Mohamed Naeem Rahim is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 1104.[2] The Department of Defense reports he was born in Ghazni. Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts provided a date of birth, or an estimated year of birth for almost all the detainees. Mohamed Rahim is one of the few for whom there is no indication of his age.
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The unclassified dossier from Mohamed Rahim's Combatant Status Review Tribunal was released when his lawyers tried to submit a writ of habeas corpus on his behalf.[3] The dossier was 17 pages long.
Mohamed Rahim's Legal Sufficiency Review memo was part of the unclassified dossier.[4] His Legal Sufficiency Review was drafted by Commander Karen N. Gibbs, an Assistant Legal Advisor to the Tribunals. Her memo recorded that Mohamed Rahim was going to attend his Tribunal, but changed his mind one hour before the Tribunal convened. Her memo dismissed marginal notations the intelligence analysts had left on the classified documents they sent to the Tribunal.
Most of her memo addressed the propriety of deeming three of the witness Mohamed Rahim requested as "not relevant", and dismissing the testimony of his boss, Mohammed Ibrahim, as not reasonably available. About Ibrahim she wrote:
"The Tribunal deemed relevant the proffered testimony of Mohammed Ibrahim, whom the detainee stated worked at the same company that bought and transported goods, which would support the detainee's case. The CSRT determined that the witness was relevant, and forwarded a request to produce the witness to Afghanistan through the U.S. Department of State. However, the Afghani government failed to respond to the initial request of 9 Nov 04, and to the follow-up requests of 22 and 30 November 04, to produce the requested witness."
Mohamed Rahim's Combatant Status Review Tribunal Decision Report Cover Sheet records that his Tribunal was Tribunal panel 19, and that it convened on 2 December 2004.[5]
The Unclassified Summary of basis for Tribunal decision stated he changed his mind "just prior" and "moments prior" to the Tribunal convening, because he was ill.[6] The Tribunal's President ruled that Mohamed Rahim had "knowingly declined" to attend his Tribunal. During a recess Mohamed Rahim's Personal Representative contacted the camp's Senior Medical Officer, who stated he had a medical examination on 10 November 2004, and he had no chronic medical conditions which would have precluded him attending his Tribunal.
The four witnesses he requested were:
| Witness | President's Decision | Testified? |
| Pir Mohammed | not relevant | no |
| Dawlat Khan | not relevant | no |
| Mohammad Wali[7] | not relevant | no |
| Mohammed Ibrahim | not reasonably available | no |
The Tribunal based its decision on classified documents.
Initially the Bush administration asserted they could withhold the protections of the Geneva Conventions from captives in the "War on Terror", while critics argued the Conventions obligated the United States to conduct competent tribunals to determine the status of prisoners.[8] Subsequently, the US Department of Defense instituted Combatant Status Review Tribunals, to determine whether the captives met the new definition of an "enemy combatant".
From July 2004 through March 2005, a CSRT was convened to make a determination whether each captive had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant".[9]
Rahim's Personal Representative told his Tribunal that, after explaining the Tribunal process to him, Rahim told him that he did not understand the Tribunal process.[10] But he agreed to answer some questions.
The recorder requested the Tribunal enter a closed session, to present some classified evidence. Following the closed session the Tribunal's President "was convinced Detainee was aware of his rights and had an understanding of the Tribunal Process."
The Tribunal proceeded without the presence of Rahim.
The Summary of Evidence memo prepared for Mohammed Rahim's Combatant Status Review Tribunal listed the following allegations against him[11]:
- The Detainee was a member of the Taliban:
- The detainee was the chief of logistics for a company providing support directly to the Taliban government.
- The detainee worked for the Taliban Intelligence Office.
- The detainee controlled a large weapons cache including 122MM rockets, 11MM Artillery rounds and 140MM rockets.
The identity of the officers who served on the Tribunals was supposed to be kept secret. But the redaction of secret material in Mohamed Rahim's transcript left the name of his Tribunal's President, Colonel Sharon D. Allen, of the United States Army in the clear.
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.[12]
Rahim chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[13]
A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his first annual Administrative Review Board, on 8 August 2005.[14] It listed the following factors for and against his continued detention:
The following primary factors favor continued detention
- a. Commitment
- The detainee claims he has four years of military service and was a Mujahedin foot soldier operating out of his home village.
