Wali Mohammed (Guantanamo detainee 560)

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Wali Mohammed is a citizen of Afghanistan held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba.^[1] Mohammed's detainee ID is 560. The official list of names of Guantanamo detainees released on May 15, 2006 states that Mohammed was born on February 15, 1966, in Baghlan, Afghanistan.

Mohammed was arrested on January 24, 2002.^[2]

According to the Associated Press the allegations against Mohammed, in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, he was in business with the Taliban and smuggled gold for al Qaeda, which he used to buy surface to air missiles.^[2] One witness had told the Americans that Mohammed had once been Afghanistan's transportation minister.

Mohammed claimed corrupt Pakistani security agents turned him over to the Americans because he wouldn't pay a bribe.^[2]

[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.^[3][4] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.^[5]

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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.

Mohammed chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[6][7]

[edit] Letter from Abdul Salam Zaeef

Abdul Salam Zaeef wrote a letter on behalf of Mohammed. He said he didn't meet Mohammed personally before they were detained in Guantanamo. But he knew of him, because Mohammed was a businessman, and Zaeff was a member of the Economic Council of Afghanistan when he was a cabinet member.

Mohammed's name had come up because the propriety of a loan of $1,500,000 he got from the Central Bank was questioned because he was friends with the bank's President, Abdul Rahman Zahid. Mohammed had borrowed dollars. But he had converted it to Kaldars. When the Taliban leadership directed him to pay it back, they wanted the funds paid back in dollars. But the Kaldar had, in the meantime, gone down against the Dollar, and Mohammed lost a lot of money.

[edit] Allegations

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

1. The Detainee admitted he was in business with the Taliban.
2. The Detainee is associated with senior members of the Taliban.
3. The Detainee started his business in Afghanistan only after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
4. The Detainee served as intermediary for funds passed through the al-Rasheed Trust.
5. The al-Rasheed Trust served as a conduit for funds going to extremist organizations and has provided financial and logistic assistance to al Qaida, Kashmiri extremist organizations, and Pakistani sectarian groups.
6. The Detainee is allegedly involved in smuggling gold for al Qaida.
7. The Detainee paid for a senior member of the Taliban to travel.
8. The Detainee purchased vehicles for the Taliban.
9. The Detainee facilitated transfers and exchanges of funds from Usama Bin Laden controlled accounts for the purchase of surface-to-air missiles for al Qaida.
10. The Detainee is an associate of Usama Bin Laden.

[edit] Testimony

[edit] Administrative Review Board hearings

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] First annual Administrative Review Board hearing

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Haji Wali Mohammed's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 6 October 2005.^[9] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. The detainee admitted he was in business with the Taliban and worked with the Talbian because of the money. The detainee stated that his business relationship with the Taliban lasted approximately three months.
2. The detainee served as an intermediary for funds passed through the al Rasheed Trust.
3. The detainee was a moneyman for Usama bin Laden from 1996 to 1997. The detainee conducted most of his money transactions at three money exchangers with offices in Bubai, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan National al Almas Exchange.
4. The detainee is allegedly involved in smuggling gold for al Qaida through the Peshawar Airport and admitted being in the gold business and having a currency exchange business in Peshawar, Pakistan.
5. The detainee did business with the Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, in April 2000. He had given the detainee one million dollars to manage.
6. The detainee purchased vehicles for the Taliban.
7. The detainee facilitated transfers and exchanges of funds from Usama bin Laden controlled accounts for the purchase of surface-to-air missiles fro al Qaida.

b. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee is an associate of Usama Bin Laden.
2. The detainee is associated with senior members of the Taliban.
3. The detainee was closely affiliated with the Taliban and was considered to be very close to Taliban leaders Mullah Mohammed Rabbani and Mullah Mohammad Omar.
4. The detainee was working with a person who was a Jamaat Tablighi ^[sic] member from Pakistan.
5. The detainee was identified as being a wealthy Afghan moneychanger, who was affiliated with the Hizbi-Islami Gulbuddin.

c. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee was arrested by a Pakistani Police official in his house in Peshawar, Pakistan for being a suspected drug smuggler.
2. The detainee was repaying his debts to the Taliban through installments and on two separate occasions the detainee paid for Taliban Vice President Mullah Mohammad Rabbani to travel, once to Dubai for cancer treatment and once to Saudi Arabia for the Haji.

