Bagram Theater Internment Facility

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bagram Theater Internment Facility is a controversial American detention facility located at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.^[1][2] It was formerly known as the Bagram Collection Point. While initially intended as a temporary location, this facility now has lasted longer and accumulated more detainees than the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Many of these captives have been subject to severe abuse.^[3]

Contents 1 Physical site 2 Torture and prisoner abuse 3 High profile escapes 4 Legal status of detainees 5 Captives access to video link 6 Captives reported to have been held in Bagram 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Physical site

During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan the Soviets built a large military airfield outside Bagram.^[4][5][6] The airfield included large hangars that fell into disrepair when the Soviets were ousted.

When the Americans and their local allies ousted the Taliban, American forces took possession of the former Soviet base. The Americans didn't need the volume of hangar space, so a detention facility was built inside large unused hangars. Like the first facilities built at Guantanamo's Camp X-Ray, the cells were built of wire mesh. However, only captives held in solitary confinement have a cell of their own.^[7] The other captives share larger open cells with other captives.

According to some accounts, captives were provided with shared buckets to use as toilets, and did not have access to running water. ^[8] Although captives share their cells with dozens of other captives, there are also reports that they are not allowed to speak with one another, or even to look at one another.^[7]

During an interview on PBS, Chris Hogan, a former interrogator at Bagram, described the prisoner's cells in early 2002.^[9]

"I can't speak to what the conditions may be like now. But in my tenure, the prison population lived in an abandoned Soviet warehouse. The warehouse had a cement floor and it was a huge square-footage area. "On the floor of that, what must have been some sort of an airplane hangar, six prison cages were erected, which were divided by concertina wire ... Those prison cages had a wooden floor, a platform built above the cement floor of the hangar. Each prisoner had a bunch of blankets, a small mat, and in the back of each one of those cages was a makeshift toilet, the same type of toilet that the soldiers used, which was a 50-gallon drum, halved with diesel fuel put in the bottom of it and a wooden kind of seat to that platform ... It's very similar, incidentally, to the conditions that the soldiers lived in; almost identical."

According to an article by Tim Golden, published in the January 7, 2008 issue of the New York Times captives in the Bagram facility were still being housed in large communal pens.^[10]

[edit] Torture and prisoner abuse

Main article: Bagram torture and prisoner abuse

Two captives are known to have been beaten to death by GIs manning the facility, in December 2002.^[11]

Captives who were confined to both Bagram and Guantanamo have recounted that, while in Bagram, they were warned that if they didn't cooperate more fully, they would be sent to a worse site, in Cuba.^[12][13] Captives who have compared the two camps have said that conditions were far worse in Bagram.^[14]

[edit] High profile escapes

When the GIs implicated in the December 2002 homicides were about to face court martial, four prisoners escaped from Bagram. At least one of these was a prosecution witness, and was thus unable to testify^[5][15].

[edit] Legal status of detainees

The Bush Administration avoids using the label "prisoner of war" when discussing the detainees held at Bagram, preferring to immediately classify them as "unlawful enemy combatants." This way, it is not necessary under the Geneva Conventions to have a competent tribunal determine their classification. (In previous conflicts such as Vietnam, Army Regulation 190-8 Tribunals determined the status of prisoners of war.)

The administration also initially argued that these detainees could not access the US legal system. However, the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Rasul v. Bush confirmed that captives in US jurisdiction did indeed have the right to access US courts. Rasul v. Bush determined that the Executive Branch did not have the authority, under the United States Constitution, to suspend the right for detainees to submit writs of habeas corpus.

Another consequence of the Supreme Court's ruling in Rasul v. Bush was the establishment of Combatant Status Review Tribunals to review and confirm the information that initially lead each captive to be classified as an enemy combatant. The DoD convened these tribunals for every captive in Guantanamo Bay, but they did not apply to Bagram.

The current legal process governing the status of Bagram captives is the Enemy Combatant Review Board, described by Eliza Griswold in the The New Republic^[2]:

Prisoners don't even have the limited access to lawyers available to prisoners in Guantánamo. Nor do they have the right to Combatant Status Review Tribunals, which Guantánamo detainees won in the 2004 Supreme Court ruling in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. Instead, if a combat commander chooses, he can convene an Enemy Combatant Review Board (ECRB), at which the detainee has no right to a personal advocate, no chance to speak in his own defense, and no opportunity to review the evidence against him. The detainee isn't even allowed to attend. And, thanks to such limited access to justice, many former detainees say they have no idea why they were either detained or released.

[edit] Captives access to video link

On January 15, 2008 the International Committee of the Red Cross and the US military set up a pilot project to allow American captives in Afghanistan to communicate with visitors over a videolink.^[16] The ICRC will provide captives family with a subsidy to cover their travel expenses to the video-link's studio.