- The detainee was Chief of Logistics for a Cooperative Logistics Company located in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban government owned the company and it was closely affiliated with Taliban intelligence. The company provided logistical support directly to the Taliban government.
- The detainee was responsible for purchasing items as directed by Mohammad Ibrahim.
- Mohammad Ibrahim worked for Taliban Central Intelligence.[15]
- After the detainee purchased the items he would resell them to company employees at a higher rate. The profits would then be deposited into Taliban controlled accounts.
- The detainee was captured at his home with an AK-47 and Taliban related documents. These documents have been reported as financial records indicating large money transactions with a group called the "Afghan Islamic Movement".
- The detainee was controlling a large cache, located in a nearby school, which contained 68 x 122 mm rockets; 1218 x 76 mm AT and HE rounds; 54 x 122 mm artillery rounds; 82 x 76 MNTN gun rounds; 44 x 100 mm tank rounds; 8 x mortar rounds; and 35 x 140 mm rockets.
- The detainee kept the records for documentation of where money and supplies went in case of inquiry by the new government. He said he worked there for about 30 months until the day the Taliban fell from power.
- b. Connections/Associations
- Mullah Abrahim was appointed by an al Qaida Intelligence member, Mullah Wasiq, as the Deputy Minister of Intelligence.
- Mullah Wasiq reported to Mullah Qari Ahmedullah, who ultimately reported to Mullah Omar.
- Ammadullah was the Chief of Intelligence and he reported to the Deputy Chief of Security Services Mullah Omar in Kabul, Afghanistan.
- The detainee is identifiable as a former companion of Bin Ladin during the jihad against the Russians. He was among a group protecting Bin Ladin at his last meeting at Tora Bora.
- The detainee was entrusted by Bin Ladin to exfiltrate his guard forces from Afghanistan back to their countries of origin. Bin Ladin and his companions spent the night in a house belonging to an Afghan acquaintance of the detainee.
- The detainee attended a meeting of Taliban members in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. Reports indicate that additional Taliban groups were formed and given commanders.
- The detainee commanded one of the newly formed Taliban groups, which was composed of approximately 13 Taliban soldiers. His group is assessed to have possessed numerous weapons.
- The detainee attempted to align himself with other Taliban to continue the anti-United States/Coalition Campaign.
- c. Other Relevant Data
- The detainee attempted to export gems from Afghanistan to Germany in order to raise revenue to finance al Qaida.
- The detainee stated that the Taliban leaders from Pakistan gave him several satellite phones with long-range capability.
- Reporting indicates that Taliban leaders planned to hold another meeting in March 2003 to form more groups and assign commanders to those groups. The additional groups were to be assigned tasks and given their agenda.
- Taliban members were armed with mines when they traveled to the meetings.
- According to a Foreign Government Service, members of the Afghan Islamic Movement were trained at Usama Bin Ladin's Khaldan Training Camp during period 1996-2001.
- The Khaldan Camp was used to train Mujahedin and consisted of tunnels to house soldiers and supplies. The students at the camp were Arabs undergoing small arms training.
The following primary factors favor release or transfer
- a. The detainee stated he did not even know the weapons were there. He then related the weapons belonged to the district and the district commissioner. He continued to deny that he owned even one bullet from the weapons cache.
- b. The detainee denied any knowledge of the weapons in the schoolhouse in his town and blamed unknown enemies for saying they were his.
- c. The detainee again denied that he was continuing to serve as a logistics officer for the Taliban and assisting them in obtaining weapons and supplies.
- d. The detainee denied the allegation that he was continuing to run the cooperative for the Taliban by brokering deals for supplies and money into Afghanistan.
- e. The detainee denied being part of the Taliban and said he did not like them and was forced to work for them. He denied any association with the "Afghan Islamic Movement" and that he was unaware of any such organization.
A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for his second annual Administrative Review Board, on 11 August 2006.[16] It listed the following allegations for and against his continued detention.
The following primary factors favor continued detention
- a. Commitment
- 1. The detainee worked as a Mujahedin foot soldier from 1985 to 1989.
