Abdullah Hekmat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abdullah Hekmat is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.[1] Hekmat's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 670. American intelligence analysts estimate that Hekmat was born in 1972, in Akhcha, Afghanistan.

Contents

[edit] Background

Abdullah Hekmat is an Afghan businessman who was denounced to American forces, and spent many years in Guantanamo. He acknowledged that he had been involuntarily conscripted into the Taliban's civil service in the mid-1980s.

[edit] Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a trailer the size of a large RV. The captive sat on a plastic garden chair, with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor. Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed. The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007)Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.
Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a trailer the size of a large RV. The captive sat on a plastic garden chair, with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.[2][3] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.[4]
The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007)
Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.

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.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdullah Hekmat's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 22 November 2004.[5] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

The detainee is a member of the Taliban:
  1. The detainee was a member of the Taliban.
  2. The detainee was in charge of the 3rd police precinct in Mazir e Sharif [sic] under the Taliban.
  3. The detainee signed all official correspondence in his position with the Taliban police.
  4. The detainee's duties for the police included conscripting young men for the Taliban by grabbing them off the street.
  5. The detainee was authorized to receive money from the abovementioned conscriptees in lieu of their service to the Taliban.
  6. The detainee stated he was hired as a supervisor in a petroleum company as a result of a resume he prepared for the Taliban.
  7. The detainee's position with the aforementioned petroleum company required his nomination to the Prime Minister by a high-ranking Taliban official and approval by the Cabinet.
  8. The detainee was in charge of approximately 15,000 people with the aforementioned petroleum company.
  9. The detainee was in charge of the aforementioned petroleum company for approximately eighteen months.
  10. The detainee was captured with an article about the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) given to him by an Imam.
  11. The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Executive Order 13224.

[edit] Transcript

This is one of bounty posters distributed by the USA in Afghanistan. The caption states: "You can receive millions of dollars for helping the Anti-Taliban Force catch Al-Qaida and Taliban murderers. This enough money to take care of your family, your village, your tribe for the rest of your life. Pay for livestock and doctors and school books and housing for all your people."
This is one of bounty posters distributed by the USA in Afghanistan. The caption states[6]: "You can receive millions of dollars for helping the Anti-Taliban Force catch Al-Qaida and Taliban murderers. This enough money to take care of your family, your village, your tribe for the rest of your life. Pay for livestock and doctors and school books and housing for all your people."

Hekmat chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[7] On March 3, 2006 the Department of Defense complied with a court order and released summarized transcripts from the unclassified sessions of the captives' Tribunals. Abdullah Hekmat's transcript was twelve pages long.

[edit] Testimony

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearing

Hearing room where Guantanamo captive's annual Administrative Review Board hearings convened for captives whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal had already determined they were an "enemy combatant".
Hearing room where Guantanamo captive's annual Administrative Review Board hearings convened for captives whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal had already determined they were an "enemy combatant".[8]

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.

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdullah Hekmat's Administrative Review Board, on 30 June 2005.[9] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] Transcript

Hekmat chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[10] In the Spring of 2006 the Department of Defense complied with a court order and released a ten page summarized transcript of his hearing.

[edit] Factors for and against continued detention

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee was a Taliban member.
  2. Shortly after joining the Taliban, the detainee was placed in charge of the 3rd Police Precinct in Mazar-e-Sharif [sic] where his duties included conscription and receiving bribes in lieu of conscription.
  3. The detainee, in his role at the 3rd Police Precinct, signed all official paperwork while he was in charge for two months.
  4. The detainee was identified as President of the Department of Research and Exploration in Sheberghan Province for 18 months during the late 1990s.
  5. The appointment process involved a written proposal submitted to the Prime Minister for careful review before the Prime Minister would issue the appointment order to the Cabinet for final approval.
b. Other Relevant Data
The detainee was turned over to a commander of Dustum’s forces, he was in prison for four months, and then [sic] turned over to U.S. Forces as a Taliban and al Qaida operative.

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

a.

Four armed men arrested the detainee from Mazar-e-Sharif [sic] under the pretense of protecting him from Hazra tribes.
b.

The detainee was convinced by his father-in-law to join the Taliban because it would keep their family safe.
c.

The detainee claims he was indifferent regarding the Russian [sic] government, the Taliban, or the United States, as he was too busy with his business and trying to make money to worry about issues pertaining to their agendas.
d.

When asked how he felt about Jihad, the detainee stated that he had no desire for Jihad or "other stupid things" (NFI), and that he just wanted to go home, be with his family, and try to restart his business.
e.

When asked what he would do if released back to Afghanistan, the detainee stated that he would return to his businesses and family.

[edit] Response to the factors

[edit] Response to Board questions

[edit] Board recommendations

In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.[11][12] The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on October 5, 2005.

[edit] References

  1. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
  2. ^ Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror
  3. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
  4. ^ Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials. United States Department of Defense (March 6, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
  5. ^ OARDEC (22 November 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Hekmat, Abdullah pages 33-34. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  6. ^ Mark Denbeaux et. all.. "Report on Guantanamo detainees: A Profile of 517 Detainees", Seton Hall University, February 8, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-02-01. 
  7. ^ OARDEC (date redacted). Summarized Sworn Detainee Statement pages 59-70. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  8. ^ Spc Timothy Book. "Review process unprecedented", JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office, Friday March 10, 2006, pp. pg 1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  9. ^ OARDEC (30 June 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Hekmat, Abdullah pages 90-91. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  10. ^ OARDEC (date redacted). Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings of ISN 670 pages 61-70. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  11. ^ OARDEC (October 5, 2005). Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 670 pages 96-97. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
  12. ^ OARDEC (July 14, 2005). Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 670 pages 98-106. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.