Mohammed Mussa Yakubi

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Mohammed Mussa Yakubi 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 1165.

[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.

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

[edit] allegations

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

1. The detainee ^[sic] immediate superior is a known Taliban security officer.
2. The detainee ^[sic] immediate supervisor was identified as a member in Harakat-e-Mnlavi.
3. When captured, the detainee's brother had in his possession a card identifying him as a member of Hezb-I-Islami (HIG).

-- The general summary of Yakubi's hostile activity is missing from the transcript. --

1. The detainee was present at the site of an attack (remotely controlled TED (Improvised Explosive Device)) on U.S. Forces near Gardez, Afghanistan on 4 Jun 03.
2. At the time of his capture, the detainee had under his control an 82mm Mortar, ammunition for that Mortar, and a tin filled with gunpowder.

[edit] testimony

Yakubi responded to the first and second allegations -- that his supervisor was with the Taliban and Harakat-e-Mnlavi, by saying he worked for the Karzai government, not for his supervisor, and his bosses political affiliation had nothing to do with him.

Yakubi said he had been a refugee in Iran, and the card in question was merely a refugee card.

Yakubi said that the explosion occurred four months before his capture. He was a member of a security force working on the day of the explosion. He was nearby when the explosion occurred. He was one of the first security officers to arrive on the scene.

He had been at his unit's command post when a civilian reported that when they washed themselves in the river, near the bridge they saw something suspicios on a nearby tree. Two of his colleagues, Wally ^[sic] and Jon ^[sic] had been dispatched, to investigate.

As his colleagues headed off to investigate an American car approached the checkpoint on the bridge at excessive speed. The American car didn't stop, it almost hit one of the security guards at the checkpoint. And, as it passed over the bridge, explosives that had been hidden in the tree near the bridge exploded.

Yakubi said he was part of the large team that combed the area for evidence. The investigating team took pictures. Americans came and helped join the search for evidence.

The Americans asked his commander who was in charge of the post? The Americans took Wally and Jon to their headquarters, for questioning. And released them two hours later. Wally and Jon told the Americans that the American car to stop. The driver of the American car acknowledged that he had seen them wave for him to stop, but he didn't stop and just kept going.

Four months later he was stopped, in the bazaar, by an American soldier and his interpreter. He asked Yakubi if he knew anything about the explosion. And when he said he did, that the government knew all about it, and it had nothing to do with him, The American took him into custody.

Yakubi explained that he didn't have a mortar with him when he was arrested. When he was on duty a mortar was one of the official weapons in his unit's command post.

[edit] Yakubi's opening statement

Yakubi told his Tribunal that "thing had been added to to his file". It had been embellished. It contained allegations he had never been asked about during his interrogations.

[edit] Yakubi's testimony in response to Tribunal officer's questions

Yakubi said he was at his post when the explosion occurred, putting him about 600 meters from the explosion.

Yakubi confirmed that he was captured four months after the explosion.

Yakubi said he believed his brother with the card that triggered suspicion had been released.

Yakubi said he didn't know the English translation of Harakat-e-Molavi.

Yakubi said he started working as security officer four months after the fall of the Taliban. During the Taliban regime he worked at the bazaar.

Yakubi immediate supervisor was Abdula Mojaheed ^[sic]. He met him after the fall of the Taliban, and he had no idea what his political affiliation was.

Yakubi said that it was traditional for roadblocks to have a heavy weapon. He denied that there was a tin of gunpowder at his checkpoint.

Yakubi told his Tribunal he had no training on how to use a mortar, or how tu use an AK-47, or any military training whatsoever.

[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.

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

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. The detainee had plans to blow up the main Gardez bridge using explosives and a remote controlled improvised explosive device (IED).
2. The detainee was suspected of targeting the United States forces.
3. The detainee told American forces that he possessed a Kalashnikov rifle and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) rounds at his home.
4. The detainee was responsible for the IED attack on United States Security Forces in Gardez, Afghanistan.
5. The detainee took the jeep of a local merchant name Bahauddeen, and never returned it. The jeep contained 5 AK assault rifles, 2 rockets, and 1 machine gun.

b. Training

1. The detainee stated that he was trained at his post on how to fire the AK-47 and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) by other personnel at the check post.
2. The detainee admitted to firing an RPG only one time during training.

c. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee has ties to Anti-Coalition Militants, has conducted recruiting, and had planned on blowing up the bridge in Gardez, Afghanistan.
2. The detainee's brother was apprehended for suspected involvement in mortar attacks on United States forces. The detainee's brother was found to be in the possession of a Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) identification card.
3. Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) is a Terrorist organization.
4. The detainee and Bow Audin ^[sic] are cousins. Audin is known to have sold explosives and rockets.

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

The detainee states that al Qaida are bad people and blames them for ruining his country.

[edit] References

1. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
2. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Mohammed Mussa Yakubi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 3-10
3. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Mohammed Mussa Yakubi's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 298