Shardar Khan

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Shardar Khan is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.^[1] Shardar Khan's Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 914. American intelligence analysts estimate that Shardar Khan was born in 1982, in Gardez, 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.

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

[edit] Allegations

The allegations Shardar Khan faced during his Tribunal were:

a. The detainee is associated with the Taliban and/or al Qaida.

1. The detainee stated he worked as a bodyguard for Samoud.
2. The detainee trained, including training with the Kalashnikov, to be part of the infantry supporting Samoud.
3. The detainee was assigned two weapons.
4. The detainee was captured by U.S. Forces at Samoud's compound with a Kalashnikov,
5. The detainee fired about 50 to 60 rounds from a machine gun as a soldier in support of one of Samoud's operations.
6. The detainee stated Samoud was responsible for rocket attacks against U.S. forces at the Gardez Fire Base while the detainee worked for him.
7. Samoud is an Anti-Coalition Movement (ACM) operative.
8. Samoud is reported to be an al Qaida cell leader.
9. Samoud has been implicated in attacks against U.S. forces.

[edit] Initial confusion

His transcript records that Shardar Khan didn't understand if he was going to be allowed to make a statement.

His transcript records that Shardar Khan didn't understand the term "unclassified documents".

[edit] Witness requests

Shardar Khan's transcripts records that he requested the testimony of two witnesses, Habib Ullah and Mohabat Khan. His

Tribunal President ruled that:

"Since it appeared that both witnesses would be testifying basically to the same thing, I approved that you can have one witness here today."

Legal scholars at Seton Hall University published several statistical analyses of the documents the DoD had released. One of them, entitled "No-hearing hearings" was highly critical of Tribunal Presidents who ruled out witnesses based on an expectation of redundancy, noting that their mandate only authorized them to rule out witnesses who weren't relevant or reasonably available.

Further information: Guantanamo captives the authorities failed to identify

[edit] Response to the allegations

• Shardar Khan stated "Yes" when the allegation that he worked as a bodyguard for Samoud.
• Shardar Khan confirmed being a part of Samoud's armed forces, but denied getting military training from him.
• Shardar Khan disputed the allegation that he was assigned two weapons. He asserted he only had one weapon.
• Shardar Khan did not understand the allagetion: "The detainee was captured by U.S. Forces at Samoud's compound with a Kalashnikov.
• In response to the allegation that he fired 50 to 60 rounds to support one of Samoud's operations Shardar Khan replied that he had shot his gun when Samoud Khan was engaged in an operation against a competing local militia leader named Abdul Ali.
• Shardar Khan disputed that Samoud had fired rockets at the Gardez Fire Base.
• In response to the allegation that Samoud is an Anti-Coalition Movement operative Shardar Khan replied:

  At the time, when I was with Samoud, there were no coalition forces and Samoud had some of these bases, like military, small firebases. He had his own personal enemy. For protection from his enemy, he had some weapons at bases. He did not fire any guns or weapons against the coalition forces.

• Shardar Khan disputed the allegation that Samoud was an al Qaida call leader. He testified that Samoud was againstal Qaida, and he lived in Pakistan during the time of al Qaida.
• Shardar Khan disputed the allegation that Samoud had been implicated in attacks against US forces.

[edit] Shardar Khan's opening statement

We're Afghan and we're Muslim. We, for some other, very, very important cases we don't, made or swearing or, we don't do the oath, but, you just gave me the oath for this small tribunal, for small meeting, I did the oath. First of all, I'm not an enemy combatant. We had two centers that were Samoud's. Samoud had his own enemies. We were security for him. Actually, Americans did not bother us, did not come to capture us. But, we went ourselves to complain to Americans about something. Anytime an American came to our village, my village, we supported them. We were giving our things to them we always help them. We were going with them, and then, we were coming to our house, and they were leaving. I know the leader of their base. He even gave me one hundred dollar, wait, one hundred rupees, I'm sorry. His name was Officer Maga. And he was giving me the things that you shoot it somewhere, and then the plane is coming to that place and to the bombards. Americans were not against us, and we are not against them. We always gave our support to Americans. Americans will never capture us. But someone reported us, got money because of us, and because of money, you guys captured me. And about Samoud, I will give my promise and my word to you, because he was not against the United States, and he was not al-Qaida, or he was in the Taliban. Leaving the Taliban, he went far away from them. He wanted to get far away from them, and he was living in Pakistan. When Americans came to Afghanistan, then he came as well. That was al! my statement my statement is finished.

[edit] Response to Tribunal officer's questions

• Shardar Khan answered that his weapon was a "one-hundred shooter".
• When asked how long he had been detained Shardar replied that after his capture spent eight days in Gardez, then 6 to 7 months in Bagram, then over two years in Guantanamo.
• Shardar testified he had worked for Samoud for six months.
• Shardar testified that the local American officer had known him, given him money, and a beacon he could use to call down US airstrikes. He had promised to give him a satellite phone.
• Shardar said Samoud Khan's local enemy, Abdul Ali, had murdered his son.
• Shardar said he had been provided with no training.
• Shardar knew Samoud because they were from the same village.
• Shardar said Samound was not captured when they were.
• Shardar said he didn't know why he was captured.
• Shardar clarified that we wasn't given a weapon to shoot at planes. He was given a beacon American planes could recognize, which could call down air strikes.

[edit] Habibullah's testimony

A witness who identified himself as Habibullah testified he was from Shardar Khan's village, and that he also worked for Samoud.

Habibullah had no knowledge of Samoud engaging in any anti-Coalition activities. He had no knowledge of Samoud ever attacking Americans.

Habibullah said he had served as a cook for Samoud.

Habibullah testified that Shardar Khan was a hewer of wood and bearer of water, for Samoud. He testified that they both, also, worked at "the center". He testified he had known Shardar Khan for two to three months. Shardar Khan interrupted to say it was longer.

[edit] References

1. ^ 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 Shardar Khan's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 1-9