Abdul Rahman Mohammed Hussein Khowlan

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Abdul Rahman Mohammed Hussein Khowlan is a citizen of Saudi Arabia held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] His Guantanamo detainee ID number is 513. American intelligence analysts estimate he was born in 1972, in Taif, Saudi Arabia.

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

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunal notice read to a Guantanamo captive. During the period July 2004 through March 2005 a Combatant Status Review Tribunal was convened to make a determination whether they had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant". Participation was optional. The Department of Defense reports that 317 of the 558 captives who remained in Guantanamo, in military custody, attended their Tribunals.

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.

There is no record that Khowlanpp chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

[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.

Al Knowlan chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[2]

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

The detainee saw and responded to posted announcements in mosques that declared a fatwa supporting training for Jihad as a religious duty.
The detainee was recruited in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by Abu Mua'th, who gave the detainee an airline ticket to Karachi, Pakistan, 3000 Saudi Riyals ($799 USD) and a passport.
In August 2001, the detainee traveled from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Qatar to Karachi, Pakistan to Khandahar ((sic}}, Afghanistan.
The detainee stayed at a safe house in Jalalabad for approximately three to four months.
The detainee stayed at the Al-Ansar house in Kandahar to await training at Camp al Farouq.
The detainee was fighting Afghan people and the Northern Alliance while at Camp Farouq.
The detainee stayed at the Abu Mahajin or "Star of the Jihad" guest house in Jalalabad for approximately four to five weeks while waiting to flee Afghanistan in October or November 2001.

b. Training

The detainee attended basic training at the al Farouq training camp for approximately two months in late summer of 2001.
The detainee received training on the AK-47 assault rifle, PK machien gun, automatic grenade launcher, the Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) and an unidentified light anti-tank weapon.

c. Connections/Associations

The detainee traveled to Quetta, Pakistan, where he met an Afghan man known as Muhammad Rahim, also know ^[sic] as Rakhim Khan. Muhammad Rahim took the detainee to a Quetta safe house.
Muhammad Rahim is an al Qaida leader who was attempting to reestablish al Qaida networks in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan, where he already controlled hidden ammunition depots. He was also trying to recruit individuals to carry out terror attacks against the Jalalabad airport and Springhar Hotel in Jalalabad.
The detainee saw Usama Bin Ladin at the Al Ansar safe house and al Farouq Training Camp.

d. Other Relevant Data

The detainee was present in the Tora Bora region and surrendered there to Afghan Forces.
The detainee had in his possession, at the time of his surrender, $2,000 USD, a Kalashnikov rifle and three full magazines of ammunition.

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

a. The detainee claims he was responding to a fatwa that requires all Muslims to train and be prepared to defend Islam at any time. He intended to return home after learning of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

b. The detainee states that he does not have any association with al Qaida and never heard anything about al Qaida at Camp Farouq until after the war started.

c. The detainee states that his initial report of training at al Farouq was just telling the interrogators what they wanted to hear, and the truth is he was attempting to retrieve the clothing of the Prophet Mohammed from a shrine in Afghanistan with financial backing from a prominent Saudi Arabian businessman.

d. The detainee denies taking the al Qaida oath while at Camp Farouq.

e. The detainee denies having any knowledge of the attacks in the U.S. prior to their execution on September 11th, 2001. The detainee also denied knowledge of any rumors or plans of future attacks on the U.S. or U.S. interests.

[edit] Khowlan's Assisting Military Officer's notes

During his first interview with his Assisting Military Officer, on September 22, 2005, Khowlan planned to prepare a written response to the factors. But he wasn't finished by September 23, 2005, when his Assisting Military Officer paid him a a followup visit. So his Assisting Military Officer recorded the following notes:

"The detainee alleged abuse following his capture in Afghanistan. A report of abuse was submitted in accordance with OARDEC memorandum 01/2005 (Rev.2).
"In additional comments the detainee said that when the interrogators first asked why he went to Afghanistan, the detainee said that he went in order to lose weight, but they did not write it down.
"The detainee said that he wanted to get married but nobody wanted him because of his weight. So, he went to Afghanistan to lose the weight and attract women.
"The detainee mentioned that he had injured his knee during exercise about seven weeks ago. Although medical personnel saw him at that time, the detainee clinic has been subsequently full. The detainee said that the swelling in his knee is worse, but he cannot get seen in the clinic."