[edit] Captives reported to have been held in Bagram

According to Tim Golden of the New York Times the number of captives held in Bagram has doubled since 2004, while the number of captives held in Guantanamo has been halved.^[10] The DoD stopped transferring captives apprehended in Afghanistan to Guantanamo following the Supreme Court's ruling in Rasul v. Bush. A graphic published to accompany Golden's article showed approximately 300 captives in Bagram, and approximately 600 in Guantanamo, in May 2004, and showed the reverse in December 2007.^[17]

Guantanamo ISN	Name	Notes
762	Abaidullah	Reported abuse in Bagram to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal in Guantanamo.[18]
307	Abd Al Nasir Mohammed Abd Al Qadir Khantumani	Sent to Bagram after several days of beatings by Afghan solciers in Gardez.[19]. Eventually sent to Guantanamo.[20]
489	Abd Al Rahim Abdul Rassak Janko	Passed directly from Taliban custody American custody.[21] Taliban believed he was an American spy.
686	Abdel Ghalib Ahmad Hakim	Testified to his Combatatant Status Review Tribunal that he had spent months in detention in Pakistani custody, and then in American custody, in Kandahar and Bagram, prior to being transferred to Cuba.[22] He said none of his interrogators had asked him questions that implied they thought he was affiliated with Al Qaida until after he came to Cuba.
	Abdul Al Salam Al Hilal
963	Abdul Bagi	Testified, to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, that he learned,seven days after his capture, in Bagram, that he was accused of tossing a rifle down a well,[23] Would have arrived in Bagram on February 17, 2003.[23] Eventually transferred to Guantanamo.[20]
502	Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy
1032	Abdul Ghaffar
954	Abdul Ghafour
1007	Abdul Halim Sadiqi
	Abdul Jabar	A 35-year-old taxi driver who testified he was held near Dilawar and experienced similar abuse.[24]
1002	Abdul Matin
874	Abdul Nasir
	Abdul Razaq	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
306	Abdul Salam Zaeef	Former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan.[25] Reports abuse in Bagram.[26] Currently under house arrest.[26]
	Abdul Salaam	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
753	Abdul Zahir
	Abdur Rahim	One of the passengers in Dilawar's jitney taxi.[14] Testified to the same kind of abuse that killed Dilawar.[14] Eventually transferred to Guantanamo -- but his name is missing from the official list of Guantanamo captives.[20]
	Abdul Wahid	Beaten to death in Bagram on November 6, 2003.[27]
332	Abdullah Al Tayabi
	Abdullah Shahab
452	Abu Bakir Jamaludinovich
	Abu Yahia al-Libi
	Adel Hassan Hamad
	Ahmaddullah	Captured with five other men from the village of Kirmati, near Gardez city in late May 2002. and his brother [28]
845	Akhtar Mohammed
	Amanullah	Captured with five other men from the village of Kirmati, near Gardez city in late May 2002. and his brother [28]
	Amanullah	A veteran of struggle against Afghanistan's Soviet invaders, in the 1980s, captured in early 2004, who reports he never learned why he was apprehended.[7][29] Claims he was held for a year in solitary confinement in Bagram.[7]
948	Anwar Khan (Guantanamo detainee 948)
	Asim Thahit Abdullah Al Khalaqi
	Atag Ali Abdoh Al-Haj
782	Awal Gul
	Richard Belmar
975	Bostan Karim
BT421[30]	Dilawar	Beaten to death in Bagram on December 10, 2002.[27]
680	Emad Abdalla Hassan
888	Esmatulla
688	Fahmi Abdullah Ahmed
	Fazal Ahmad	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
987	Ghalib
516	Ghanim Abdul Rahman Al Harbi
	Ghanum Gul	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
1021	Gul Chaman
	Gul Mohammed	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Gul Rehman	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
907	Habib Rahman
	Habibullah	Beaten to death in Bagram on December 4, 2002.[27]
1001	Hafizullah Shabaz Khail
	Hameedullah	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Hakkim Shah	A 32-year-old farmer who testified he was held near Dilawar and experienced similar abuse.[24]
	Hamid Ullah	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
1119	Haji Hamidullah
	Hasan Balgaid	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
940	Hassan Adel Hussein
94	Ibrahim Daif Allah Neman Al Sehli
	Jan Baz Khan	A militia leader who captured and turned over Dilawar, Habibullah, Khandan Kadir. and half a dozen other captives.[31][14][24] Had the security contract for Firebase Salerno. Turned over suspects following a rocket attack on December 1, 2002, only to fall under suspicion of being behind the attack himself.[14] The nephew and protege of a powerful militia leader named Pacha Khan Zadran.
