Obaidullah (detainee)

Obaidullah (born c. 1980) is a citizen of Afghanistan and one of the last remaining Afghan detainees held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba.^[3] He was captured as an Enemy combatant on July 20, 2002 and as of January 27, 2016, he has been held at Guantánamo for 13 years three months.^[4] He has never been tried and does not have any charges pending against him. Obaidullah's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number is 762. American intelligence analysts estimate that Obaidullah was born in 1980 in Khowst, Afghanistan.

Capture and Detention

On July 20, 2002, two dozen American Special Armed Forces soldiers, acting on an anonymous tip, raided Obaidullah's family home in the middle of the night. Obaidullah was taken into US military custody along with his cousins. At the time, Obaidullah was carrying a notebook which the U.S alleges contained diagrams for improvised explosive devices. US forces also found 23 anti-tank landmines buried on the family’s property near the family home. A car on the compound had blood on the back seat. ^[5]

In a statement made during his habeas corpus proceedings, Obaidullah stated:

"The Americans came while my family and I were all sleeping in our home in the village of Milani, close to Khost City. At that time I was approximately 19 years old. On that night, I heard noises and the soldiers woke me up. I was very confused about what was going on, and why they were in my home, but I and my family cooperated with them. Even though I was not resisting, they tied my feet together and my hands together with plastic cuffs. Then they put a hood over my head and forced me to sit for hours against a wall. The plastic cut into my hands and it was painful to sit that way for so long. I was terrified about what would happen to me.”^[6]

Chapman Airfield

From his home, Obaidullah was transported to Chapman Airfield, a forward operating base. Obaidullah described his treatment at Chapman airbase in a statement made during his habeas corpus proceedings:

“After I got to the military base, there were several soldiers who told me to put my hands up and then to hold them straight out to the front of me. I did what they told me to do. They then put two sandbags on my arms and made me walk around back and forth with them like that all night. They were extremely heavy, and if I dropped the bags, the soldiers put them back on my arms. They got so heavy that I had to kind of place them on my stomach as I moved. They did not let me sleep at all for the rest of that night but forced me to keep moving with bags on my arms. When they moved me from one location to another, the soldiers were extremely rough and shoved me around with their knees and elbows in a very painful and frightening way. In the morning before sunrise, I was taken into a room and interrogated by three or four soldiers. They told me that they would kill me if I didn’t talk. After I told them I didn’t know the answers to their questions, one of them knocked me to the floor. He took out a long knife and started sharpening it in front of me. I could hear the sounds of the knife being sharpened. He then lifted my hood and showed me the knife. He put it on the back of my head and said now start talking… I was terrified and fully believed that they might kill me."^[6]

Bagram

Obaidullah reported abusive interrogation while held in Bagram,^[7] during a period of time when the officers in charge have acknowledged directing the use of the proscribed technique of chaining a detainees hands above his head in order to impose sleep deprivation.

Obaidullah alleges that after arriving at Bagram, he was kept in a small isolation cell, with his hands chained above his head to the ceiling:

"The soldiers chained my hands above my head to the ceiling and would leave me like that for 45 minutes or an hour, then take me into an interrogation room, then take me back after the interrogation and chain my arms up again for another 45 minutes to two hours."

He described his interrogations:

“During these interrogations, they questioned me at times under very hot lights, while making me kneel and put my hands on my head for hours. Sometimes I was forced to stand on my knees. I was also forced to stand at times in a bent position while they questioned me. These positions were very painful… Usually my hood was on when they questioned me, but not always. The hood had a rope at the neck. They pulled this rope so tight that it choked me.

Many times they tied my hands and then hooked them to the wall or ceiling over my head while they were questioning me. They also slapped me and spit in my mouth. They held me by the neck, shook me and screamed at me."^[6]

A Naval Criminal Investigative Service officer who investigated Obaidullah’s case wrote in a sworn statement:

“Based on my interviews of Afghan witnesses with personal knowledge and my other investigative efforts, detainees at Bagram during this period in 2002, including Obaidullah, were subjected to extraordinarily coercive measures which cause me to question the reliability of resulting statements."^[8]

Guantanamo

Obaidullah was transferred to Guantanamo on 28 October 2002.^[4]

Regarding his interrogations there, Obaidullah stated:

“When I was taken to an interrogation, they often put me in a freezing cold room with the air conditioning way up high. After the interrogation was over, they would leave me in there for another 3-4 hours by myself with the air conditioning up high. For a long time, maybe a year, after I got to Guantánamo, the interrogators controlled everything about our lives. If we wanted water or if we wanted to see a doctor, it all depended on whether the interrogators approved it or not. One time, about 2 or 3 months after I arrived in Guantánamo, I was very sick for many days. My throat was sore and I had a fever. Finally, they took me to the infirmary. A doctor began to examine me. After a short time, an interrogator came to the door and signalled to the doctor. The doctor went outside and talked to the interrogator for a short time and then left. He did not return. I was taken back to my cell even though I was still sick and felt very bad.”^[6]

Hunger Strike

In February 2013, more than a decade after his arrival at Guantanamo, Obaidullah went on hunger strike. According to Obaidullah, he joined a hunger strike spurred by "invasive" cell searches conducted in February 2013. The removal of items including his family photos and mail from his attorneys, he said, was "especially distressing for me because I have nothing to provoke the authorities to take my belongings and comfort items that gave me a small sense of humanity."^[9]

He stated:

“I had not participated in hunger strikes, or organized protests in the past. I have been patiently challenging my imprisonment in US civil courts. But the latest actions in the camps have dehumanized me, so I have been moved to take action. Eleven years of my life have been taken from me, and now by the latest actions of the authorities, they have also taken my dignity... Despite the difficulties in continuing the strike, and the health effects I am experiencing and witnessing, we plan to remain on strike until we are treated with dignity... I am losing all hope because I have been imprisoned at Guantánamo for almost eleven years now and still do not know my fate.”^[6]

Combatant Status Review

In September 2004, a CSRT was convened to make a determination whether Obaidullah had been correctly classified as an "enemy combatant".^[12] Obaidullah was not allowed access to legal counsel or government evidence at these hearings, and was not allowed to present evidence beyond his own testimony. The CSRT determined that Obaidullah had approximately been classified as an enemy combatant.

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 might pose if released or transferred, and whether there were other factors that warranted his continued detention.^[13]

First annual Administrative Review Board hearing

The Following Factors Favor Continued Detention

a. Commitment

1. The detainee attended a Madrassa in Dusarakuh, Afghanistan where he practiced militant Islam and was recruited by al Qaida.
2. During the time of the Taliban rule, the detainee helped coordinate the movement and activities of various foreign al Qaida operating in the Khowst area.
3. After the beginning of the Allied Forces Campaign against al Qaida and the Taliban, the detainee used his compound to hide and relocate about 18 Arab al Qaida member to Pakistan. Subsequent to the Shahi Kot Campaign, the detainee hid six additional al Qaida Arab members in his house.
4. One month after the conclusion of the Shahi Kot fighting, the detainee received orders to prepare command-detonated mines to use against United States forces in Khowst area.
5. The detainee placed two Soviet anti-tank mines on the road between Khowst and Miram Shah, Pakistan. He eventually removed the mines, because no United States forces passed by the road and a rain shower washed away the dirt that was covering the mines.
6. The detainee continued to experiment in order to devise a means to detonate the mines. In mid-July 2002, the detainee had at least 18 anti-tank mines hidden in his compound.
7. The detainee was either given a vehicle or received funds to buy a vehicle that he used to scout a position from which he could attempt another mine attack.
8. The detainee received cash and additional explosives at his home and traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan to receive instructions or carry messages between Arab al Qaida and their Afghan subordinates still in Khowst Province.
9. The detainee was captured with over 20 anti-tank mines in his home and was personally carrying a notebook containing electronic and explosives schematics.

b. Training

1. The detainee attended a mechanical high school in Khowst City, Afghanistan. Subjects relating to tanks, mines and weapons were taught by the Taliban at the school. He attended the mine course, which covered the basics regarding Russian mines, approximately one month prior to 11 Sep 2001.

c. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee joined Jama’at al-Tabligh in approximately 2000.
2. The Jama’at al-Tabligh is a legitimate Islamic Missionary organization based in Pakistan and is believed to be used as a cover for action by Islamic extremists.
3. The detainee said Karim was a member of the Jama’at al-Tabligh and a shopkeeper who he partnered with in business. The detainee became indebted to Karim after losing 50,000 Rupees. In return for the debt, Karim asked him to store some land mines at his home.
4. Bostan Qadeem, also known as Karim, is a suspected al Qaida cell leader and bomb maker. He and another man were detained. The two did not have identity papers. In their possession they had a Thuraya satellite telephone, $2,700 USD, 3,600 Pakistani Rupees and 70,000 Afghan Rupees.
5. Three days before the detainee’s arrest, Karim drew some schematics on how to detonate the mines in a notebook that the detainee kept under his mattress.
6. The detainee said that Karim told him the purpose of the land mines was to kill people that Karim did not like.
7. Karim asked the detainee to take a truck full of wood, lumber and a bomb to Kabul, Afghanistan for the purpose of driving it close to where the Americans are.
8. The detainee says that Karim is thought to be a Taliban commander who was getting funding from the Taliban or the Arabs.

d. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee was arrested during a raid on Miland Village, Ismail Khiel District, Khowst Province, Afghanistan.
2. The detainee was captured on 20 July 2002.
3. The detainee says that he never would have placed or detonated the mines that Karim had given him. He only promised to help Karim because he had been promised money, and he needed money to help support his family.

The Following Primary Factors Favor Release Of Transfer

a. The detainee never saw Jama’at al-Tabligh members who were associated with al Qaida or who were recruited on behalf of al Qaida.

b. The detainee stated he never attended training camps related to Jama’at al-Tabligh, jihadist or the military.

c. The detainee denied having any knowledge of the attacks in the United States prior to September 11th, and he also denies knowledge of any rumors or plans of future attacks on the United States or its interests.

d. The detainee claims not to have had any knowledge of or affiliations with al Qaida or Taliban forces. He says he made a mistake and regrets his actions.

Transcript

Obaidullah chose to participate in his first annual Administrative Review Board hearing.^[14]

Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Baidullah Bertola Obaydullah's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 11 August 2006.^[15] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment

1. The detainee stated that he joined Jamaat al-Tabligh when eight to ten men who belonged to Jamaat al-Tabligh came to his village of Mulani, located near Khowst, Afghanistan. The Jamaat al-Tabligh members stayed in the detainee's village for approximately three days and discussed prayer and the Koran.
2. Jama'at Al Tablighi is a Pakistan based Islamic missionary organization used as a cover to mask travel and activities of terrorists, including members of al Qaida.
3. A source stated that the detainee was a coordinator for al Qaida. During the time of Taliban rule, he helped coordinate the movement and activities of various foreign al Qaida members.
4. A source stated that the detainee actually emplaced two Soviet anti-tank mines on a road. The mines were to be command detonated but the detainee had difficulties emplacing the devices. The detainee subsequently removed the mines after no United States forces passed by on the road and then a rain shower washed the dirt covering off the devices.
5. A source stated that the detainee continued to experiment to devise a means to detonate the mines. As of mid-July 2002, the detainee had at least 18 anti-tank mines hidden inside his compound.
6. The detainee was captured while carrying a notebook containing electronic and explosives schematics.

b. Training

The detainee stated that he was drafted by the Taliban and attended Taliban anti-tank mine school for two days then left to go into hiding from the Taliban.

c. Connections/Associations

1. A source stated that following the beginning of the allied forces campaign against al Qaida and the Taliban, the detainee used his compound to hid and subsequently relocate about 18 Arab al Qaida members to Pakistan.
2. A source stated that the detainee hid six additional al Qaida members in his residence subsequent to the Shahi Kot campaign.
3. A source stated that the detainee received orders from an Arab in Pakistan, approximately one month after the conclusion of Shahi Kot fighting to begin preparing command detonated mines to use against United States forces.
4. A source stated that the detainee also had received cash and additional explosives at his residence and traveled fairly frequently to Pakistan to receive instructions or to carry messages between Arab al Qaida members in Pakistan and their Afghan subordinates.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a. The detainee denied having any knowledge of the attacks in the United States prior to their execution on 11 September 2001 and also denied knowledge of any rumors or plans of future attacks on the United States or United States interests.

b. The detainee stated that he never attended training camps related to Jamaat al-Tablish, jihadists or the military.

c. The detainee stated that the information contained in the notebook was obtained when he attended a mechanical school in Khowst, Afghanistan, that the Taliban forced him to attend. The purpose of the school was to provide explosive and firearms training. The detainee described the contents of the notebook as directions on how to use the anti-tank mines not as electronic/explosive schematics.

d. The detainee stated that he took the training course to learn how to dispose of the mines.