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

[edit] Transcript

Mohammed chose to participate in his first annual Administrative Review Board hearing.^[10]

[edit] Enemy Combatant election form

Captive 560's Assisting Military Officer reported that they met on 25 October 2005 for sixty-five minutes, and on 26 October 2005 for thirty minutes. Captive 560 provided three letters from family members. His Assisting Military Officer described his demeanor as "cordial, attentive, somewhat enthusiastic".

[edit] Response to the factors

• Captive 560 clarified that he had not said he was in business with the Taliban -- he said he did business with the Central Afghanistan Bank. His business arrangement with the Bank lasted three months and he ended up losing half a million dollars.
• Captive 560 disputed that he served as an intermediary for funds passed through the al Rasheed Trust:

"This is wrong, it was translated wrong, this is al Rashid, this is a guy from United Arab Emirates, and he is a man. It is not al Rasheed, it's al Rashid he is a man. A friend of mine went to United Arab Emirates (to see) al Rashid. He (the friend) needed to write a check but because he didn't have a residency there he wrote the check in my name. It is a very wrong translation, I don't know al Rasheed, and it is different.

• Captive 560 responded to the allegation that he was a moneyman for Usama bin Laden from 1996 to 1997 as follows:

The are doing an injustice to me, they are all wrong. In 1998 I opened my own business in Dubai and this was before I had the business. I don't know about Usama and I haven't opened business in this year that they mention. You have my passport; you think about it and you be the judge. Both of them are one in Dubai and Emirates. I didn't have two, I had my own business exchange in Peshawar, Pakistan in 1988. Where could they have gotten this that I have done business in 1996 and 1997, and I was in Pakistan, I hadn't even been there..."

• In response to the allegation that he was smuggling gold for al Qaida captive 560 acknowledged importing jewelry, but disputed that he was smuggling, claiming his jewelry imports were all perfectly legal. He disputed that he ever imported anything for al Qaida.
• In response to the allegation that he did business with Taliban leader Mohammad Omar captive 560 pointed out that he owed the Bank of Afghanistan a lot of money, and suggested that this would lead the Taliban's leadership to doubt his business acumen. He pointed out that he was imprisoned because of this debt.

"I am not scared of anybody. I am a businessman. When I have done business I would tell them I have done business. If I were doing business with Bush or Usama or Mullah Omar I would let you know I did business with them. Why should I be scared of business? I should not. I am not a political guy and I am not a fighter trying to hide it from you."

• In response to the allegation that he knew senior members of the Taliban he acknowledged that he had known Abdul Rahman Zahid, who was then the President Central Bank, back in 1996 when he had a business relationship with the bank. He acknowledged knowing Mohammad Rabbani.
• Captive 560 asked for the name of the Tablighi member he was alleged to have worked with. When the Board couldn't name the Tablighi member he responded:

Yes, I have worked with Pakistanis but they are not missionaries or Tabligh. If it is because of Tabligh, the Tagligh is missionaries, the whole Pakistan is missionary. In Arab countries even in America there are a lot of missionaries, so why don't you bring them [here], why bring me? If I have a connection with the Tabligh, why don't you capture the Tablighs? There are at least 30 million Pakistan Tablighs and there are lots of Tablighs in [Great] Britain and America..."

• In response to the allegation that he was a wealthy moneychanger who was affiliated with Hizbi Islami Gulbuddin ^[sic] he questioned whether anyone who was in debt should be called a wealthy man. He acknowledged that Gulbuddin's niece was married to his stepbrother, but disputed that he had any relationship with Gulbuddin himself. For the fifteen years prior to the Taliban's overthrow Gulbuddin was in exile. Captive 560 clarified he had never been a member of Gulbuddin's party
• In response to the allegation that a Pakistani official arrested him for drug dealing captive 560 responded:

"I only said that because Pakistan cheated you guys. They released their own detainees and they give you the wrong detainees. The ones they had business with they would release them and the ones who no connection with them they would keep them. The Pakistani police, just two months before they arrested me they took my car. Then after the two months they arrested me. They said they job was for $500,000 and they asked me for $350,000. My brother told the police "You give us $400,000 the rest of the profit is yours." The deal didn't work and then they came at ten o'clock in the night and arrested me, tied my eyes and put me in jail. When they took me there the big officer said "Do you know why we brought you here?" I said no. He stated "They told me you were a very famous money exchanger. If you don't pay us a bribe we will send you to a very unknown place that you will never know." I told him that they took my car and I owe a lot of money to people. He told me to go and think about it and he will send someone to see me the next day. The next day there was a guy with a longer beard than mine who stated "If you don't have a car and if you don't have the cash, sell your house and give us half of it to save yourself from the bad ending." I got pissed off and I cursed them Then three days later they gave me to the Americans. I don't know these drugs. If you don't believe me you can do whatever you want. I don't even know what drugs are. If I had sold my house and paid the bribe then I would not be here."

