Noorullah Noori Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Mullah
Noorullah Noori
Order:Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs
Status:Acting
Term Start:7 September 2021
1Blankname:Leader
1Namedata:Hibatullah Akhundzada
Primeminister:Mohammad Hassan Akhund
Predecessor:Abdul Karim Brahui
Order2:Governor of Balkh
Term Start2:October 2000
Term End2:December 2001
2Blankname2:Leader
2Namedata2:Mohammed Omar
Primeminister2:Mohammad Rabbani
Successor2:Maulvi Qudratullah (2021)
Birth Date:[1]
Birth Place:Shajoie, Afghanistan
Party:Taliban
Allegiance: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Branch:Islamic Army of Afghanistan
Serviceyears:1994-2001
Battles:Afghan civil war
War in Afghanistan
Occupation:Politician, Taliban member

Mullah Noorullah Noori (in Pushto; Pashto pronounced as /nʊrʊˈlɑ nʊˈri/; born 1967) is a militant and Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 7 September 2021.[2] He was also the Taliban's Governor of Balkh Province during their first rule (1996–2001).[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Noori spent more than 12 years in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[8] Noori was released from the detention camp on May 31, 2014, in a prisoner exchange that involved Bowe Bergdahl and the Taliban Five, and flown to Qatar.[9]

2001 press reports describe General Rashid Dostum bringing Noori with him when he toured the ruins of the Qala-i-Jangi fortress, after over 400 captives died there in what is usually described as a failed prison uprising. Noori was reported to have ordered the Taliban fighters in his jurisdiction to peacefully surrender to Dostum's Northern Alliance forces.

Noori arrived at Guantanamo on January 11, 2002, and was held there for 12 years.[10] [11] [12] The allegations used to justify his detention in Guantanamo asserted he was an interim Provincial Governor of Jalalabad, temporary governor of Mazar-i-Sharif and Governor of Balkh Province.[13] [14] Noorullah has been listed by the United Nations 1267 Committee since January 25, 2001.[7]

Throughout the fall of 2011 and the winter of 2012, the United States conducted peace negotiations with the Taliban and widely leaked was that a key sticking point was the ongoing detention of Noorullah and four other senior Taliban.[3] [15] Negotiations hinged on a proposal to send the five men directly to Doha, Qatar, where they would be allowed to set up an official office for the Taliban.

Governor under the Taliban

Farida Kuchi, a Kuchi nomad tribeswoman who ran as a candidate for the Wolesi Jirga in 2005, described her delivery of a list of 1000 Kuchi stranded in an impromptu refugee camp to then Governor of Balkh Noori as the beginning of her political activism in 1998.[16] Fareeda told Carlotta Gall, of the New York Times that Noori accepted her list, and forwarded to humanitarian agencies, and aid did arrive.

In the fall of 2001, when the United States, allied with the Northern Alliance and other anti-Taliban forces, started to use military force to seek out al Qaeda, Noori was one Taliban leader who is reported to have directed the Taliban fighters in his province to lay down their weapons and surrender.[3] [4] [5] [6]

In December 2001, shortly after the overthrow of the Taliban, Human Rights Watch called for a human rights tribunal to be convened against Noorullah and two other former Taliban Governors of Northern Provinces to investigate claims they had been responsible for alleged massacres of Hazara and Uzbek civilians.[17] The reports of civilian massacres were alleged to have occurred during the previous three years (1998-2001). The two other Taliban leaders were Mullah Dadullah and Mullah Mohammed Fazil. Fazil, like Noorullah, had already surrendered and would be sent to Guantanamo.

Held aboard the USS Bataan

Former Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef described being flown to the United States Navy's amphibious warfare vessel, the USS Bataan, for special interrogation.[18] Zaeef wrote that the cells were located six decks down, were only 1 meter by 2 meters. He wrote that the captives weren't allowed to speak with one another, but that he "eventually saw that Mullahs Fazal, Noori, Burhan, Wasseeq Sahib and Rohani were all among the other prisoners." Historian Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, identified Noori as one of the men Zaeef recognized. He identified Mullah Wasseeq as Abdul-Haq Wasiq, Mullah Rohani as Gholam Ruhani and Mullah Fazal as Mohammed Fazil.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Initially, the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror.[19] This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the U.S. 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.

