Moheb Ullah Borekzai Explained

Muhibullah
Birth Place:Shah Wali Koot, Afghanistan
Detained At:Guantanamo
Id Number:546
Alias:Moheb Ullah Borekzai
Charge:No charge (held in extrajudicial detention)
Arrest Date:November 2001
Release Date:2005-07-19
Release Place:Afghanistan
Status:DoD claims he "returned to supporting terrorism"

Muhibullah or Moheb Ullah Borekzai is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[1] His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 546.American intelligence analysts estimate that Muhibullah was born in 1982, in Shah Wali Koot, Afghanistan.

He was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, transferred to Guantanamo onMay 5, 2002, and was transferred to Afghanistan on July 19, 2005.[2] [3] US Intelligence analysts have asserted that Muhibullah was a recidivist, who, after his transfer, "engaged in terrorism or militant activity" and had "re-engaged in terrorism".[4] [5] [6]

When Borekzai and fellow Afghan captive Habir Russol were repatriated in July 2005, they provided the first account of a widespread hunger strike.[7] [8] [9] Borekzai also offered accounts of Quran abuse.[10]

Conflicting accounts of his real name

Guantanamo contained at least two captives with very similar names.[1] Guantanamo captive 974 was listed as Mohe Bullar on the official lists released on April 20, 2006, and May 15, 2006.

However, in the Associated Press interview he gave upon his repatriation his name was listed as Moheb Ullah Borezkai.[7] [8] [9] [10]

Official status reviews

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror.[11] However, in 2004, in Rasul v. BushtheUnited States Supreme Courtruled that the captives had to be informed of the justifications for their detention, and had to be given an opportunity to defend themselves against those allegations.[12] [13] [14]

Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants

In response to the Supreme Court ruling in Rasul v. Bush, the Department of Defense set up the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants, which conducted annual reviews of the captives status.[2] Borekzai had two reviews scheduled in 2004, and he chose to attend both of them.

According to Andy Worthington, the author of The Guantanamo Files Borekzai had been a Taliban conscript, who was taken captive by post-Taliban forces, handed over the powerful militia leader Ismael Khan, who, in turn, sold him the US forces.[15] Worthington noted with skepticism that American analysts accepted the claim that 19-year-old conscript Borekzai was the "acting governor of Sheberghan".Addressing the claim of American analysts that he "was part of a tribal militia that supported the Taliban for three and a half years since 1998″ Worthington pointed out that "he was 15 or 16 years old, and was therefore not responsible for his actions, which, presumably, were dictated by his family.″ Muhibullah chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[16]

Allegations

The allegations Muhibullah faced, during his Tribunal, were:[16]

Response to the allegations

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 were not authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they were not 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.

The factors for and against continuing to detain Muhibullah were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3, 2006.[17]

Transcript

Muhibullah chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[18]

Repatriation

On November 26, 2008 the Department of Defense published a list of when captives left Guantanamo.[19] According to that list Mohibullah was repatriated on July 19, 2005.

Reporters interviewed Borekzai, and Habir Russol, another Afghan who was released at the same time, on July 20, 2005, the day they arrived home.[20] In this interview they revealed that Camp Delta was in the midst of a widespread hunger strike. Borekzai and Russol estimated that over 180 detainees were participating in the hunger strike, and that it had been going on for over two weeks.[20] [21] [22] Initially DoD spokesman Flex Plexico denied any knowledge of a hunger strike.[23]

In her book Barbara Olshansky, a senior lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights, attributed the first public news of the hunger strike to Borekzai and Russol.[24] She noted that DoD press officers initially denied there was a hunger strike, but that "over the course of the week following Russol and Borezkai's public announcement, the Defense Department was forced to admit that yet another strike was ongoing."

On July 21, 2005, three days after their departure, Plexico claimed that only a small number of detainees had been refusing food, and that they had only been doing so for three days. The lawyers of Guantanamo details later corroborated the details of the Afghans claims, saying that they had been aware of the hunger strike as early as June 23, 2005, but had not been able to say anything because of a DoD gag place on them.

