Mahbub Rahman
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Mahbub Rahman is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.[1] His detainee ID number is 1052. According to the Department of Defense Rahman was born in 1985 in Khowst, 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.
Rahman chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[2]
According to the BBC Rahman was accused of spying on U.S. forces.[3]
[edit] Witness requests
Rahman requested three witnesses, Azimullah, Mohammed Salim and Rahman Tulah. His Tribunal's President determined that they would be relevant. Azimullah was another Guantanamo detainee, and his testimony was made available. Mohamed Salim was held in Bagram, but the Bagram authorities had not responded to the Tribunals requests for testimony.
The Tribunal's President asked Rahman to offer more details of who Rahman Tulah was. He informed them he was another student at Faizal Quran, the Madrassa he attended, and that his tribal name was Sadarai. They were captured together.
The Tribunal's President determination that Mohammed Salim and Rahman Tulah's testimony was "not reasonably available".
[edit] Allegations
The allegations against Rahman during his Tribunal were:
- a. The Detainee is associated with al Qaida and the Taliban:
- The detainee agreed to spy on the Americans.
- b. The Detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.
- The detainee acknowledged shooting an Afghan Militia Force (AMF) soldier and two civilians in April 2003.
- The detainee directed others to a cemetery used as a staging and hiding area prior to assault on Firebase Salerno.
- Afghan Militia Forces captured the detainee and three others on I June 2003.
- When captured, the detainee had in his possession two AK-47s, bayonets, a binocular, and a spare videocassette for a video camera in the possession of one of the three other captured comrades.
- The Detainee did no surrender willingly; gunshots and grenades were exchanged with the AMF.
[edit] Rahman's response to the allegations against him
- Rahman denied all association with the Taliban or al Qaida. He denied spying on the Americans.
- Rahman denied shooting any members of the Afghan Militia Force. He acknowledged shooting at personal enemies from a personal dispute.
- Rahman acknowledged being present in the cemetery. But said he was there simply to wait for his friend Salim.
- Rahman acknowledged that he was captured in the mosque attached to the cemetery.
- Rahman denied carrying the bayonet, binoculars, or spare videocassette he was alleged to be carrying. He acknowledged possessing one AK-47, which he carried simply for personal defense. The other AK-47 was his friends.
- Rahman denied there was a fight when he was captured. He asserted that he was sleeping when the Afghan militia woke him.
After responding to the allegations Rahman offered his own account of his capture:
| Detainee |
I was at the Madrassa close to my home and was going somewhere, so I got in the car. I got in the car first and my personal enemy got in second. He was sitting in the same car and after a while he smoked some hashish. |
| Personal Representative |
Was it a car or a bus? |
| Detainee | It's a mini coach. |
| Personal Representative |
Okay. |
| Detainee |
So he smoked some hashish and he had a gun with him. He was talking bad to me about my family. He actually grabbed me because we were sitting close. I told him not to touch me or talk to me. I told him to talk to everyone else in the coach. Somebody told me he was an enemy of our family. I told him again not to touch or talk to me but he was still cussing. We argued with each other and then we started fighting. He went to reach for his gun. I told the people in the coach that he has a gun and he's going to kill me because he killed my brother before. He was reaching for his gun and I grabbed for it too. We fought for it and after some time the gun was in my hands. We got off the coach and I ran from him so I could get the weapon far from him because he was going to use it. He ran after me and I told him don't come because I was scared that if he got the gun he would shoot me. I told him to stop and he didn't stop. I didn't have a choice and I shot him. The other people in the coach told him to leave me alone because I was just a kid. He told them not to come close to us and if they did he would shot them also once he got the gun from me. When I shot at him I shot at his legs. I threw the gun down and ran from that place. Afghan soldiers came after me. I don't know if they [sic] close to that area or how they knew but they came after me. They called for me to stop and fired at me. I got hurt on one of my fingers. I ran from those soldiers to another village and I hid. Finally I decided not to go back home so I went to Pakistan for just a short time to get away from the area. I got to Pakistan and went to the