Khi Ali Gul

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Khi Ali Gul is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 928. Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate that he was born in 1963, in Khowst, Afghanistan.

[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.^[2][3] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.^[4]

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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 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.

Gul chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[5]

[edit] Witness requests

Gul requested the testimony of his father and brother. His Tribunal’s President ruled that their testimony was relevant. On October 27, 2004 the US State Department was requested to ask the Afghanistan embassy in Washington to ask the Afghan civil service to locate Gul’s witnesses - - by November 17, 2004. When no response had been received by November 9, 2004 a second request was sent through the State Department. No response was received by November 27, 2004, the date of the Tribunal. So the Tribunal’s President ruled Gul’s witnesses “not reasonably available”.

Main article: Witnesses requested by Guantanamo detainees

The study entitled, No-hearing hearings, cited Khi Ali Gul as an example of a captive who was unreasonably denied the testimony of exculpatory witnesses.^[6] The study quoted his Tribunal's President:

"[W]e will keep this matter open for a reasonable period of time; that is, if we receive back from Afghanistan this witness request, even if we close the proceedings today, with new evidence, we would be open to introducing or re-introducing any witness statements we might receive."

The study reported that Khi Ali Gul's Tribunal was never reconvened.^[6] The study commented:

"Khi Ali Gul's requested that his brother be produced as a witness and provided the Tribunal with his brother’s telephone number and address. Instead of calling the phone number provided, which might have produced an immediate result, the Government instead sent a request to the Afghan embassy."

[edit] Allegations

The allegations Gul faced during his Tribunal were:

a. The detainee is associated with forces engaged in hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners.

1. The detainee is associated with an individual known to have illegally procured and stockpiled several mortars, artillery pieces and rounds, a BM 12, rockets, DSHKs, and various small arms.
2. The detainee is a commander in a Jihadi Battalion.
3. The detainee was a member of an organization known to have committed a terrorist act.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its Coalition Partners.

1. The detainee participated in planning the attack on U.S. Forces located at Forward Operating Base Salerno, 01 December 2002.

[edit] Exculpatory evidence dismissed

Khi Ali Gul was told he could not call for the testimony of any witnesses. He was told he could present letters.Khi Ali Gul then told his Board:

"I have a letter from my family saying that I am not a mullah, a Talib, or anything and it [ask] what is my crime."

Khi Ali Gul's Presiding Officer then asked his Assisting Military Officer whether he had explained what kinds of documents Khi Ali Gul could bring in his defense. The Assisting Military Officer claimed he had explained the rules, so the Presiding Officer informed him that his letter would not be considered at that day's session. He was told that it would be considered if he was able to get a copy to the Board in the next day or so.

[edit] Response to the Tribunal officer's questions

[edit] Orange uniform

Khi Ali Gul's Tribunal officers asked him to explain why he was wearing an orange uniform -- the uniform issued to Guantanamo captives regarded as "non-compliant".

Main article: Guantanamo captive's uniforms

[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.

Gul chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[7]

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Training

1. The detainee is a former mujahedin soldier and fought in the jihad against the Russians from 1984-1989.

b. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee was an intelligence chief during the Taliban regime.
2. The detainee was a member of the Union of Mujahedin. The group detonated an explosive device in a Khowst bazaar.
3. The detainee was imprisoned for his affiliation with Jalaluddin Haqqani.
4. Jalaludin Haqqani is the former Taliban Minister of the Frontiers and Tribal Affairs and conducted Anti-Coalition Militia (ACM) activities in the Khowst Province.
5. The detainee worked with Abbas Khan.
6. Abbas Khan collaborated with Jalaludin Haqqani to conduct Anti-Coalition Militia activities.
7. The detainee reportedly met with Usama bin Laden in Khowst during the Mazar-I-Sharif bombing campaign.

c. Detainee Actions and Statements:

1. The detainee was one of the commanders of the Gorbaz Medani Regiment.
2. The detainee was involved in the planning of a rocket attack on a U.S. base. The planning meeting was held at his house.

d. Other Relevant Data:

1. The detainee was part of a Taliban assassination team.
2. The detainee was captured on 23 December 2002 while riding in a minibus to the Khowst bazaar at an Afghan Military Forces checkpoint.