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Mullah Noorullah Noori's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on August 8, 2004.[20] The memo listed the following allegations against him:

Transcript

Noori chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[21] On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a five-page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.[22]

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.

First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Noorullah Noori's first annual Administrative Review Board.[23]

The following primary factors favor continued detention

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

Transcript

Noori chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.[24]

Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Noorullah Noori's second annual Administrative Review Board.[25]

Third annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Norullah Noori's third annual Administrative Review Board.[26]

The following primary factors favor continued detention

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

Board recommendations

In early September 2007, the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos from this board to Gordon R. England, the Designated Civilian Official.[27] [28] The review board convened on January 31, 2007. The board's recommendation was unanimous but was also redacted. The Board's recommendation was forwarded to England on March 29, 2007, and England authorized his continued detention on April 2, 2007.

Writ of habeas corpus

Noorullah Noori had a writ of habeas corpus, Civil Action No. 08-cv-1828, filed on his behalf in late 2008 before US District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina.[29] On December 17, 2008, Patricia A. Sullivan filed a "status report" on his behalf. She reported that Noorullah Noori had a DTA appeal filed on his behalf in 2007.

Joint Review Task Force

When he assumed office in January 2009, President Barack Obama made a number of promises about the future of Guantanamo.[30] [31] [32] He promised the use of torture would cease at the camp and also 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. On April 9, 2013, that document was made public after a Freedom of Information Act request.[33] Noorullah Noori 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.

Release negotiations

Most Afghans who had been held in detention at the U.S. facility had been repatriated to Afghanistan by 2009.[3] Throughout the fall of 2011 and the winter of 2012, the United States conducted peace negotiations with the Taliban and widely leaked that a key sticking point was the ongoing detention of Noorullah and four other senior Taliban, Khirullah Khairkhwa, Mohammed Fazl, Abdul Haq Wasiq and .[15] [34] [35] Negotiations hinged on a proposal to send the five men directly to Doha, Qatar, where they would be allowed to set up an official office for the Taliban.

In March 2012, it was reported that Ibrahim Spinzada, described as "Karzai's top aide" had spoken with the five men in Guantanamo earlier that month and had secured their agreement to be transferred to Qatar.[35] Karzai, who had initially opposed the transfer, then reportedly backed the plan. It was reported that U.S. officials stated the Obama administration had not yet agreed to transfer the five men.

