Mohammed Aman
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Mohammed Aman (born 1957) is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] His detainee ID number is 1074. American intelligence analysts report he was born in 1957, in Malik Village, Kardez. Afghanistan.
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[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal
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.
Aman chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[2]
[edit] Allegations
Unlike many transcripts the allegations against Aman were not recorded in his transcript.
[edit] Response to the allegations
- Oman denied supporting the Taliban. He described the Taliban's behavior as "savagery", "improper", fanatical and ignorant.
- Oman testified he owned and ran a drug store.
- Oman testified that he was harassed by the Taliban, and was eventually compelled to tak a low level position. The Taliban found him useful because most of them were illiterate.
- Oman testified that he used to work for the Communist government in Afghanistan, and this might explain the allegation that he was carrying the membership card of an "anti-American organization". When the Communist government started to collapse he left Afghanistan. He found it necessary to get an ID card from the Hezb-e Islami, one of the groups in the anti-communist resistance. The card was necessary to pass checkpoints.
- Oman said being a member of the Hezb-e Islami was not illegal when he joined. Rather, the USA had been supporting their efforts to fight communism.
- Oman said he hated all the Islamic groups, because they looted Afghanistan's treasury, and his own home and his drug store.
- Oman said the Governor of Paktia, the province where he lived, could vouch for him.
- Oman said he had worked for [[Hamid Karzai's government for a year and a half prior to his capture.
- Oman said he had no idea why he was captured.
- Oman said that his health concerns were being neglected by the camp's medical staff.
[edit] Abdullah Mujahid's testimony
- Mujahid testified that Aman was not a member of the Taliban, and did not support the Taliban.
- Mujahid testified that Aman was a functionary working for Hamid Karzai's government.
- Mujahid testified that he never saw Aman carrying a weapon.
- Mujahid testified that Aman's rank in the Hamid Karzai's government was Captain.
- Mujahid testified that Aman had worked for the government for the entire twelve years he had known him. He used to be a patron of Aman's drug store, which was near his home.
- Mujahid testified that Aman's work was "mostly paperwork like filing or making lists of the people or as people submitted petitions he would review or record them."
[edit] Dr. Said Mohammed Ali Shah's testimony
- Ali Shah testified that Aman did not support the Taliban, or any kind of Taliban thought.
- Ali Shah testified "...in Afghanistan a functionary worker is the lowest level job you can get in the government. The Taliban used to use the educated people for their purposes but it didn't mean that the Taliban liked those people. They needed their help and their education. This man used to get military training during the Communist regime. He used to be an immigrant and I know he also had his own personal business. He was famous as a Captain in that area and when you are known as a Captain in the Communist government according to the Taliban, you are known as a criminal or a bad guy. Taliban killed many Afghans just because of their military ranks and because they had worked for hte other government [sic] It was a miracle that he wasn't killed."
- Ali Shah offered this explanation of Aman's Hezb-e Islami ID card:
- "HIG's membership was very limited. One of their conditions was that they would never accept anyone who used to work for the Communist government as a member. The detainee worked for the Communist government for approximately ten years so there is no way that he would be a member of the HIG. The identification card of mat party was had by millions of Afghans. Every local commander or every high-ranking military officer of that party owned a stamp and a card for their party, which they gave to the people. It was not hard at all. They were making these ID cards in Pakistan too. There were people that owned a membership card for a few different parties because of the conditions of the roads and all the checkpoints on the roads. Please do not compare the membership of a political or Islamic party in Afghanistan with the Western world. In our area it was something that people were compelled to be a member of or carry their card. Specially, at that time Hezb-e Islami people were being supported by the United States, and the Hezb-e Islami would be a very powerful party. They thought the future power of Afghanistan would belong to Hezb-e Islami. Just to be on the safe side, many people, even if they were with the other party, would get a card from Hezb-e Islami. Maybe Mohammed Aman was one of those people. It does not prove that he was a member of that party."
[edit] Response to Tribunal questions
[edit] Aman's rank
The Tribunal officers had questions about Aman's rank -- Captain. Captain was a relatively senior rank in the US Army. Aman, and his witnesses, explained that a rank of Captain was not significant under the Taliban. Promotion to Captain was rapid -- and trivial.
Although Talib translates as "student" the ranks of the Taliban were full of illiterates. They needed to count on men who could read and write, who weren't members of the Taliban, to run their civil service. In general they didn't trust these men. And the Taliban had been conducting an audit of Aman's work.
The fact that Aman was a Captain didn't mean he had a staff, subordinates. Aman's witness Mujahid was also a Captain, and he was just an electrician.
[edit] Administrative Review Board hearing
Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".
They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat -- or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.
Aman chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[3]
[edit] witness request
Abdullah Mujahid requested Aman's testimony at his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Mujahid was informed that Aman could not be allowed to testify in person, for "Force Protection reasons".[4]
[edit] Release
According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer Aman said: [5]
- "I was relaxed because I was innocent. I was sure I would be freed. I was always thinking that today or tomorrow I will be free."
Aman described being shipped to Afghanistan in black googles, ear-muffs, shackles after three years of detention.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
- ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Mohammed Aman's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 31-41
- ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Mohammed Aman's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 113
- ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdullah Mujahid's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 1-21
- ^ a b Andrew O. Selsky, AP: Some Gitmo detainees freed elsewhere, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Saturday, December 16, 2006
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