• Captive 560 responded to the allegation that he was paying his debt to the Taliban by clarifying he never owed the Taliban anything, he owed the Central Bank, and his repayments were to the Central Bank.

[edit] Second annual Administrative Review Board hearing

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Hajawali Mohmad's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 22 August 2006.^[11] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

[edit] The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. The detainee was a moneyman for Usama bin Laden from 1996 to 1997. The detainee conducted most of his money transactions at three money exchangers with offices in Bubai, United Arab Emirates.
2. The detainee worked for the President of the Central Back of Afghanistan. The detainee was sent to Dubai, United Arab Emirates to purchase gold for the bank was given 1,500,000 United States Dollars.
3. The detainee became indebted to the Taliban for 500,000 United States Dollars. The detainee maintained a good relationship with the Taliban leadership because of his history of support and generosity.
4. The detainee admitted he was in business with Taliban ^[sic] and worked with the Taliban because of the money. The detainee stated that his business relationship with ^[sic] Taliban lasted approximately three months.
5. On one occasion, the detainee served as an intermediary for funds passed through the al Rasheed Trust.
6. The al Rasheed Trust and the Habib Bank were previously reported as conduits for funds going to extremist organizations and Pakistani sectarian groups.
7. The detainee is allegedly involved in smuggling gold for al Qaida through the Peshawar Airport and admitted being in the gold business and having a currency exchange business in Peshawar, Pakistan.
8. The detainee facilitated transfers and exchanges of funds from Usama bin Laden controlled accounts for the purchase of surface-to-air missiles fro al Qaida.
9. In 1997, the leader of the Taliban provided the detainee with 3,200,000 United States Dollars to invest in various projects. The funds were provided as a favor and as a repayment for the detainee's generosity to Taliban figures during the early days of the Taliban movement.

b. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee was closely affiliated with the Taliban and was considered to be very close to Taliban leaders.
2. Prior to 11 September 2001 the detainee fought with Afghan Taliban members against the Northern Alliance and United States Forces.
3. The detainee was identified as being a wealthy Afghan Saraf, or moneychanger, who was affiliated with the Hizbi-Islami Gulbuddin.
4. The Hizbi-Islami Gulbuddin was founded by Gulbuddin Hikmatyar as a faction of the Hizb-I Islami party in 1977 and is one of the major Mujahedin groups in the war against the Soviets. In the early 1990's ^[sic] , Gulbuddin Hikmatyar ran several terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and was a pioneer in sending mercenary fighters to other Islamic conflicts. Hikmatayr also offered to shelter Usama bin Laden after the latter fled Sudan in 1996. The Hizbi-Islami Gulbuddin has long established ties with Usama bin Laden.

c. Other Relevant Data

The detainee was part of a group of Afghan refiners that purchased poppy crops worth up to 600,000 United States Dollars.

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

[edit] Transcript

Mohammed chose to participate in his second annual Administrative Review Board hearing, but the transcript was not released, because it was classified as top secret.^[12]

[edit] References

1. ^ list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15, 2006
2. ^ ^{a b c} Sketches of Guantanamo Detainees-Part I, WTOP, March 15, 2006
3. ^ Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirror
4. ^ Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Haji Wali Mohammed's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 102-110
7. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Haji Wali Mohammed's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 1-2
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 (6 October 2005). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of pages 11-13. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
10. ^ OARDEC. "Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings for ISN 560", United States Department of Defense, October 2005, pp. pages 111-127. Retrieved on 2007-11-09. 
11. ^ OARDEC (August 22, 2006). Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Mohmad, Hajawali pages 51-53. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
12. ^ OARDEC. "Summarized Transcript", United States Department of Defense, pp. 17.