	Jawed Ahmad	An Afghan journalist working as a cameraman for the Canadian CTV network who was accused of being in possession of video of members of the Taliban.[32][33] The American base commander confirmed that a review Board determined that he was an "unlawful enemy combatant".[34][35]
1095	Jumma Jan
586	Karam Khamis Sayd Khamsan
	Khalid Mahomoud Abdul Wahab Al Asmr
831	Khandan Kadir	A pharmacist who was hired by the new government of Afghanistan's to be Khowst's regional director of the anti-narcotics branch of its new Intelligence service.[31] Denounced and captured by Jan Baz, a local militia leader who was himself captured by the Americans, four months later.[31] Eventually transferred to Guantanamo.[20]
	Khoja Mohammad	Captured with five other men from the village of Kirmati, near Gardez city in late May 2002. and his brother [28]
	Lufti Bin Swei Lagha
1052	Mahbub Rahman	A teenage student. captured with, Azimullah, Mohammed Salim and Rahman Tulah, accused of helping guide fighters who launched a rocket attack on Firebase Salerno.[36] Eventually transferred to Guantanamo.[20]
519	Mahrar Rafat Al Quwari
	Malik Abdual Rahim	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
939	Mammar Ameur
558	Moazzam Begg
909	Mohabet Khan
333	Mohamed Atiq Awayd Al Harbi
	Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah
900	Mohamed Jawad
7	Mohammad Fazil
849	Mohammed Nasim
681	Mohammed Mohammed Hassen
1008	Mohammed Mustafa Sohail
	Mohammad Naim	Captured with five other men from the village of Kirmati, near Gardez city in late May 2002. and his brother [28]
955	Mohammed Quasam
	Mohammed Salim	Captured with Mahbub Rahman, Azimullah and Rahman Tulah.[36] Mahbub Rahman requested a statement from him, at his Tribunal. He was told that although he was still in US custody, in Bagram, his testimony was not reasonably available.[36]
532	Mohammed Sharif
	Mohammed Yaqoub Akhounzada	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
1004	Mohammed Yacoub
	Mohibullah	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Mubibbullah Khan	A District Chief in Zabul Province who was apprehended in September 2005, accused of being a Taliban informant.[29] Lived out most of the Taliban's administration in exile in Pakistan.[29]
	Muhammed Dawood	David Hicks was also known as Muhammed Dawood. One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
839	Musab Omar Ali Al Mudwani
	Maulvi Naeem	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Naqeebyllah Shaheen Shahwali Zair Mohammed
967	Naserullah
1019	Nasibullah
	Nazar Mohammed	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Omar Deghayes
	Parkhudin	Testified before the inquiry into Dilawar's death that he was suspended from the ceiling for 8 to 10 days.[24]
591	Qari Esmhatulla
	Qibullah	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Raheem Ullah	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
835	Rasool Shahwali Zair Mohammed Mohammed
	Raz Mohammad	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
945	Said Amir Jan
1035	Sada Jan
1056	Said Mohammed
1154	Said Mohammed Ali Shah
311	Saiid Farhi
	Salih
	Samoud Khan
	Sardar Khan	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Sardar Mohammad	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Saud Memon	Alleged to have played a role in the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl.[37][38][39] Disappeared shortly after Pearl's murder, only to be left on the doorsteps of his family in April 2007.[37][38][39] Saud Memon's weight had dropped to 36 kilograms; he was unable to recognize his relatives; and died less than a month after his release.[37][38][39] On November 12, 2007 the [[Wall Street Journal reported that he had been held and interrogated in Bagram.[37][38][39]
914	Shardar Khan
944	Sharifullah
899	Shawali Khan
834	Shahwali Zair Mohammed Shaheen Naqeebyllah
	Sherbatp	Captured with five other men from the village of Kirmati, near Gardez city in late May 2002. and his brother [28]
933	Swar Khan
902	Taj Mohammed
	Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah
	Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil
550	Walid Said Bin Said Zaid
	Zakim Shah	A 20-year-old farmer who testified he was held near Dilawar and experienced similar abuse.[24]
	Zafir Khan	One of the captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus petition is known as Ghulam Mohammed v. Don Rumsfeld.
	Zalmay Shah

