Mohammed Yacoub

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Mohammed Yacoub is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] His detainee ID number is 1004. Intelligence analysts estimate that Yacoub was born in 1976.

[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 a 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.

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

The Associated Press reports Yacoub lost his left leg in a mortar attack in Kabul. He denied fighting against the USA, or helping foreign fighters. He acknowledged serving with the Taliban.^[6]

[edit] Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Mohammed Yacoub's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 2 November 2004.^[7] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is a member of the Taliban.

1. The detainee admitted that he traveled to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and fight.
2. The detainee trained at the Pul Sayad compound.
3. The detainee received training on the AK-47 at the Pal ^[sic] Sayad compound.
4. The detainee stayed at the Taliban-controlled compound called Shaker-Dari.
5. The detainee was a guide for foreign fighters at a Taliban house in Kabul, Afghanistan.
6. The detainee was connected to a forward commander for the Taliban.
7. The detainee was in the company of a man who was involved in rocket attacks against U.S. forces in the Khost province.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States of its coalition partners.

1. The detainee admitted to being in at least one firefight against the Northern Alliance.
2. The detainee was wounded, in the left arm, during that firefight and airlifted off the front lines.
3. The detainee had his left leg blown off during a mortar attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.

[edit] Response to the allegations

[edit] Response to Tribunal questions

[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".^[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 Mohammed Yacoub's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 19 April 2005 .^[9] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

The detainee heard that a Jihad had begun against the Northern Alliance and traveled back to Kandahar, Afghanistan, to join the Taliban.

b. Training

The detainee received Taliban training at a compound and learned how to use an AK-47.

c. Intent

1. The detainee fought against the Northern Alliance. During the fighting the detainee was shot in the left arm. Following medical treatment for the wound, the detainee returned to a Taliban-controlled compound.
2. The detainee was a guide for foreign fighters at a Taliban house in Kabul, Afghanistan.

d. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee was sponsored into a missionary group (Tablighi) when he was in Pakistan.
2. Jama'at Al Tablighi, a Pakistan based Islamic missionary organization is being used as a cover to mask travel and activities of terrorists including members of al Qaida.
3. The detainee admitted his connection to Mullah Satar, a forward commander for the Taliban against the Northern Alliance.
4. Mullah Satar is one of three Taliban Commanders responsible for the murder of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee on 27 March 2003.
5. The detainee worked for Mullah Abdul Rahman, a Taliban supporter, who possessed mortars, rocket propelled grenades, launchers, and ammunition. Mullah Rahman may have been involved in the rocket attacks against United States forces in the Khowst province.
6. Mullah Abdul Rahman is responsible for recruiting Pakistanis for various attacks against the transitional Islamic state of Afghanistan (TISA) and United States Forces in Afghanistan. Rahman recruited these individuals to support Taliban and al Qaida activities in Afghanistan.
7. The detainee admitted he worked for the Taliban and was the head of security in the Baghlan Province. The detainee was in charge of guarding a house which served as a stopping point for Taliban troops to rest and eat before going to the front lines.

e Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee was arrested during the month of December, 2001, by the Northern Alliance and imprisoned at Sheber-ghan prison.
2. It was estimated that there were approximately 1300 to 1500 possible al Qaida and Taliban linked detainees in the prison in or near Sheberghan, Afghanistan. Many of the prisoners have stated that, if released, they would directly return to fighting against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
3. The detainee has been cited for harassing guards by pointing to pictures of what appeared to be planes and buildings on his bunk. The detainee would gesture for the Military Police to look at the planes and then the detainee would use his hands to represent the plane crashing into a building. The detainee would then smile and look at the guard. Additionally, the detainee has been cited for spitting on two prison block guards.
4. The detainee received two million Afghani from Mullah Akhund Berader for his leg which had been blown off by a mortar that landed in his compound.
5. Mullah Akhund Berader was the Taliban Corp Commander in Kabul, Afghanistan.
6. The detainee said he received approximately four million Afghani from Mullah Satar for compensation for his lost leg.

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

a.	The detainee denied being the Commander of Intelligence and Police for the Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. He stated he never held a high position for the Taliban and he was just a foot soldier.
b.	The detainee said he joined the Taliban in retaliation to his family. [sic] He said he had some family problems and did not want to live anymore and felt he could die by joining the Taliban. The detainee said this was the only reason he joined the Taliban and that he had no intentions on fighting against the U.S.
c.	The detainee related if he were to return to Afghanistan, he would like the opportunity to work with the American government to help rebuild his community.

[edit] Transcript

Yacoub chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.^[10]

[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 8 August 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. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Mohammed Yacoub'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 51-64
6. ^ Sketches of Guantanamo Detainees-Part I, WTOP, March 15, 2006
7. ^ OARDEC (2 November 2004). Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Yacoub, Mohammed pages 13-14. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
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 (19 April 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Yacoub, Mohammed pages 56-58. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
10. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Mohammed Yacoub's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 165-177
11. ^ OARDEC (8 August 2005). Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN pages 1-2. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
12. ^ OARDEC (26 April 2005). Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN pages 3-8. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.