Release from Guantanamo Bay

Noori and four other prisoners who were known as the Taliban five were released from Guantanamo Bay and flown by U.S. military C-17 aircraft into Qatar on June 1, 2014, where they were set free. Their release was in exchange for that of U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl who had been captured in Afghanistan five years earlier. The exchange was brokered by the Emir of Qatar. Noori and the others were required to stay in Qatar for 12 months as a condition of their release.[9] Upon his release, the Taliban confirmed that Noori was eager to resume his efforts to kill Americans. "After arriving in Qatar, Noorullah Noori kept insisting he would go to Afghanistan and fight American forces there," a Taliban commander told reporters.[36]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/82163-isn-6-mullah-norullah-noori-jtf-gtmo-detainee/cf429242ac2c02af/full.pdf JTF- GTMO Detainee Assessment
  2. Web site: 2021-09-07. Factbox: Taliban announces makeup of new Afghan government. 2021-09-12. Reuters. en.
  3. News: M K Bhadrakumar. 2012-01-10. There's more to peace than Taliban. Asia Times. unfit. 2012-01-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20120112031913/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NA12Df01.html. 2012-01-12. Nevertheless, Iranian media insist that three high-ranking Taliban leaders have been released - Mullah Khairkhawa, former interior minister; Mullah Noorullah Noori, a former governor; and Mullah Fazl Akhund, the Taliban's chief of army staff - in exchange for an American soldier held by the Taliban..
  4. News: 2001-11-29. More than 400 killed in fortress battle. A1, A11. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2012-01-11. Dostum later toured the area with a couple of surrendered Taliban leaders from Kunduz. Noorullah Noori, former governor of Balkh province where Mazar-e-Sharif is located, claimed the revolt had not been planned. He said he had told the fighters "to submit your guns and armaments to Gen. Dostum's forces" and surrender. "I feel sad about these events. It was really in vain," he said. "It shouldn't have happened.".
  5. News: 2012-01-05. US Likely to Release Top Taliban Leaders from Gitmo. Outlook Afghanistan. dead. 2012-01-12. https://archive.today/20120112051539/http://outlookafghanistan.net/news?post_id=3020. 2012-01-12. According to Haqyar, Mullah Noorullah Noori was a resident of Shah Joy district in Zabul province and had served as governor for Laghman, Baghlan and Balkh provinces. Mullah Fazil and Noori had an agreement with Gen. Dustam that the Taliban fighters would be evacuated from north safely, but Dustam in violation of that agreement handed both Mullah Fazil and Noori to the US, Haqyar said. The two are very important personalities for the Taliban, who wanted them to be part of the peace talks with the US, he said..
  6. News: Carlotta Gall. 2001-11-29. At Site of Quelled Prisoner Revolt, Afghan Fort's Walls Tell a Tale of Death. New York Times. 2012-01-13. Later he brought along the two most senior former Taliban leaders of the region, the former governor of northern Afghanistan, Mullah Nurullah Nuri, and the former Taliban assistant defense minister, Mullah Fazel, who negotiated the surrender of 6,000 Taliban prisoners from the town of Kunduz last week, including this group of prisoners. The two men said nothing as they visited the scene of the battle. Mullah Nuri was moving his lips in prayer. Mullah Fazel, a heavy man in a large black turban, appeared unmoved..
  7. News: 2011. Narrative summaries of reasons for listing: TI.N.89.0.1. Nurullah Nuri. United Nations Security Council. 2012-01-16. Nurullah Nuri was listed on 25 January 2001 concurrently as Governor of the Balkh Province as well as Head of the Northern Zone of the Taliban regime so falling within the provisions of resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1333 (2000) of the United Nations Security Council regarding acts and activities of the Taliban authorities..
  8. 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.
  9. News: American soldier held captive in Afghanistan is now free. 1 June 2014. MSNBC.
  10. Web site: Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba . . . 2007-03-16 . 2008-12-22 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20090125010428/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/measurements/ . 2009-01-25.
  11. 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.
  12. News: Guantanamo Docket: Mullah Norullah Noori. New York Times. 2008-11-03. Margot Williams. 2010-03-30.
  13. News: Denied Persons Pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution. United States Federal Registry. John R. Bolton. 2003. 2010-11-03.
  14. Neither Jalalabad or Mazari Sharif is a Province. They are cities.
  15. News: Taliban prisoners at Guantánamo OK transfer . . 2012-03-12 . 2012-03-12 . Five top Taliban leaders held by the U.S. in the Guantánamo Bay military prison told a visiting Afghan delegation they agree to a proposed transfer to the tiny Gulf state of Qatar, opening the door for a possible move aimed at bringing the Taliban into peace talks, Afghan officials said Saturday. . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120325215953/http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/10/2688491/taliban-prisoners-at-guantanamo.html . 2012-03-25.
