Abdul Ghani (Guantanamo detainee 934)

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For other individuals named Abdul Ghani see Abdul Ghani (disambiguation).

Abdul Ghani is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] Abdul Ghani's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 934.

1 Identity
2 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
3 Administrative Review Board hearing
4 References

[edit] Identity

American intelligence analysts estimate Abdul Ghani was born in 1972. American intelligence analysts listed a place of birth for all but 22 of the detainees. Abdul Ghani, detainee 934 was one of those 22. Guantanamo held another detainee named Abdul Ghani.^[1] His Guantanamo detainee ID number is 943. American intelligence analysts estimated he was born in 1983, in Kandahar, Afghanistan -- the same area this Abdul Ghani testified he was from.

[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 their 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.

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

[edit] allegations

The allegations Abdul Ghani faced during his Tribunal were:

a. -- The general summary of Abdul Ghani's association with terrorism was missing from the transcript.

The detainee admitted to voluntarily joining the Taliban.
The detainee was a member of a 40-man unit of the Taliban that received support from al Qaida.

b. -- The general summary of Abdul Ghani's hostile activities were missing from the transcript.

The detainee participated in a rocket attack directed against U.S. forces located at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan in the spring of 2002.
The detainee participated in two rocket attacks directed against U.S. forces located at Kandahar Airfield in early November 2002.
The detainee participated in a BM 12 missile attack against a U.S.A.F. transport aircraft while it was departing Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

[edit] Opening dialogue

The transcript from Abdul Ghani's Combatant Status Review Tribunal starts with an extended dialogue between Abdul Ghani and the President of his Tribunal, over the nature of the Tribunal.

It started with a request from Ghani that his handcuffs be removed.

President	That is not within our power to do that.
Ghani	*There is a difference between the law and being brutal.*
President	We are here to only discuss your enemy combatant status and handcuffs will stay on.
Ghani	*Before we start, I have a question for you.*
President	Certainly
Ghani	*You bombed Afghanistan with one hundred thousand bombs and you are calling me an enemy combatant. What about yourself?*
President	Let's set the ground rules right now. We are hear to talk about the allegations on the Unclassified Summary that has been shown to you, and your enemy combatant status. That is the only thing we will discuss with you. That is the only thing within our power to discuss with you.
Ghani	*As far as I am concerned you are the enemy combatants. You should be going to court, not me.*
President	This is the only warning I will give you. If we have to stop and about this some more, you will be escorted out of the room and we will continue in your absence.
Ghani	*Is your point based on legal issues or is your purpose to use force?*
President	I don't understand the question.
Translator	The detainee was replying to what you suggested. If he doesn't obey the rules he will not be allowed to participate here.
President	We will call the guards back in and remove you from the room.
Ghani	*I am willing to obey but you are the ones not obeying the law.*
President	Just remember the warning. We will stick with the purpose of the enemy combatant status and that is all.

During the rest of his Tribunal Ghani kept trying to ask questions about the Tribunal process, and the President of his Tribunal kept threatening to have him removed.

[edit] Testimony in response to the allegations against him

[edit] Testimony in response to questions from the Tribunal's officers

[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.

Ghani chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[3]