Mohammed Hashim

Infobox WoT detainees
subject_name = Mohammed Hashim

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image_size =
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date_of_birth = Birth year and age|1976
place_of_birth = Kandahar, Afghanistan
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
detained_at = Guantanamo
id_number = 850
group =
alias =
charge = spying, launching rockets
penalty =
status = Faces charges before a military commission.
occupation =
spouse =
parents =
children =

Mohammed Hashim ( _ar. محمد هاشم) is a Kuchi nomad from Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf
title=List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=May 15, 2006
accessdate=2007-09-29] He was formally charged in June 2008, and faces the death penalty, accused of war crimes, at the Guantanamo military commissions on charges that he spied on American troops and prepared to launch a rocket attack. [Melia, Michael, Miami Herald [http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/555625.html Chief Gitmo judge defends tribunals] , June 2, 2008] He claims to have helped Osama bin Laden escape from Afghanistan and was also charged with "providing material support for terrorism", but critics have suggested he is either delusional or exaggerating.

He claims that he does not harbour any hate or idealogues opposed to Americans, and had joined the Afghan military under Taliban rule five years earlier simply because he needed a job.

Life

Hashim lived with his parents, as their only unmarried child, while his two sisters had each married. He joined the Taliban military because he needed the money, and fought at the battles of Konduz and Mazar-e-Sharif prior to the 2001 US Invasion of Afghanistan.

He later said that his work with Osama bin Laden's Arab volunteers meant that he heard discussion of 20 pilots about to fly planes into American buildings, including from the Northern Alliance enemy commander Mohammed Khan who maintained ties with the group.

He also claims to have been close to Abdul Razak, and prior to November 2001 drove to Jalalabad with Razak to pick up bin Laden and take him to the Pakistani border regions in a small convoy led by Hajji Zaher, and left him a Soviet jeep and a pick-up truck to cross the border himself. Over the next month, Hashim says he visited Kabul, Meydan Shahr, Ghazni, Qalat and stopped in Kandahar for several days during Ramadan. There, he was in a group of 40 people led by Abdul Wahed, with Razaq as his lieutenant, and Asmatullah, Haji Gader, Gul Ahmed and Jano Popalzai also present. Here, he says he was asked to serve as a "spy" who would help import weapons from neighbouring countries.

His stories have been dismissed as "fantasy" by critics who allege he is either delusional or lying about his fantastic connections and actions.Worthington, Andy, " [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-worthington/afghan-fantasist-to-face_b_105187.html Afghan Fantasist to Face Trial at Guantanamo] ", June 4, 2008]

Capture and imprisonment

Hashim was captured by Afghan forces who found him unarmed measuring lengths near Mullah Muhammad Omar's residence and asking locals about security arrangements. He was accused of plotting a ranged mortar or rocket attack, but was released. He was taken back into custody shortly afterwards, and turned over to American troops.

CSRT-Yes [http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/Set_34_2426-2457.pdf#17 Summarized transcripts (.pdf)] , from Mohammed Hashim's "Combatant Status Review Tribunal" - pages 17-19] Hashim agreed that he had helped bin Laden escape American pursuers, and did not dispute any of the unclassified evidence against him, but stressed that it was just a paying job for him and he didn't fight for any ideologies. He concluded the unclassified session of his Tribunal with the comment:

References