Abdul Wahab

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Abdul Wahab is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] Wahab's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 961.

Wahab was captured on February 10, 2003. He was a passenger on a minibus, that was stopped at aa checkpoint at the village of Lejay, Afghanistan, where there had been an ambush earlier in the day.

[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 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 Tribunal. 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.

To comply with a Freedom of Information Act request, during the winter and spring of 2005, the Department of Defense released 507 memoranda. Those 507 memoranda each contained the allegations against a single detainee, prepared for their Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The detainee's name and ID numbers were redacted from all but one of the memoranda. However 169 of the memoranda had the detainee's ID hand-written on the top right hand of the first page corner. When the Department of Defense complied with a court order, and released official lists of the detainee's names and ID numbers it was possible to identify who those 169 were written about. Abdul Wahab was one of those 169 detainees.^[2]

[edit] Allegations

a. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States or coalition partners.

1. The detainee was captured at a checkpoint in the same type vehicle and clothing that was witnessed leaving the site of ambush against U.S. forces.
2. The detainee suffered hearing loss when captured, which was caused by firing weapons.
3. The detainee stated he used "klash-n-krors" (sic) against U.S. personnel.

[edit] Testimony

Wahab chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[3]

Wahab says he had boarded the minivan that picks up and drops off passengers along the road that passes through the village of Lejay, Afghanistan one hour before it was stopped at the checkpoint. He said that five of the other seven passengers had got on the bus before he did. He knew one other passenger, an old man named Jumandar.

He didn’t hear any firing, prior to his arrest. He said he was just a farmer, and that he had never fired a weapon in his entire life.

He denied there had ever been anything wrong with his hearing.

Wahab asked the Tribunal members to consider whether it would make sense for a someone who had launched a surprise attack to head back to their enemy, unarmed.

[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.

Wahab chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[4]

The factors for and against continuing to detain Wahab were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3, 2006.^[5]

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. During his confinement, the detainee has committed a hostile act, an assault and has had one incident of failure to comply.

b. Connections / Associations

1. The detainee was captured 10 February 2003 at a checkpoint north of Lejay, Baghran District, Helmond Province, Afghanistan based on suspicion that he was one of a number of men who had just engaged United States Forces.
2. The detainee appeared to cache weapons prior to capture, as did all of the men he was captured with.
3. Two individuals who were captured during a sweep of the Lejay ambush area admitted to participating in the ambush against United States Forces.
4. The detainee was captured with an individual who operated an intelligence collection network in support of a former Taliban Chief of Intelligence.
5. The detainee was captured with a Taliban Commander who attended a meeting of senior Taliban officials to discuss military operations against the Afghan Interim Administration.
6. The detainee was captured with an individual who was scheduled to meet with other Taliban leaders to discuss the upcoming jihad against the coalition and the Afghanistan Transitional Authority.
7. An individual has repeatedly tasked the detainee with transporting money from his village to Baghran.
8. The individual is a Taliban sub-commander.
9. The detainee's brother fought for Jamaat-I-Islami in the Jihad.
10. Jamaat-E-Islami [sic] is a political party in Pakistan made up of Islamic extremists. The party's leader has a relationship with Usama Bin Laden [sic].

c. Intent

The detainee stated he used "klash-n-krors" (sic) against U.S. personnel.

[edit] The following primary factors favor release or transfer:

• The detainee claims not to know any of the other men who were in his taxi when he was captured.
• The detainee stated that none of the people in the taxi either possessed or disposed of weapons.
• The detainee denies that he was a member of the Taliban and insists he was nothing more than a farmer.

[edit] opening statement

[edit] testimony

[edit] See also

• Alif Mohammed
• Abdul Bagi
• Baridad
• Rahmatullah
• Kushky Yar
• Raes Abdul Wahed

[edit] References

1. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
2. ^ Summary of Evidence memo (.pdf) prepared for Abdul Wahab's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - October 15, 2004 page 75
3. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdul Wahab's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 42-48
4. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Abdul Wahab's Administrative Review Board hearing - pages 174-186
5. ^ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Abdul Wahab Administrative Review Board, April 21, 2005 - page 59