Madrassa. I was living there in the Madrassa. I was going to the mosque to pray and back to the Madrassa for two months. My brother came to Pakistan looking for me. We don't have any relatives in Pakistan so he knew that I wasn't with anyone that we know. He knew that in Afghanistan I was going to a Madrassa that's why he was looking in different Madrassas. Finally he found my Madrassa and he was telling people that I ran away from home and that they were trying to make peace with our enemies so I needed to come back. I wasn't in the Madrassa the day when he came. When I came back to the Madrassa people told me that there was a person looking for his brother. I heard other people saying this but I didn't tell them that it was me that he was looking for. I went to ask the teacher of the Madrassa if I could go home. He didn't let me go home because it was the middle of the class. He said when I finished my scroll I could go. I stayed and after a while he let me go home. I told the teacher the whole story about what had happened because he wanted to know why I was going. I told him that one person killed my brother and what happened to me so I ran away. I told him that my family didn't know where I was and since my brother came and said that they were going to make peace with our enemy; I want to go home. I want to be there with my family and let them know how I was doing. Finally, I [sic] said that I could go home. There was a bus station outside the Madrassa that I used to go home. The teacher came with me to the bus station and he told the driver that I was going home to Afghanistan and asked if I had money for it. 1 told him that I had 200 Pakistani Rupees. He took that from me and I think he gave it to the driver. He told the driver to take me to my home in Afghanistan. First the driver took me to one house before we went to my house. We spent the night there and left the next morning. There were two other [sic] staying in that house that night also. One was named Salim and I don't know the other person's name because 1 didn't know either of them before. When we left in the morning those two guys came with us. Since there is no road to go quickly, it was all mountains, dirt roads with rocks so we were going slowly. Each time I asked the driver how far, he would say that's all we can go and now we could go by feet. He said it's not that far and I could go by feet. The other two people left the bus too. One was Salim, and I don't know the other one. I asked them where they were going and the one person who said his name was Salim, said that his tribe Enokro (ph) and he was going to Khost. I asked the driver that since I was going by feet and I still have enemies could I borrow his gun and he said yes. He told me that once 1 got home to give the weapon to Salim. When I got to Khost and I told him that I was going home they said no just to wait here because we are going to another village Kundiu (ph) and will be back. I went to Azimullah, he was in the Madrassa, because we were hungry. I also asked him if he could direct these people to Kundiu (ph) because I was tired and 1 couldn't walk with them. Azimullah also called (inaudible) and we stayed in the mosque. The mosque was in the cemetery. We spent the night in the mosque, in the cemetery and the next morning Salim said let's go to the village. Azimullah, Salim, and I went to the village and Salim stayed in the village. He told me to wait for him in the mosque in the cemetery. He said once he got there he would get the gun from me (the one I got from the driver) and then I could go home. We waited in the mosque for him but he didn't come. We stayed there the whole day and then night came so we just stayed in the mosque. Azimullah was there with me. We slept in the mosque. This is how the Afghan soldiers found us. They woke us up. That is the whole story. All of the accusations about the videotape and the camera and spying on Americans aren't true. None of it is true. |
[edit] Azimullah's testimony on Rahman's behalf
In response to questions Rahman's Personal Representative posed:
- Azimullah testified he knew Rahman from the Madrassa the two of them had attended.
- Azimullah confirmed that they were waiting in the mosque by the cemetery for Rahman's friend.
- Azimullah confirmed that they weren't hiding from anyone, just waiting for Rahman's friend.
- Azimullah testified that, during the time he had known him, Rahman had never fought the Afghan Militia Force.
In response to Rahman's questions:
- Azimullah testified that Rahman told him he returned to Afghanistan to see his family.
- Azimullah confirmed that neither of them was carrying a video equipment of binoculars.
- Azimullah testified that Rahman had never spied on the Americans.
In response to Tribunal officer's questions:
- Azimullah testified he and Rahman had studied together at the Madrassa for about a year and a half.
