Abdul Rahman (Guantanamo detainee 357)

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Abdul Rahman is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] Rahman's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 357. American intelligence analysts estimate that Rahman was born in 1976, in Haji Baras, Afghanistan.

1 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
2 References

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a small trailer, the same width, but shorter, than a mobile home. The Tribunal's President sat in the big chair. The detainee sat with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor in the white, plastic garden chair. A one way mirror behind the Tribunal President allowed observers to observe clandestinely. In theory the open sessions of the Tribunals were open to the press. Three chairs were reserved for them. In practice the Tribunal only intermittently told the press that Tribunals were being held. And when they did they kept the detainee's identities secret. In practice almost all Tribunals went unobserved.

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct a competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the [[Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

Abdul Rahman chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[2]

[edit] allegations

The allegations Abdul Rahman faced during his Tribunal were:

a. Association

The Detainee purchased a vehicle for the Taliban with Pakistani rupees.
The Detainee was with four other Taliban soldiers, who were his security force, when he purchased the vehicle.
The Detainee was in charge of and gave orders to the four Taliban soldiers, who were with him when he purchased the vehicle.
The Detainee was wearing a "Page" turban during the vehicle purchase.
The detainee traveled to Yerghanak, Afghanistan, with a large number of Pashtuns and Taliban soldiers to surrender to General Dostum's forces, and was then held at Mazar-e Sharif ^[sic] for approximately forty days before being turned over to the United States.

[edit] Handcuffs

Abdul Rahman asked the Tribunal's President if he could have his handcuffs loosened. His Tribunal's President said they were standard operating procedure. He told his Tribunal's President they were on so tight they were very painful. His Tribunal's President suggested he just try to move them to a more comfortable position.

[edit] Health

Abdul Rahman told his Tribunal he was very sick.

[edit] Response to the allegations

Abdul Rahman disputed the allegation that he had bought a vehicle for the Taliban.

"In the name of Allah, I have never bought a car; no one has seen me with a car, and I don't have that type of financing or money. I question my own ability to afford my own life, or run my own house. The whole house and all my assets were taken by the Taliban. All the people in my village and the governor and people around me know that my enemies supported by the Taliban confiscated my assets. How could a person that could not release his assets from the enemy do an operation like this? I did not buy a car for anyone, I did not have a car, and no one saw me drive a car. The people in my district know about this fact. I can present as many witnesses as you want from around my town, district and province. Nobody has ever seen me driving a car; or even sitting in one; I did not drive a car at all. Haji Bars Sahib, Mohammad Khan Kaka, and Haji Mohammad Rahim all are totally aware of the facts and will testify for me tat I did not have a car. All these people I've mentioned are not people of Taliban ^[sic] and never supported them; they are believers in the new government. On top of that, not me, and no member of my family have ever become part of the Taliban or their army; this is a fact. On top of that, they were not Taliban, but were very involved with the mujahidin during the time of the Russians."
Abdul Rahman questioned how he could afford to pay bodyguards when he didn't have funds to buy a car. He repeated that every day was a struggle to make enough money to feed his family.
Abdul Rahman disputed that he was in a position to give orders, he was just a simple shopkeeper. He testified that the letters from the most respected people in his village would back up his story. He said his whole village was looking forward to the improvements they expected American involvement in Afghanistan would bring.
Abdul Rahman responded to the allegation that he was wearing a "Page" turban by explaining that the Turban was commonly worn, for everyday wear, by everyone in his district, by both Muslims and non-Muslims. However, when he was staffing his shop, he sometimes wore a hat, and he was wearing a hat when he was captured.
Abdul Rahman disputed the account of his capture in the allegations.
- He disputed that he was detained in Mazari Sharif, he was detained in Shebergan.
- His shop was in Kondoz ^[sic], His village was a considerable distance, So far that he didn't go home very frequently. His last visit home had been almost a year before.
- Prior to the launching the aerial bombardment the Americans had dropped leaflets and announced on the radio that they were not interested in hurting innocent civilians, that, in fact, they would do what they could to protect innocent civilians.
- Kondoz ^[sic] was populated largely by Uzbeks and Tajiks, and Abdul Rahman, and other Pashtun shopkeepers, anticipated that the imminent breakdown of Taliban authority would trigger ethnic violence, and decided that it was in their best interests to leave Kondoz, and try to make their way to the protection of the American forces.
- They had heard that General Fahim's men had closed the roads, letting people from the Tajik or Farsi ethnic groups go, and capturing Pashtuns, stealing their money, and beating them up.
- They thought the road towards Shebergan was free of Fahim's men, and they thought American forces there would protect them. But they encounted General Dostum's forces on that road instead.
- They bound him and his fellow merchants. They administered some brutal beating.
- Abdul Rahman testified that he saw Dostum's forces bury approximately fifty people alive. He testified he could hear them scream as the dirt was thrown on them.
- When they were brought to Mazari Sharif they were packed, 200 or 300 at a time, into shipping containers, on the back of semi-trucks.
- Adbdul Rahman said that many people died in the shipping containers, from lack of food.
- The dead were dumped, while those who remained alive were put in the local jail. They had gone several days without any food or water.
- Abdul Rahman's observation was that the Taliban had escaped, through bribery. None of his fellow captives were members of the Taliban.