Abdullah Mohammad Khan

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Abdullah Mohammad Khan is a citizen of Uzbekistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] His detainee ID number is 556. American intelligence analysts estimate that Khan was born in 1972, in Faryab, Afghanistan.

1 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
- 1.1 Allegations
- 1.2 Testimony
2 Administrative Review Board hearing
3 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.

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

[edit] Allegations

The allegations Khan faced during his Tribunal were:

a. -- The general summary of the allegations that establish an association with terrorism were missing from the transcript. --

When arrested by Pakistani authorities, the detainee had a falsified Turkish passport that he had purchased from a Turk.
The detainee attended a "physical fitness " camp in Jalalabad, Afghanistan for six months.
The detainee was at the Khana Gulam Bacha guesthouse on the Taliban front lines in Kabul, Afghanistan in late 1999 and early 2000.
The detainee stated he had a Jamiat Al Islamiya ^[^sic] identification card.
Jamiat Al Islamiya is designated as a non-governmental organization that supports terrorist activities.
The Detainee was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan by Pakistani authorities while living in a house used by Arabs, and was later turned over to U.S. custody.

[edit] Testimony

[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.

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

Abdullah Mohammed Khan’s Administrative Review Board hearing was held in early September 2005.

[edit] Translation problems

The Board adjourned because he had originally been provided with a Farsi translator, and his native language was Uzbek. It reconvened when a Farsi translator was found.

[edit] Factors for and against continued detention

The detainee fought for the Northern Alliance against the Russians ^[^sic].
In 2001, the detainee was arrested in Peshawar during a raid by local police and released when authorities determined he was not Arab.
The detainee was arrested along with two Arabs, Musa, a 25-28 year old Syrian, and Abdul Rashad, a 25-30 year old Saudi, during a raid of Musa’s house.
When the detainee was captured, his hands tested positive for explosive residue. Authorities were looking for an explosives expert named Abdul Latif Al Turki.
The detainee told Pakistani authorities his name was Abdullah Mohammed Khan, but he was identified as Abdul Latif Al Turki, the name printed on his Turkish passport.
The detainee became good friends with Musa and would sometimes stay with Musa and his family at their house in Peshawar.
The detainee was arrested in Musa’s residence.
Musa (aka Abd Al-Hamid Al-Suri ^[^sic]) is an al Qaida suspect.
Musa (aka Abd Al-Hamid Al-Suri ^[^sic]) is also known as Baha’Bin Mustafa Muhammad Jaghal ^[^sic], Musa Muhamat Julaq Augol ^[^sic], Abd Al-Hamid Al-Sharif ^[^sic], and Musa Uglo ^[^sic].
An al Qaida detainee identified the detainee in a still photograph as Abdul Latif Al-Turki.
A Lybian Islamic Fighting Group member identified the detainee in photo as Abdul Latif Al-Turki. The member said he saw the detainee several times at the Al-Ansar guesthouse in Pakistan.
An Iraqi detainee identified the detainee in a photo and reported he had seen the detainee at the Khana Gulam Bacha guesthouse on the Taliban front lines in Kabul, Afghanistan during late 1999-2000.
The detainee interrupts and monopolizes the interpreter constantly to disrupt interrogations.
The detainee manipulates interrogations by using linguistic differences as his excuse.
When the detainee was arrested in January 2002, police confiscated his counterfeit passport, as well as numerous additional forged passports from the house that was raided.
When the detainee was arrested in January 2002, a compact disk (CD) containing 19 English-language manuals covering manufacture of improvised explosives, poisons, timers, firing devices and other bomb initiating/delivery systems were discovered on the hard drive of a computer during the raid of the safehouse where detainee ^[^sic] was arrested.
When the detainee was arrested in January 2002, a Kuwaiti telephone number was found, registered to a Pakistani national who transferred money from Kuwait to Pakistan for large numbers of Pakistanis. He had dealing ^[^sic] with villagers of Peshawar.
Detainee argues that he is innocent of all the charges brought before him other than he was associated with Musa (an al Qaida suspect) upon his capture.
The detainee stated he never owned a valid passport. His previous travels between Afghanistan and Pakistan only required a small bribe to the border guards to allow him to cross the borders.