Rahmatullah

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Rahmatullah is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.^[1] Rahmatullah's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 964. American intelligence analysts estimate that Rahmatullah was born in 1981, in Helmand, Afghanistan.

Rahmatullah is one of approximately one dozen Afghans captured on February 10, 2003, following an ambush on an American convoy, near the village of Lejay, Afghanistan.

1 Combatant Status Review Tribunal
2 Administrative Review Board hearing
- 2.1 Factors for and against continued detention:
- 2.2 Testimony
3 See also
4 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 tribunal 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.

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

[edit] witnesses

Rahmatullah requested two witnesses: Haji Manan and Khurullah, his father. The Tribunal's President ruled that the witnesses were relevant, but "not reasonably available".

[edit] allegations

The allegations against Rahmatullah were:

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

The detainee has strong ties to the Taliban.
The detainee organized a violent anti-government protest in Tarin Kowt, which urged Afghans to kill United States Forces and any Afghan who assisted the United States Forces.
The detainee was reported to have close ties to a former senior Taliban military commander

b. -- The general summary of the allegations of hostile activity were missing from the transcript. --

The detainee fit the description of one of the individuals leaving the site of the ambush against U.S. forces.
The detainee was involved in the ambush of United States Forces and was captured with a large cache of weapons.
The detainee suffered hearing loss when captured, which was caused by firing weapons.

[edit] Response to the allegations

Rahmatullah denied having strong ties to the Taliban. He denied having any ties to the Taliban. He denied even knowing any members of the Taliban. As a tractor driver he never had any occasion to meet any member of the Taliban.
Rahmatullah denied any knowledge of an anti-government protest in Tarin Kowt. He testified he didn't know where Tarin Kowt was. He reminded his Tribunal that he was just a "little kid" when he was arrested.
Rahmatullah denied having close ties to a senior Taliban. He repeated he didn't know any members of the Taliban.

Rahmatullah asked to hear what description he matched. He disputed the credibility of the idea that he would participate in an attack, and then walk right up to the Americans.
Rahmatullah denied participating in the ambush of United States Forces. He denied carrying any weapons.
Rahmatullah denied having any difficulty with his hearing.

[edit] Opening statement

[edit] Response to Tribunal questions

[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.

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

[edit] Factors for and against continued detention:

Guantanamo counter-terror analysts compiled factors for and against the continued detention of each of the captives who remained in detention in December 2005, with the exception of ten captives who were to face charges before a military commission, and the remaining captives from the 38 who had been determined, by their Combatant Status Review Tribunals, not to have been "enemy combatants" after all. The "Summary of Evidence" memo that contained these factors always broke the factors into those that "favor continued detention", and those that "favor release or transfer". The factors that favor continued detention were always broken down into subcategories, like "Intent", "Training", "Commitment". The factors listed in each subcategory were always numbered. Most transcripts recorded the categories and subcategories. Most transcripts recorded the factor's numbering. But Rahmatullah's transcript doesn't.

The detainee was traveling home to celebrate the Eid holiday and caught a ride in a taxi with seven other people.
While in the taxi traveling from Sayehow to his home in Lerak, the taxi passed through the town of Lejay. The detainee advised that outside of Lejay, he heard explosions and saw airplanes and helicopters flying overhead.
As U.S. elements approached the village of Lejay (Wahid stronghold) at approximately 0200Z the morning of 10 February 2003; they were ambushed from the high ground on both sides of the road. The enemy fired from well-prepare ambush positions, and employed a high volume of RPK, PKM, AK, and RPG fire.
U.S. forces seized and conducted cordon and search of Wahid compound and took 70 personnel into custody initially in/around town. All personnel were screened and 11 were recommended for detention.
The 11 individuals were apprehended returning from the ambush sites or in fighting positions in/around Lejay. They were deaf, had powder burns, and had blood on their clothes.
Personnel were observed standing in a group where the ambush positions were located. The personnel got into a white car or onto motorcycles and proceeded down the road to the traffic control point. The personnel, including the detainee, were questioned and detained.
All occupants of the vehicle were wearing olive drab green jackets. The detainee was assessed to be suffering hearing loss when captured, caused by firing weapons.
The detainee claimed to not know the difference between al Qaida and ^[sic] Taliban. He had only heard of Abdul Wahid, thinking that he had disappeared.
The detainee states that he does not know any of the travelers in the vehicle when he was captured. He professes to be a poor farmer.
The detainee denied traveling to any location outside Afghanistan and no farther than Kandahar.
The detainee denied being part of the Taliban or any other militia group.
The detainee likes the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, because he believes the U.S. is there to help rebuild the country.
The detainee advised that his brother bought the jacket at a bazaar and later gave it to him.

[edit] Testimony

Rahmatullah described himself as a day laborer.
Rahmatullah was taking a jitney taxi from the village near where he had been working to the village where he lived. Around 11 am it passed through the village of Lejay. He and the other passengers saw planes and heard gunfire. They proceeded through Lejay, where he was arrested.

The designated Military Officer said that the US had launched an attack on this village at 10am, because they believed it was a stronghold for the forces of Raes Abdul Wahed, a resistance leader. The US report said US forces captured 70 men, and decided to hold 11 men, asserting that they had blood on their clothes, or gunpowder, or they were hard of hearing. Rahmatullah denied having any blood or gunpowder stains on his clothing, or that there was anything wrong with his hearing.