Abdullah Hekmat

Abdullah Hekmat is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba. [http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/d20060515.pdf list of prisoners (.pdf)] , "US Department of Defense", May 15 2006] Hekmat's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 670.American intelligence analysts estimate that Hekmat was born in 1972, in Akhcha, Afghanistan.

Background

Abdullah Hekmat is an Afghan businessman who was denounced to American forces, and spent many years in Guantanamo. He acknowledged that he had been involuntarily conscripted into the Taliban's civil service in the mid-1980s.

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 a competent tribunal 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.

ummary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdullah Hekmat'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal, on
22 November 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000500-000599.pdf#33
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Hekmat, Abdullah
date=22 November 2004
pages=pages 33-34
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-02-06] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

:"'The detainee is a member of the Taliban::#The detainee was a member of the Taliban.:#The detainee was in charge of the 3rd police precinct in Mazir e Sharif sic under the Taliban.:#The detainee signed all official correspondence in his position with the Taliban police.:#The detainee's duties for the police included conscripting young men for the Taliban by grabbing them off the street. :#The detainee was authorized to receive money from the abovementioned conscriptees in lieu of their service to the Taliban.:#The detainee stated he was hired as a supervisor in a petroleum company as a result of a resume he prepared for the Taliban.:#The detainee's position with the aforementioned petroleum company required his nomination to the Prime Minister by a high-ranking Taliban official and approval by the Cabinet. :#The detainee was in charge of approximately 15,000 people with the aforementioned petroleum company. :#The detainee was in charge of the aforementioned petroleum company for approximately eighteen months.:#The detainee was captured with an article about the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) given to him by an Imam. :#The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Executive Order 13224.

Transcript

Hekmat chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. cite web
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/Set_50_3381-3489.pdf#59
title=Summarized Sworn Detainee Statement
date=date redacted
pages=pages 59-70
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-02-06] On March 3 2006 the Department of Defense complied with a court order and released summarized transcripts from the unclassified sessions of the captives' Tribunals. Abdullah Hekmat's transcript was twelve pages long.

Testimony

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.

ummary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdullah Hekmat's Administrative Review Board, on
30 June 2005.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Factors_000495-000594.pdf#90
title=Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Hekmat, Abdullah
date=30 June 2005
pages=pages 90-91
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-02-06] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

Transcript

Hekmat chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing. cite web
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/ARB_Transcript_Set_8_20751-21016.pdf#61
title=Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings of ISN 670
date=date redacted
author=OARDEC
pages=pages 61-70
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-02-06] In the Spring of 2006 the Department of Defense complied with a court order and released a ten page summarized transcript of his hearing.

Factors for and against continued detention

:"'a. Commitment:#The detainee was a Taliban member.:#Shortly after joining the Taliban, the detainee was placed in charge of the 3rd Police Precinct in Mazar-e-Sharif sic where his duties included conscription and receiving bribes in lieu of conscription.:#The detainee, in his role at the 3rd Police Precinct, signed all official paperwork while he was in charge for two months.:#The detainee was identified as President of the Department of Research and Exploration in Sheberghan Province for 18 months during the late 1990s.:#The appointment process involved a written proposal submitted to the Prime Minister for careful review before the Prime Minister would issue the appointment order to the Cabinet for final approval.

:"'b. Other Relevant Data::The detainee was turned over to a commander of Dustum’s forces, he was in prison for four months, and then sic turned over to U.S. Forces as a Taliban and al Qaida operative.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer:

:

Response to the factors

Response to Board questions

Board recommendations

In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Decision_memos_000392-000483.pdf#96
title=Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 670
date=October 5 2005
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-02-01
pages=pages 96-97] cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Round_1_Decision_memos_000392-000483.pdf#98
title=Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 670
date=July 14 2005
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-02-01
pages=pages 98-106] The Board's recommendation was unanimousThe Board's recommendation was redacted.England authorized his transfer on October 5 2005.

References