[edit] References

1. ^ Tim Golden, Eric Schmitt. "A Growing Afghan Prison Rivals Bleak Guantánamo", New York Times, February 26, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-12-09. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Eliza Griswold. "The other Guantánamo. Black Hole", The New Republic, May 2, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-05. 
3. ^ Vice Admiral Albert T. Church, III (Thursday, March 10, 2005). ISTF Final Report. Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
4. ^ Afghanistan — Bagram Airbase. Global Security. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Bagram: US base in Afghanistan", BBC, Tuesday, February 27, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-24. 
6. ^ Sanjeev Miglani. "Afghan air force ready for take off, just needs planes", Daily Times (Pakistan), Saturday, June 8, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-09-24. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Ron Synovitz. "Afghanistan: Kabul Seeks Release Of More Bagram Detainees", Radio Free Europe, Thursday, October 5, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-27. 
8. ^ Moazzqam Begg v. George W. Bush. United States Department of Defense (July 2, 2004,). Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
9. ^ Interview: Chris Hogan on U.S. Detention Facilities. NOW (PBS) (July 28, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
10. ^ ^{a b} Tim Golden. "Defying U.S. Plan, Prison Expands in Afghanistan", New York Times, January 7, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-07. 
11. ^ "Army completes investigations of deaths at Bagram and forwards to respective commanders for action", United States Department of Defense, October 14, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-09-24. 
12. ^ Allegations and response (.pdf), from Abdullah Khan's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 59-63
13. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdullah Khan's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 14-20
14. ^ ^{a b c d e} Tim Golden. "In U.S. Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths", New York Times, May 20, 2005. Retrieved on March 27. 
15. ^ "Afghanistan: Manhunt Continues For Four Suspected Al-Qaeda Fighters", Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 2005-07-12. 
16. ^ "Visual chat facility for Afghan prisoners", One World South Asia, January 15, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-17. 
17. ^ Tim Golden. "Where the Detainees Have Been Held", New York Times, January 7, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-07. 
18. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Abaidullah's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 219
19. ^ written statement (.pdf), from Abd Al Nasir Mohammed Abd Al Qadir Khantumani's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - page 97
20. ^ ^{a b c d e} list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
21. ^ Paul Haven. "From Taliban jail to Gitmo – hard-luck prisoners tell of unending ordeal", San Diego Union Tribune, June 30, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. 
22. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdel Ghalib Ahmad Hakim's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 15-21
23. ^ ^{a b} Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdul Bagi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 1-12
24. ^ ^{a b c d e} Carlotta Gall, David Rohde, Eric Schmitt. "THE REACH OF WAR: THE PRISONS; Afghan Abuse Charges Raise New Questions on Authority", New York Times, September 17, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-09-21. 
25. ^ Taliban ambassador Zaeef freed from Guantanamo Bay, Pajhwok Afghan News
26. ^ ^{a b} Olaf Ihlau. "Ex-Taliban Official Calls for Unity Government in Afghanistan", Der Spiegel, April 12, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. 
27. ^ ^{a b c} Medical Investigations of Homicides of Prisoners of War in Iraq and Afghanistan. Medscape. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
28. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Violations by U.S. Forces", Human Rights Watch. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. 
29. ^ ^{a b c} Matthew Pennington. "Inmates Detail U.S. Prison Near Kabul", Associated Press, Sunday, October 1, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. 
30. ^ Richard Leiby. "Down a dark road: Movie Uses Afghan's Death to Ask Tough Questions About U.S. and Torture", Washington Post, Friday, April 27, 2007, p. C01. Retrieved on 2007-09-30. 
31. ^ ^{a b c} Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Khandan Kadir's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 9-31
32. ^ "Afghan journalist detained at Bagram Air Base", Committee to Protect Journalists, February 18, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. "New York, February 18, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned by the detention of Canadian Television (CTV) journalist Jawed Ahmad by U.S. military forces at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, for almost three months without charge." 
33. ^ "U.S. should grant rights to detained CTV journalist: groups", CBC News, Tuesday, February 19, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. "We are deeply troubled that Jawed Ahmad has been secluded in a U.S. military base for nearly three months without charge," Joel Simon, executive director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement."The United States military must explain the reason for his detention and accord him due process. If he is not charged with any crime then he must be released immediately." 
34. ^ "Pentagon detains CTV's Afghan journalist", Toronto Sun, February 27, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. "A military spokesman says a review board has determined that Jawed Ahmad, an Afghan national, is a danger to foreign troops and the Afghan government." 
35. ^ Tang, Alisa. "Afghan CTV journalist declared enemy combatant", Toronto Star, February 27, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-02. "The U.S. military said today a journalist working for Canada's CTV television network, who has been held for four months without being charged, has been designated an unlawful enemy combatant." 
36. ^ ^{a b c} Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Mahbub Rahman'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 93-108
37. ^ ^{a b c d} Jay Solomon, Steve LeVine. "Suspect in Pearl Murder Was Held, Covertly Questioned Before Death", Wall Street Journal, Monday, November 12, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. 
38. ^ ^{a b c d} "Pearl`s murder suspect died after interrogation: Report", Zee News, India edition, November 19, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. 
39. ^ ^{a b c d} "Suspect in Pearl's killing dies after interrogation: report", Agence France Presse, November 13, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 

[edit] External links

• Ron Synovitz. "Afghanistan: Kabul Seeks Release Of More Bagram Detainees", Radio Free Europe, Thursday, October 5, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-09-24. 
• William Fisher. "Bagram: The other Gitmo", Asia Times, January 16, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.