- Azimullah testified that Rahman never had any military training.
- Azimullah testified that the other individual captured with Rahman was Machman Datla.
- Azimullah testified that the Madrassa they attended was near Shinkat.
[edit] Azimullah's response to Tribunal questioning
Rahman's Personal Representative asked Rahman to explain more fully about his personal enemy:
| Detainee |
I had an older brother; I was a kid at the time and don't remember when he died. My parents and my brothers and sisters told me the story that my brother was a soldier. One person had a dispute with him and killed my brother. My parents knew who killed my brother but me and my brothers and sisters didn't know who killed our brother. After a longtime when I was at that Madrassa (inaudible phrase) this one person was coming to the mosque. During wheat season people would cut wheat for the money and to get a share of the wheat and 1 knew this same person from working wheat and mosque. That day when I was going on that coach, this person that I knew from wheat and the mosque was there and my enemy was there also. That person asked me if I knew who killed my brother and I said no. He pointed to this other person and said that this was person who killed your brother. I was at that Madrassa for a longtime and 1 finished that and then I went to another Madrassa so for a longtime I did not see him again. One time in my house, I have brothers that live in Arab countries where go they go to make money and support the family. My family was going to send me to a village because one person came from the same country that my brother was in and my family sent me to ask him when he was going back so we could write a letter and he could give it to my brother. They told me when I finished with school to go find that person and then tell the family when he is going back so they could write the letter. So I went after school to find the person and the address I had to a store was closed when I got there and I did not find the person. I was coming back and I switched vehicles because the one I was on wasn't going back to our house. When I got on the second vehicle it was going to a bazaar after our village but it was going through our village. The driver told me that he's not going to the bazaar all the way because I was the only one. He said that he would take me if he found some more people he would go straight all the way to the bazaar and drop you at your home. If not, I'm just going to turn back and you can find another taxi, He found more people and one of them was the person that was my enemy and he had a gun with him. We were going and he was smoking hashish and I guess he got high and starting talking trash about my family, 1 won't say all the things that he told me. That's why I told him to stop. I knew he was my enemy and now he's smoking hashish and maybe he had a gun also and I got scared. That's how the whole thing happened after that He didn't stop. He said you're just a kid why are you talking to me like that. I could kidnap you and nobody would ever find you. I told him about my family, my parents and brother and he could not do anything to me. He said oh no, I've killed a lot of people and there is no one who comes and asks me why I did it. So I guessed he was referring to my brother that he killed and nobody asked him about it That is why he was saying that he killed a lot of people and no one asked him any questions. He didn't stop talking and I was trying to stop him and finally we started fighting each other. He had a gun and went to grab it and I saw and knew that he got the gun he would be able to shot [sic] me so [sic] grabbed the gun and called for help. |
| Personal Representative |
We understand that. But were you aware that three people were killed during that fight? |
| Detainee |
No. The soldier and the two civilians I did not kill anyone. It's not true. I mentioned my story because they were saying that there was one Afghan soldier in the allegations. I thought they maybe referring to my enemy. That's why I tell the whole story that he got injured. I did not kill him. The allegation about the three people is not true. It never happened. |
In response to questions from the Tribunal's officers:
- Rahman testified his personal enemy was not a soldier.
- The gun he used to shoot his enemy was his enemy's gun. His own gun was back at the mosque.
- Rahman testified that Azimullah had brought Rahman Tulah to visit with him, in the mosque, and that he too was captured when he was.
- Rahman testified that there were no American bases near where he was captured.
- When asked what Salim could have testified to that Azimullah had not already testified Rahman said:
- He could tell you why I came to Afghanistan and how we traveled together and how I was waiting for him to give that weapon. Also, he can tell you that two of the AK-47s, one was his personal and the other one I was going to give to him also.
- Rahman testified he had never had any military training, nor had he ever had any informal training on how to use the AK-47.