Charges

On September 10, 2008 charges were filed against Obaidullah.^[16][17] According to Reuters:

The charges allege he hid mines and other explosives in the Khost area of Afghanistan from October 2001 to July 2002 and carried a notebook describing "how to wire and detonate explosive devices in preparation for acts of terrorism."

On June 7, 2011 the charges were dismissed without prejudice.^[2]
There are currently no charges pending against him.

Habeas Petition

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Boumediene v. Bush that Guantanamo detainees are entitled to habeas corpus proceedings, Obaidullah filed a petition for habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in July 2008.^[18] Shortly after, military commission charges were filed against him. A stay was issued in the case which halted Obaidullah’s habeas petition during military commission proceedings.

The stay was lifted and habeas proceedings were resumed in 2010. On October 19, 2010, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S District Court of the District of Columbia ruled that Obaidullah's detention was lawful.^[19] Judge Leon denied Obaidullah’s petition for writ of habeas corpus after finding he was "more likely than not" an insurgent.^[5]

Appeal

Obaidullah appealed the decision, and In August 2012, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied the appeal, affirming the lower court’s ruling.^[20] The court held that the lower court had correctly determined that it was “more likely than not” that Obaidullah was a member of al Qaeda, relying on the secret source whose tip to the U.S. military led to the raid on Obaidullah’s family compound. The identity of this source and the information received have not been revealed to Obaidullah or his attorneys.^[21]

Motion to Reopen

On Feb 8, 2012, Obaidullah’s lawyers moved to reopen the record.^[22] This would allow Obaidullah a new trial in the district court on the grounds that new evidence had been uncovered. This evidence was attested to in a declaration by Lieutenant Commander Richard Pandis, an NCIS investigator assigned to the case. Pandis stated: "[m]y investigation has given me no reason to believe that Obaidullah or any other particular person was actually visually identified at the time of the report about injured persons being ferried in a vehicle. Instead, my investigation leads me to believe that the intelligence was unintentionally mischaracterized by individuals and documents describing it to the District Court." ^[1] Pandis also discovered that blood found in a taxicab on Obaidullah’s compound – which the U.S. had alleged was the result of ferrying wounded insurgents to a hospital - was from the birth of his daughter instead.

The motion was denied on January 30, 2013.^[22]

Supreme Court

On February 26, 2013, Obaidullah filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the US Supreme Court.^[23]

Joint Review Task Force

When he assumed office in January 2009 President Barack Obama made a number of promises about the future of Guantanamo.^[24][25][26] He promised the use of torture would cease at the camp. He promised to institute a new review system. That new review system was composed of officials from six departments, where the OARDEC reviews were conducted entirely by the Department of Defense. When it reported back, a year later, the Joint Review Task Force classified some individuals as too dangerous to be transferred from Guantanamo, even though there was no evidence to justify laying charges against them. On April 9, 2013, that document was made public after a Freedom of Information Act request.^[27] Obaidullah was one of the 71 individuals deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release. Although Obama promised that those deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release would start to receive reviews from a Periodic Review Board less than a quarter of men have received a review.

Current Status

Obaidullah appears on a Department Defense list of “71 Guantanamo Detainees Determined Eligible to Receive a Periodic Review Board as of April 19, 2013.”^[28] Obaidullah is participating in a hunger strike along with half of the other Guantanamo detainees as of April 23, 2013.^[29]

References

External links

• Afghan Nobody Faces Trial by Military Commission Andy Worthington
• Amnesty International Blasts Obama for Delays and Injustice on Human Rights, Guantánamo and Terrorism Andy Worthington June 26, 2010
• Human Rights First; The Case of Obaidullah, Afghan
• Human Rights First; The Case of Obaidullah, Afghan
• Ali M. Latifi (2015-04-09). "Family fears that Afghan prisoner at Guantanamo will be forgotten". Kabul: Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2015-04-09. His lawyers say he is too small a fish to be part of any prisoner release agreement involving the United States, the Afghan government and the Taliban.