Borekzai told the Associated Press the detainees were protesting because "some of these people say they were mistreated during interrogation. Some say they are innocent."[21] The two Afghans said they had been accused of being members of the former Taliban regime, but both said they were innocent.

Borekzai said that camp authorities had announced over the camp public address system that guards would stop showing disrespect to Quran, and that he was not aware of any recent incidents.[25]

Pentagon claim he had "returned to the fight"

On May 20, 2009, the New York Times, citing an unreleased Pentagon document, reported that Department of Defense officials claimed Mohibullahwas one of 74 former Guantanatmo captives who "are engaged in terrorism or militant activity."[4] [5] [26] [27] [28] On May 27, 2009, the Defense Intelligence Agency published a "fact sheet" listing Guantanamo captives who had "re-engaged in terrorism".[6] It stated that Mohibullah was suspected of "association with the Taliban".

See main article: Lists of released Guantanamo prisoners who allegedly returned to battle.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006. United States Department of Defense. 2006-05-15.
  2. News: Guantanamo Docket: Muhibullah. New York Times. Margot Williams. 2008-11-03. 2012-07-24. Margot Williams.
  3. Web site: Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version) . Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, from DoD data . https://web.archive.org/web/20100613004352/http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/resources/library/documents-and-reports/gtmo_heightsweights.pdf . 2010-06-13 . dead.
  4. News: Later Terror Link Cited for 1 in 7 Freed Detainees . 2009-05-20 . Elizabeth Bumiller . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110501084042/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/politics/21gitmo.html?ref=americas . 2011-05-01 . dead.
  5. News: Recidivism . 2009-05-20 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20090524173343/http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/recidivism . 2009-05-24 . dead.
  6. News: Fact sheet: Former Guantanamo detainee terrorism trends . 2009-04-07 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928025140/http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2009/05/27/20/recidivists.source.prod_affiliate.56.pdf . 2011-09-28 . dead.
  7. News: Some Guantánamo Prisoners Have Gone on Hunger Strike . . 2005-07-22 . 2012-07-24 . 2022-06-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220606074302/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/politics/22gitmo.html . live . The Pentagon's account of the protest contrasted somewhat with that of two Afghans released on Monday from Guantánamo. The two, Habir Russol and Moheb Ullah Borekzai, said on Wednesday that more than 180 Afghans were on a hunger strike to protest mistreatment. .
  8. News: Pentagon confirms Guantanamo Bay hunger strike . . 2005-07-21 . 2012-07-24 . 2013-02-05 . https://archive.today/20130205120712/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-07-21-gitmo-hungerstrike_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA . live . Habir Russol and Moheb Ullah Borekzai, who said they left the prison camp Monday and were flown to Afghanistan before being freed, said they did not participate in the hunger strike. They did not say how they knew others were refusing to eat..
  9. News: Two men claim hunger strike at Guantanamo . . 2005-07-21 . 2012-03-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302013438/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-07/21/content_462095.htm . live . Former Afghan Guatanamo prisoners Moheb Ullah Borekzai, left, and Habir Russol, right, get out of the car that took them to their release ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. The two Afghans released Wednesday after being detained at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba claimed that about 180 other Afghans held at the U.S. detention facility were on a hunger strike to protest alleged mistreatment and to push for their release..
  10. News: Gitmo Inmate: Quran Abuse Over . . 2005-07-22 . 2012-07-24 . 2011-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110202114230/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/22/terror/main711080.shtml . live . An Afghan man released from Guantanamo Bay said he had seen guards throwing the Quran, but that all such abuse stopped late last year after a loudspeaker announcement that U.S. soldiers have no right to touch Islam's holy book..