- Rahman testified he did not know whether he fired two or three shots. He fired at the ground in front of his enemy, but he surmized he had hit his leg, or hit him with a ricochet.
- Rahman testified that he had never been asked during any of his interviews or interrogations anything about spying on the Americans.
- Rahman testified that Rahman Tulaf could have testified that they were asleep when they were captured, that there was no fighting.
[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.
Rahman chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[4]
[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:
-
- The detainee was captured on 1 June 2003, along with four others, one of whom was a Saudi [sic] whose mission was to photograph Chapman and Balerno Bases for possible future attacks.
- In late March 2003, Abu Layth al-Libi, an al Qaida facilitator, planned and coordinated a foiled reconnaissance mission to film the Salerno forward operating base and the villages surrounding the city of Khowst, Afghanistan.
- Al-Libi is the al Qaida southern Afghanistan regional commander. He is responsible for operations in the areas of Khowst, Paktia andh Ghanzni Provinces, to include Miran Shah, Pakistan [sic]. Al-Livi is a Libyan who specializes in explosive devices and guerilla warfare.
- The detainee had been provided with a Kalashnikov rifle, ammunition, and a military cargo belt.
- On the evening of 28 May 2003, al-Libi's group met with Abdul Rakhman and a student recruited from the Nazamia Madrassa at a house in the mountains near Naurak, Pakistan. The plan was for Rakhman to take the members of the team to Khowst, Afghanistan, so that they could film the airfield.
- Abdul Rakhman is a known Arab al Qaida member who has been reported to operate in the Shahi Kowt area.
- The Nazamia Madrassa has been previously reported on for its affiliations with Afghanistan Ant-Coalition Militia. In March of 2003, this Madrassa was reported as being used by al Qaida, Taliban, and HIG personnel for training. It was cited as having been frequently visited by [[Jalaluddin Haqqanni] in 2002. Reports also indicate personnel from Nazamia Madrassa were, in the past, sent across the Afghan-Pakistan boarder [sic] to collect intelligence on United States and coalition forces in Khowst Province.
- Gulbuddin Hikmatyar founded HIG as a faction of the Hizb-Islami party in 1977, and it was one of the major Mujahadin groups in the war against the Soviets. HIG has long established ties with Usama Bin Laden. HIG has staged small attacks in its attempt to force United States troops to withdraw from Afghanistan, overthrow the Afghan government, and establish a fundamentalist state.
- Jalaluddin Haqqani is the former Taliban Minister of Tribal Affairs and personal friend of Usama Bin Laden.
- On the afternoon of 1 June 2003, three men, not including the detainee, were asking people in the village of Kondee, which is east of Salerno, where Salerno is located. One of the men they asked was an Afghan Militia Force soldier. He did not answer them, but made his way to Salerno to inform his superiors.
- When he arrived at the burial ground near Salerno, Rakhman took the camera to being filming. Shortly thereafter, shots rang out.
- When the AMF moved towards Kondee to investigate the three men asking questions about Salerno, the three men began firing on the AMF with AK-47s. All three were apprehended after a short firefight.
- The three men were brought to Salerno for questioning. They had one AK-47, one pistol, one ICOM radio turned to the Salerno security frequency, one set of binoculars, eight hand grenades, one small video camera. The men stated that there was another man neat the Lakan Madrassa.
- The AMF arrested two more men at the Madrassa with two AK-47s, bayonets, one set of binoculars, and a spare videocasette for the video camera. The detainee was one of the two men captured at the compound. The detainee was identified as someone who shot an AMF soldier in March.
[edit] The following primary factors favor release or transfer:
-
- The detainee stated he supports the new Afghani governmnet and fully believes America's presence with Afghanistan [sic] is important to achieving peace within his country.
- The detainee claims he is not presently, nor has he ever been affiliated with al Qaida.
[edit] Testimony
[edit] References
- ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
- ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Mahbub Rahman'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 93-108
- ^ Pentagon reveals Guantanamo names, BBC, March 4, 2006
- ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Mahbub Rahman's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 90
