in planning attacks.
That assumption did not hold up over time. Later intelligence reports suggested he had ties to militant groups, but there was no clear evidence that he was an official al-Qaeda member or played a role in the 9/11 attacks. The Guardian on January 13, 2025, reported that this finding reshaped how analysts viewed his case.
After his capture, he was placed in a network of secret CIA black sites scattered across multiple countries. He spent years in undisclosed facilities in Poland, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Lithuania. Inside these sites, he was subjected to what the CIA called enhanced interrogation techniques.
Years passed before he was finally transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2006. He remains there to this day, held without formal charges for more than twenty years, as reported in The Guardian on January 29, 2022.
The Netflix documentary American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden revisits the early years of the post-9/11 manhunt and brings renewed attention to figures like Abu Zubaydah. Despite increasing pressure from human rights organizations and the United Nations, he remains in United States custody.
Abu Zubaydah remains at Guantanamo Bay under the AUMF despite UN appeals
Abu Zubaydah, born Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, is a Saudi citizen who has spent more than twenty years in United States custody. He was captured in Faisalabad, Pakistan, on March 28, 2002, when authorities believed he was a senior al-Qaeda figure with direct ties to the 9/11 attacks. For years the United States operated under the assumption that he was one of the key players behind al-Qaeda's operations.
Later intelligence reports painted a different picture. While he had connections to various extremist groups, there was no clear evidence that he was a formal member of al-Qaeda or had any role in planning the 9/11 attacks, as noted in The Guardian, January 13, 2025.
After his capture, he was moved between multiple CIA black sites in different countries. He spent years detained in secret facilities in Poland, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Lithuania. Inside these black sites, he was subjected to what the CIA called enhanced interrogation techniques.
He was waterboarded at least 83 times and kept awake for long stretches in conditions designed to break him. He was placed in stressful positions, forced into small dark spaces, and stripped of basic human comfort. The Guardian, January 29, 2022, report noted that these methods were part of the CIA's overall interrogation strategy.
A Senate Intelligence Committee report later revealed that the interrogations failed to produce useful intelligence. The CIA had initially claimed these methods were necessary, but they did not lead to any actionable information, according to Reuters on April 20, 2022.
In September 2006 Abu Zubaydah was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, where he remains. He is held under the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF). This United States legal framework permits indefinite detention of individuals suspected of terrorism-related activities. He has never been formally charged with any crime, as reported in The Cinemaholic, March 10, 2025.
Calls for his release have intensified in recent years. In early 2025, a panel of United Nations human rights experts urged the United States government to grant him a presidential pardon. Their statement emphasized that his immediate release and relocation to a third safe country are long overdue.
A group of 12 United Nations special rapporteurs on arbitrary detention also raised concerns about his deteriorating physical and mental health due to his prolonged mistreatment, as per The Guardian, January 13, 2025. They stated,
"Mr Abu Zubaydah suffers serious health conditions, including from injuries sustained during torture that are allegedly exacerbated by the denial of medical attention. In addition, lawyer-client communication has been seriously impeded."
Legal experts and human rights advocates have demanded the full declassification of the Senate report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. The report spans over 6700 pages, but only a 500-page executive summary was released in 2014.
Advocates argue that the full report would provide a clearer account of what happened to detainees like Abu Zubaydah and would challenge the justification for their continued imprisonment, as per The Guardian.
Despite ongoing pressure from international organizations, legal scholars, and human rights advocates, Abu Zubaydah remains detained at Guantanamo Bay with no clear resolution in sight.
Stay tuned for more updates.
