Abdul Rauf Aliza

Abdul Rauf Aliza is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.^[1] His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 108. The Department of Defense reports that he was born on February 10, 1981, in Azam, Afghanistan.

Abdul Rauf testified he was from Helmand Province.^[2] He testified that an injury from a Soviet land mine had left him to injured for military duties, so he had been employed providing food during his Taliban conscription.^[3]

On March 4, 2010, the Associated Press reported that two former captives at Guantanamo had become senior Taliban leaders, after their release from Afghan custody.^[4] The report quoted "senior Afghan officials who said the two captives named Abdullah Gulam Rasoul and Abdul Rauf Aliza were actully Abdul Qayyum and Abdul Rauf. They reported that Abdul Qayyum was being considered for as a candidate to replace recently captured Taliban second in command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and that Abdul Rauf was his deputy. The News International reported that both Abdul Qayyum Zakir and Abdul Rauf were members of the Taliban's Quetta Shura, and that they had been captured shortly after Baradar.

Combatant Status Review

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for the tribunal, listing the allegations that led to his detainment. His memo accused him of the following:^[5]

a. Detainee is a member of the Taliban.

1. Detainee joined the Taliban in 1998 where he received training on the Kalishnikov rifle in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Over a year later he stayed in a Taliban guesthouse where he worked for the Taliban military.
2. After the United States entered Afghanistan but had not yet begun bombing, the detainee and other military troops were transported by plane to Konduz, Afghanistan.

b. Detainee engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners

1. Detainee fought for the Taliban.
2. Detainee was issued a Kalishnikov rifle in Konduz, Afghanistan.
3. Detainee and other "Taliban soldiers surrendered to Dostum's Northern Alliance troops.
4. Detainee was in possession of a Kalishnikov rifle when he surrendered.

Transcript

Abdul Rauf chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.^[6] The Department of Defense published a three page summarized transcript on March 3, 2006.

Administrative Review Board

Detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal labeled them "enemy combatants" were scheduled for annual Administrative Review Board hearings. These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee may pose if released or transferred, and whether there are other factors that warrant his continued detention.^[7]

2005 Summary of Evidence

A two-page Summary of Evidence memo was drafted for Abdul Rauf Aliza's first annual Administrative Review Board in 2005.^[3] The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment

1. In Kabul, the Detainee stayed at a Taliban guesthouse for an unknown length of time.
2. The Detainee, along with other Taliban soldiers, traveled to Yonganack where they surrendered to Dostum' s Northern Alliance troops.

b. Training

The Detainee spent about 1 month in Kandahar where he received basic informal courses on the Kalishnikov rifle.

c. Other Relevant Data

1. The Detainee was identified as Mullah Abdul Rauf, a Taliban troop commander.
2. The Detainee stated that he was one of about twelve other conscripted people who were guarding the communication building called Sadarat in Konduz.
3. The Detainee and other Taliban soldiers would monitor the radio and receive updates on various fighting ongoing in the area by local Taliban soldiers.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a. The Detainee stated he did not want to join the Taliban, but had no choice.

b. The Detainee stated he worked for the Taliban military delivering bread from a bakery to the troops because his handicap precluded his service as a regular soldier.

c. The Detainee was not in charge of the radio nor did he receive any training on the radio.

d. The Detainee related he has never traveled outside of Afghanistan prior to his transport to Camp X-Ray. The Detainee does not own a passport.

Transcript

The Department of Defense published a seven page transcript from his review.^[2]

Decision memo

Four pages of heavily redacted decision memos were published in September 2007, indicating that Abdul Rauf Aliza was one of the 121 captives whose 2005 review recommended should be released of transferred.^[8][9][10] His memo was drafted on April 21, 2005, and Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official who had the authority to clear him for release or transfer, initialed his authorization to transfer Abdul Rauf Aliza on April 22, 2005.

Repatriation

On November 25, 2008 the Department of Defense published a list of when Guantanamo captives were repatriated.^[11] According to that list he was repatriated on December 12, 2007.

The Center for Constitutional Rights reports that all of the Afghans repatriated to Afghanistan from April 2007 were sent to Afghan custody in the American built and supervised wing of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison near Kabul.^[12]

Claims he was a Taliban leader

Cathy Gannon, of the Associated Press, quoted former Kandahar Governor Sher Mohammad Akhundzada about Abdul Rauf's role in the Taliban. Akundzada asserted that prior to his initial capture in 2001 Abdul Rauf was a corp commander in Herat Province, and in Kabul.^[4]

References