- 2. The cooperative logistics company the detainee worked at in Kabul, Afghanistan, was owned by the Taliban government and was closely associated with Taliban Intelligence. The company provided logistical support directly to the Taliban government. The detainee held the title of Chief of Logistics and there were approximately nine employees working in the Kabul office, including the detainee.
- 3. The detainee was responsible for purchasing items as directed by Mohammad Ibrahim. Ibrahim would have a list of items to purchase and would present the list to the detainee.
- 4. Mohammad Ibrahim was the Divisional Commander of the Logistic Division under the Taliban Ministry of Intelligence.
- 5. The detainee worked with an employee of the company who had authority to write checks for the company. The employee also worked directly for the Taliban Inteliigence in Kabul, Afghanistan.
- 6. The detainee said the records found in his possession, which detailed purchases, acquisitions, distribution of food supplies, warehouse information and distribution of money were records he kept when he worked for the Taliban as Chief of Cooperative Development. The detainee said he was responsible for these records and took them home after the fall of the Taliban so that he would never be accused of embezzling or misspending money.
- 7. The detainee attempted to export gems from Afghanistan to Germany. The revenue was to be used to finance al Qaida.
- b. Connections/Associations
- 1. The detainee was a former companion of Usama bin Laden during the jihad against the Russians and was among a group protecting Usama bin Laden at his last meeting at Tora Bora.
- 2. The detainee was entrusted by Usama Bin Laden to exfiltrate his guard forces from Afghanistan back to their countries of origin. Shortly before Usama bin Laden's departure from Tora Bora on 16 January 2002, Usama bin Laden and his companions spent the night in a house belonging to an Afghan, an acquaintance of the detainee.
- 3. Near the end of February 2003, Taliban leaders held a meeting at a nomad camp site in the mountains between the town of Daychopan, Zabul Province, Afghanistan and Mian Hasheen. The meeting was attended by the detainee, referred to as Mullah Mohammad Rahim. Three new groups were formed and each group was assigned a commander during the meeting. One group was surprised of 13 Taliban soldiers and was commandeded by the detainee. The detainee's group had an unknown number of RPGs and AK-47 assault rifles.
- 4. Taliban members were armed with mines when they traveled to the meetings.
- 5. The detainee attempted to align himself with other Taliban to continue the anti-United States/Coalition/Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan campaign.
- c. Other Relevant Data
- The detainee stated that leaders from Quetta, Pakistan gave him several satellite phones with long-range capabilities.
The following primary factors favor release or transfer
- a. The detainee stated that he has lived his whole life in the same house. Other than one trip to Pakistan during the jihad against Russia [sic], the year of travel unknown, the detainee stated that he has not traveled outside of his village.
- b. The detainee stated that he has never purchased any weapons for himself or anyone else.
- c. The detainee denies having any weapons other than the one Kalishnakov [sic] that was seized from his house. The detainee claimed that the Kalishnakov was the property of the government and legally in the possession of his brother from whom it was seized. His brother had the weapon because of his service as a soldier for the city. The Karzai government had said they would give 200 United States Dollars to those in Afghanistan who turned in their weapons to the government and the detainee's brother had planned to turn the Kalashnikov in and collet the 200 United States Dollars.
- d.The detainee denied knowing any locations of weapons caches and/or Taliban or al Qaida personalities.
- e. The detainee stated that his office did not have access to telephone lines and that he was not equipped with radios. The detainee stated that the Taliban used radios, but that his office did not have communications equipment.
- f. The detainee gave a detailed account of extortion Taliban officials used against their employees and Taliban Intelligence officials that worked in the logistics office.
- g. The detainee stated that he does not know anything about al Qaida.
There is no record that Mohamed Rahim chose to participate in his second Administrative Review Board hearing.
Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald reported that Mohamed Rahim [sic] was one of twelve men transferred from Guantanamo on December 19, 2009.[17]
The other eleven men were: Ayman Batarfi, Jamal Alawi Mari, Farouq Ali Ahmed, Muhammaed Yasir Ahmed Taher, Fayad Yahya Ahmed al Rami, Riyad Atiq Ali Abdu al Haf, Abdul Hafiz, Sharifullah, Mohammed Hashim and Ismael Arale and Mohamed Suleiman Barre.[17] Abdul Hafiz, Sharifullah and Mohammed Hashim were also Afghans. Asmael Arale was the other Somali. The other six men were Yemenis.
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