Mohammed Aman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mohammed Aman (born 1957) is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 1074. American intelligence analysts report he was born in 1957, in Malik Village, Kardez. Afghanistan.

Contents

[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 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.

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

[edit] Allegations

Unlike many transcripts the allegations against Aman were not recorded in his transcript.

[edit] Response to the allegations

  • Oman denied supporting the Taliban. He described the Taliban's behavior as "savagery", "improper", fanatical and ignorant.
  • Oman testified he owned and ran a drug store.
  • Oman testified that he was harassed by the Taliban, and was eventually compelled to take a low level position. The Taliban found him useful because most of them were illiterate.
  • Oman testified that he used to work for the Communist government in Afghanistan, and this might explain the allegation that he was carrying the membership card of an "anti-American organization". When the Communist government started to collapse he left Afghanistan. He found it necessary to get an ID card from the Hezb-e Islami, one of the groups in the anti-communist resistance. The card was necessary to pass checkpoints.
  • Oman said being a member of the Hezb-e Islami was not illegal when he joined. Rather, the USA had been supporting their efforts to fight communism.
  • Oman said he hated all the Islamic groups, because they looted Afghanistan's treasury, and his own home and his drug store.
  • Oman said the Governor of Paktia, the province where he lived, could vouch for him.
  • Oman said he had worked for [[Hamid Karzai's government for a year and a half prior to his capture.
  • Oman said he had no idea why he was captured.
  • Oman said that his health concerns were being neglected by the camp's medical staff.

[edit] Abdullah Mujahid's testimony

  • Mujahid testified that Aman was not a member of the Taliban, and did not support the Taliban.
  • Mujahid testified that Aman was a functionary working for Hamid Karzai's government.
  • Mujahid testified that he never saw Aman carrying a weapon.
  • Mujahid testified that Aman's rank in the Hamid Karzai's government was Captain.
  • Mujahid testified that Aman had worked for the government for the entire twelve years he had known him. He used to be a patron of Aman's drug store, which was near his home.
  • Mujahid testified that Aman's work was "mostly paperwork like filing or making lists of the people or as people submitted petitions he would review or record them."

[edit] Dr. Said Mohammed Ali Shah's testimony

  • Ali Shah testified that Aman did not support the Taliban, or any kind of Taliban thought.
  • Ali Shah testified "...in Afghanistan a functionary worker is the lowest level job you can get in the government. The Taliban used to use the educated people for their purposes but it didn't mean that the Taliban liked those people. They needed their help and their education. This man used to get military training during the Communist regime. He used to be an immigrant and I know he also had his own personal business. He was famous as a Captain in that area and when you are known as a Captain in the Communist government according to the Taliban, you are known as a criminal or a bad guy. Taliban killed many Afghans just because of their military ranks and because they had worked for the other government [sic] It was a miracle that he wasn't killed."
  • Ali Shah offered this explanation of Aman's Hezb-e Islami ID card:
    "HIG's membership was very limited. One of their conditions was that they would never accept anyone who used to work for the Communist government as a member. The detainee worked for the Communist government for approximately ten years so there is no way that he would be a member of the HIG. The identification card of mat party was had by millions of Afghans. Every local commander or every high-ranking military officer of that party owned a stamp and a card for their party, which they gave to the people. It was not hard at all. They were making these ID cards in Pakistan too. There were people that owned a membership card for a few different parties because of the conditions of the roads and all the checkpoints on the roads. Please do not compare the membership of a political or Islamic party in Afghanistan with the Western world. In our area it was something that people were compelled to be a member of or carry their card. Specially, at that time Hezb-e Islami people were being supported by the United States, and the Hezb-e Islami would be a very powerful party. They thought the future power of Afghanistan would belong to Hezb-e Islami. Just to be on the safe side, many people, even if they were with the other party, would get a card from Hezb-e Islami. Maybe Mohammed Aman was one of those people. It does not prove that he was a member of that party."

[edit] Response to Tribunal questions

[edit] Aman's rank

The Tribunal officers had questions about Aman's rank -- Captain. Captain was a relatively senior rank in the US Army. Aman, and his witnesses, explained that a rank of Captain was not significant under the Taliban. Promotion to Captain was rapid -- and trivial.

Although Talib translates as "student" the ranks of the Taliban were full of illiterates. They needed to count on men who could read and write, who weren't members of the Taliban, to run their civil service. In general they didn't trust these men. And the Taliban had been conducting an audit of Aman's work.

The fact that Aman was a Captain didn't mean he had a staff, subordinates. Aman's witness Mujahid was also a Captain, and he was just an electrician.

[edit] Habeas corpus submissions

Mohammed Amon is one of the sixteen Guantanamo captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus submissions were heard by US District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton on January 31, 2007.[6]

On April 17, 2007 the United States Department of Justice argued that Amon v. Bush should be considered moot, because "Mohammed Amon" had been transferred from US custody.[7]

The Department of Defense published the unclassified documents generated through the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of 179 captives who had habeas petitions submitted on their behalf.[8] But they did not publish this one.

[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.

