Fizaulla Rahman

Fizaulla Rahman is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detainment camps in Cuba. [http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", May 15, 2006] His detainee ID number is 496.American intelligence analysts estimate that Rahman was born in 1979, in Sancharak, Afghanistan.

Age

While American intelligence analysts estimate that Rahman was born in 1979, he told his tribunal he was "very young" when he was kidnapped by the Taliban.

Combatant Status Review tribunal

] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.cite web
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3902
title=Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=March 6, date=December 2007

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.

Rahman chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. [http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/Set_44_2922-3064.pdf#106 Summarized transcripts (.pdf)] , from Fizaulla Rahman's "Combatant Status Review Tribunal" - pages 106-114]

Confusion over the Tribunal process

Rahman had trouble understanding how the tribunals worked.

After an attempt to explain how they worked, the Tribunal President asked him what parts of the Tribunal process did he not understand. Rahman replied::"I am not literate and don't understand what you mean when you say 'process.' I need you to break down what you mean by process because I don't understand the word, I haven't gone to school."

Allegations

At most of the tribunals the allegations against the detainees were read out loud, and included in the transcript. Rahman gave a long opening statement. But no one aided him to go through the allegations, one by one, so most of the allegations aren't recorded in his transcript.

:a. ""' -- The general summary of the allegations that establish an association with terrorism were missing from the transcript. --:# "'-- missing from the transcript ---:# "'-- missing from the transcript ---:#"....was placed in charge of the Taliban office and you worked as Chief of the Taliban office.

Opening statement

*Rahman denied being a member of the Taliban.
*Rahman denied ever holding any weapons.
*Rahman denied ever being in charge of a Taliban office; Rahman denied ever working in a Taliban office; Rahman denied ever entering a Taliban office.
*Rahman and a partner operated a food stall on the sidewalk across the street from the Taliban's Customs House.
*Rahman said his partner sold his share, for $400, to a backer who worked at the Customs House, who was willing to let Rahman, and a helper, mind the stall, and make all the day-to-day decisions.
*Rahman changed the menu, stirring animosity from his competitors, and his helper ran away. Rahman crossed the border into Pakistan, and spent a week looking for him. When he returned he found his store looted, and his stall shut down.
*Rahman's backer said he would have to work as a laborer in the Customs House until he had paid off his debt. Rahman said the work was exhausting, he got sick, and after nine months he skipped out, and went to Mazari Sharif.
*In Mazari Sharif he established a stall where he sold sandals. It was lucrative, and he was starting to pay down his debts.
*However, unknown to Rahman, Ali Jahn too had left his job in the Customs House, and moved to Mazari Sharif, where he was working in the Intelligence Department.

*Rahman stated he and a partner, and an apprentice, sold food across the street from a Taliban customs office, in what he called a "hotel". The translator explained that in Afghanistan a "hotel" was a kind of restaurant. From the discussion, however, it sounds more like a food court, with different, independent food stalls lining the sidewalk across the street from the customs office.
*After two years his partner wanted to sell his share of the business. His partner said he would find him a new partner. The partner he found was someone who worked at the customs office, named Ali Jahn, who bought out the partner's share for about $400, and apparently wanted to be a non-working partner who was only contributing his capital.
*Since his new partner didn't know anything about the food business, Rahman decided to change the kind of food he sold. Other vendors made more money selling fried meat from a wok. Rahman decided to sell fried meat from a wok.
*Rahman's change of menu stirred animosity from the earlier vendors of fried meat from a wok.
*Rahman's apprentice ran away, and Rahman went to look for him. He was away a week. When he returned he found the other vendors had looted all his goods, and had filed a claim, at city hall, that shut his food stall down.
*Rahman reported the theft to the Police. The neighboring vendors said they were merely safeguarding his belongings. The police commander told them to resolve the dispute among themselves. But he never got any of his goods back from the other vendors.
*Rahman had to tell his silent partner his recent investment had all evaporated. His backer said he could work off his debt to him by working as a laborer in the customs office.

Administrative Review Board hearing

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.

Rahman chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing. [http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/ARB_Transcript_Set_6_20255-20496.pdf#225 Summarized transcript (.pdf)] , from Fizaulla Rahman's "Administrative Review Board hearing" - page 225]

References