  11. News: Q&A: What next for Guantanamo prisoners? . . 2002-01-21 . 2008-11-24 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20081123204530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1773140.stm . 2008-11-23.
  12. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/national/08gitmo.html?ex=1257570000&en=4af06725bdf5c086&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court
  13. http://www.christusrex.org/www1/news/ft-12-11-04a.htm Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals"
  14. Web site: Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials . . March 6, 2007 . 2007-09-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929123416/http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3902 . September 29, 2007.
  15. News: WikiLeaks and the Guantánamo Prisoners Released After the Tribunals, 2004 to 2005 (Part Three of Five). Andy Worthington. 2011-07-09. 2012-07-30. Somewhere in this story of local corruption and American gullibility, he was accused of being the acting governor of Sheberghan for the Taliban.. Andy Worthington.
  16. Summarized transcripts (.pdf)
  17. Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf)
  18. Summarized transcript (.pdf)
  19. News: Consolidated chronological listing of GTMO detainees released, transferred or deceased . . OARDEC . 2008-10-09 . 2008-12-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081220004442/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/09-F-0031_doc1.pdf . 2008-12-20. OARDEC .
  20. News: Hunger strike confirmed at Guantanamo Bay . . July 22, 2005 . 2007-01-22 . 2012-11-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121107212451/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2005/07/22/Guantanamo-Bay-protest-050722.html . live.
  21. News: U.S. military says 52 detainees at Guantanamo are on hunger strike. July 22, 2005. 2007-01-22. Baltimore Sun. https://web.archive.org/web/20061011084113/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/attack/bal-te.gitmo22jul22,0,7997960.story?coll=bal-attack-headlines . 2006-10-11.
  22. News: Two men claim hunger strike at Guantanamo. China Daily. July 21, 2005. 2007-01-22.
  23. News: Afghans tell of hunger strike at Guantanamo. Taipei Times. July 22, 2005. 2007-01-22.
  24. Book: 9781583229606. Democracy Detained: Secret Unconstitutional Practices in the U.S. War on Terror. Seven Stories Press. Barbara Olshansky. 2011. 2012-07-25. It was on July 20, 2005, just shortly after Senator Roberts' statement, that the June/July 2005 Hunger Strike was first publicly announced by two Afghani citizens, Habir Russol and Mohed Ullah Borekzai, who had been released from Guantanamo two days earlier. The Center for Constitutional Rights subsequently confirmed that the mass protest had been planned and begun in June 2005 and had occurred across all five camps. Once again, government officials at first denied the existence of the protests, but over the course of the week following Russol and Borezkai's public announcement, the Defense Department was forced to admit that yet another strike was ongoing.. Barbara Olshansky.
  25. News: Koran abuse halted last year, says freed Afghan prisoner. Miami Herald. 2005-07-23. 16A. 2012-07-25. An Afghan man released from Guantánamo Bay said he saw guards throwing the Koran, but all such abuse stopped late last year after a loudspeaker announcement that U.S. soldiers have no right to touch Islam's holy book. Moheb Ullah Borekzai made the comments Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press, three days after he was freed from the prison camp in Cuba and flown home to Afghanistan..
  26. News: RAW DATA: Former Gitmo Detainees Who Returned to Terrorism . . 2009-12-29 . 2012-09-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120914164952/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/30/raw-data-gitmo-detainees-returned-terrorism/ . live . Muhibullah. He was repatriated to Afghanistan in 2005 and later associated with the Taliban..
  27. News: Revisionist Recidivism: An analysis of the Government's representations of alleged "recidivism" of the Guantanamo detainees. Seton Hall University. Mark P. Denbeaux. 2009-06-05. 35 . 2012-07-31. Mark P. Denbeaux.
  28. News: Appendix: Guantanamo: Who Really 'Returned to the Battlefield'? . . Peter Bergen, Katherine Tiedemann . 2009-07-20 . 4 . 2012-07-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120728085439/http://www.newamerica.net/files/nafmigration/appendix_july_20.pdf . live.

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