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

a. The detainee stated he had no animosity towards U.S. Forces and had no desire for jihad or revenge.

b. The detainee plans to return to Afghanistan, re-unite with his family, and work on a farm.

[edit] Enemy Combatant Election Form

Khi Ali Gul's Enemy Combatant Election Form, read out by his Assisting Military Officer, informed the Board that he met with Khi Ali Gul on September 1, 2005, for 90 minutes. He described Khi Ali Gul as polite and cooperative throughout.

The Assisting Military Officer quoted Khi Ali Gul:

"Yes I will join the ARB, we are not happy with the last court. They told us they would release the innocent. We told the truth and they didn't let us go. So why do they call us Enemy Combatants?"

The Assisting Military Officer told the Board that he repeated the difference between the Combatant Status Review Tribunal and the Administrative Review Board hearings. The Assisting Military Officer told the Board that he repeated that both procedures were "Administrative"; that neither was a court of law.

[edit] Response to the factors

• Khi Ali Gul acknowledged fighting against the Afghanistan's Soviet invaders. He said he stopped being in touch with any militia groups after the communists were thrown out. He said he took no role in the civil war that followed the communist ouster.
• Khi Ali Gul denied serving as an intelligence officer. He pointed out he was illiterate. He pointed out that an intelligence chief would have to be able to read and write.
• Khi Ali Gul denied being a member of the Mujahedin, and denied any knowledge of the explosion in the Khowst bazaar, or any other explosion.
• Khi Ali Gul denied any association with Jalaludin Haqqani, during the fight against the Soviets. He served under a commander named [[Islam Gul], who was part of the Sayaff group.
• Khi Ali Gul acknowledged working under Abbas Khan. He said that both he and Abbas Khan were employees of the Karzai government. He hadn't known him before he started working for the Karzai government. He said that an intelligence chief named Harzat Deem captured both of them, when they were at a gas station in a government vehicle, in prosecution of their duties. Khi Ali Gul said that Abbas Khan was then let go, while he was retained in custody.
• Khi Ali Gul responded to the allegation that Abbas Khan had collaborated with Jalaludin Haqqani by saying he was not aware of this collaboration and had no information about this.
• Khi Ali Gul denied ever meeting with Usama bin Laden.
• Khi Ali Gul denied being a commander of the Gorbaz Medani Regiment. He said that he was a soldier in the Gorbaz Medani Regiment, a new Regiment, formed by the Karzai government.
• Khi Ali Gul denied planning a rocket attack against Firebase Salerno. He stated that he was a loyal employee of the Karzai government, and that his attendance records would support this.
• In response to the allegation that he was a member of a Taliban assassination team Khi Ali Gul responded:

  "When you have no connection with that group, how can you be their member? If anybody tells me or saw me for one night working with the Taliban then I don't deserve to be released from here."

• Khi Ali Gul corrected the allegation that he was captured at an Afghan Military Force checkpoint. He said the minibus had passed the checkpoint, when it was restopped and he was captured.
• Khi Ali Gul confirmed he had no animosity towards the Americans. He said he was captured by his own people.

[edit] Response to Board officer's questions

[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. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Khi Ali Gul's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 47-58
6. ^ ^{a b} Mark Denbeaux, Joshua Denbeaux, David Gratz, John Gregorek, Matthew Darby, Shana Edwards, Shane Hartman, Daniel Mann, Megan Sassaman and Helen Skinner. No-hearing hearings. Seton Hall University School of Law. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
7. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Khi Ali Gul's Administrative Review Board hearing - pages 196-205 — September 2005