Aman chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[9]

[edit] Enemy Combatant Election Form

Mohammed Aman's Assisting Military Officer read from his Enemy Combatant Election Form that on August 9, 2005 and August 11, 2005, for seventy-three minutes and forty-five minutes. He described Mohammed Aman as "polite and very cooperative" during both meetings. He reported that Mohammed Aman had characterized the allegations against him as untrue. Mohammed Aman was given a Farsi translation of the Summary of Evidence memo containing the allegations against him.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment
  1. The detainee admitted he joined the Taliban in 1999.
  2. The detainee worked for the Taliban for two years, until the Taliban was defeated.
  3. The detainee was the Deputy Officer of Personnel at 3rd Corps in Gardez. He was offered the position and promoted to Colonel by general [sic] Zaiudeen, the 12th Division Commander.
  4. Ziaudeen has been cited as being responsible for attacks in Gardez out of spite for being removed from his position in May 2003, and may be working with Taliban and al Qaida leaders against Afghanistan.
b. Training
  1. The detainee was a Captain in the Afghani Army for 17 years. He had 6 months of military training at the Technical Military School in Kabul, Afghanistan.
c. Connections / Associations
  1. The detainee was captured at his residence by United States Forces, suspected of being a Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin [sic] (HIG) member.
  2. A Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) identification card was found in the detainee's residence at the time of his capture.
  3. The Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) was one of the major Mujahedin groups in the war against the Soviets. HIG has long-established ties with Bin Ladin. HIG has staged attacks in its attempt to force United States troops to withdraw from Afghanistan, overthrow the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA) and established [sic] a fundamentalist state.
  4. It was reported that the detainee met with HIG leader Asadullah on 10 May 2003.
  5. Asadullah is an associate of former Taliban commander Saifullah Rahman Mansour and acts as a liaison between Mansour and the Hisb-I Islami Gulbuddin [sic] (HIG).
  6. Detainee said the last time he met with Asadullah was in the early part of May 2003.
  7. Detainee admitted to knowing the police chief of Gardez, Abdullah Mujahid.
  8. Abdullah Mujahid was identified as being responsible for the attack on a Special Forces Detachment in the vicinity of Gardez City, Afghanistan.
  9. The detainee was present at a 30 April 2003, Taliban leadership council meeting.
d. Other Relevant Data
  1. The detainee left Gardez and joined the Mujahedin in Zormat, Pakistan. He worked under CDR Mohammed Ghani for approximately three years and nine months.
  2. When the Taliban came to Gardez, the detainee lived in a military division housing area in Kabul (Wazir Akbar Khan area) for free.
  3. The detainee was given permission to stay at the government military division housing area in complex (Wazir Akbar Khan area) by Said Ishraq Husseini, the Under Secretary of Defense for Ahmad Shah Masoud and Under Secretary for the Ministry of Interior.
  4. The detainee referenced his supervisor as the Taliban Modir [sic] for Gardez, Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammed Rahim.

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

a. The detainee said he was obligated to work for the Taliban, because they were the controlling government, and it was the only way he could support his family.
b. Detainee stated he registered with Hisb-I Islami Gulbuddin [sic] (HIG) despite not being an actual member. He explained that when the Soviets first invaded Afghanistan, the only way a person could enter Pakistan as a refugee, was to register with a political group.
c. Witnesses testified that the detainee was a lower level clerk or functionary with the Taliban and/or Afghan military.
d. Detainee stated he feels 9/11 was a crime against humanity, a crime against the world.
e. Detainee stated he would support the new government if released because a stable government is the only means to achieve peace within the country.
f. Detainee stated he would go back home and attempt recruitment back into the Afghani Army if released from custody.
g. Detainee also stated that if released he would like to return to his village in Gardez to rejoin his wife and children and work at his pharmacy in order to provide for them.
h. Detainee stated he would be willing to undergo a polygraph examination to prove his innocence as well as his loyalty to President Karzi [sic] and the Americans.

[edit] witness request

Abdullah Mujahid requested Aman's testimony at his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Mujahid was informed that Aman could not be allowed to testify in person, for "Force Protection reasons".[10]

[edit] Release

According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer Aman said: [11]

"I was relaxed because I was innocent. I was sure I would be freed. I was always thinking that today or tomorrow I will be free."

Aman described being shipped to Afghanistan in black googles, ear-muffs, shackles after three years of detention.[11]

[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 Mohammed Aman's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 31-41
  6. ^ Reggie B. Walton (January 31, 2007). Gherebi, et al. v. Bush. United States Department of Justice. Retrieved on May 19, 2007.
  7. ^ "Exhibit B: List Of Enemy Combatant Detainees With Pending Habeas Corpus Petitions Who Have Been Released From United States Custody", United States Department of Justice, April 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-05-05. 
  8. ^ OARDEC (August 8, 2007). Index for CSRT Records Publicly Files in Guantanamo Detainee Cases. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  9. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Mohammed Aman's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 113-125
  10. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdullah Mujahid's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 1-21
  11. ^ a b Andrew O. Selsky, AP: Some Gitmo detainees freed elsewhere, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Saturday, December 16, 2006