  16. News: A Nomad Campaigns to Serve Her People in Afghanistan . . 2005-08-21 . 2012-01-13 . She waited at the gates and leapt on his car when he drove out. "I fell off and broke my arm," she said. "My face was scratched, and he felt sorry for me and took the list." The governor alerted international aid organizations, which began her career as an organizer of aid for her community. She was appointed director of the camp and reels off the names of international aid workers and agencies with whom she has worked. . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220610042907/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/international/asia/21women.html . 2022-06-10.
  17. News: AFGHANISTAN: Human rights groups call for tribunal . . 2001-12-04 . 2012-01-13 . The third, Mawlawi Nurullah Nuri, former governor of the northern Balkh province, has been accused of involvement in the massacre of Afghans of Uzbek ethnic origin in the region. "I think the international community has a responsibility to track down these commanders the same way they are hunting down Osama bin Laden," Khattak said. All three are Taliban commanders and their alleged crimes were committed over the past three years. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306081341/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=13861 . 2016-03-06.
  18. News: Torture and Abuse on the USS Bataan and in Bagram and Kandahar: An Excerpt from "My Life with the Taliban" by Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef . 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110828062046/http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/12/12/torture-and-abuse-on-the-uss-bataan-and-in-bagram-and-kandahar-an-excerpt-from-my-life-with-the-taliban-by-mullah-abdul-salam-zaeef/ . 2011-08-28 . We were not permitted to talk to each other, but could see one another while the food was handed to us. I eventually saw that Mullahs Fazal, Noori, Burhan, Wasseeq Sahib and Rohani were all among the other prisoners, but still we could not talk to each other. . dead.
  19. 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.
  20. Web site: Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Noori, Mullah Norullah . August 8, 2004 . 7–8 . . . 2008-03-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071202034259/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000001-000100.pdf#7 . December 2, 2007.
  21. Web site: Summarized Detainee Sworn Statement . www.dod.mil . https://web.archive.org/web/20161007171804/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/Reading_Room/Detainee_Related/Set_4_0320-0464.pdf . 2016-10-07.
  22. News: US releases Guantanamo files. The Age. April 4, 2006. 2008-03-15.
  23. News: Mullah Norullah Noori - The Guantánamo Docket . The New York Times. 18 May 2021 .
  24. http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB_Transcript_Set_1_395-584.pdf#26 Summarized transcript (.pdf)
  25. Web site: Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Noori, Mullah Norullah. United States Department of Defense. OARDEC. 2006-01-31. 2009-01-18.
  26. Web site: Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Noori, Mullah Norullah A. . . . 8–10 . 2007-01-27 . 2009-01-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090125032842/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/08-F-0481_FactorsDocsBates1-100.pdf#8 . 2009-01-25. fast mirror
  27. Web site: Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 172 . 17 June 2005 . . . 2007-03-29 . 20 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090125032909/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/08-F-0481_ARB3DecisionMemos1261-1823.pdf#20 . 25 January 2009.
  28. Web site: Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 172 . 13 January 2005 . . . 2007-01-31 . 21–27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090125032909/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/08-F-0481_ARB3DecisionMemos1261-1823.pdf#21 . 25 January 2009.
  29. Web site: Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation: Doc 1347 -- PETITIONER MULLAH NORULLAH NOORI'S STATUS REPORT. United States Department of Justice. Patricia A. Sullivan. 2008-12-17. 2009-01-28. 2012-06-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20120607143638/http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2008mc00442/131990/1347/0.pdf. dead.
  30. News: Justice task force recommends about 50 Guantanamo detainees be held indefinitely . Peter Finn . Washington Post . January 22, 2010 . July 21, 2010 . 2015-05-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150504225142/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012104936.html . live.
  31. News: Most Guantanamo detainees low-level fighters, task force report says . Peter Finn . Washington Post . May 29, 2010 . July 21, 2010 . 2015-05-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150510052105/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/28/AR2010052803873.html . live.
  32. Web site: Andy Worthington. Does Obama Really Know or Care About Who Is at Guantánamo?. June 11, 2010. July 21, 2010. 2010-06-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20100616161842/http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/06/11/does-obama-really-know-or-care-about-who-is-at-guantanamo. live.
  33. News: 71 Guantanamo Detainees Determined Eligible to Receive a Periodic Review Board as of April 19, 2013. Joint Review Task Force. 2013-04-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150519230955/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1020057-guantanamo-parole-list.html. 2015-05-19. 2015-05-18. live .
  34. News: Guantanamo Taliban inmates 'agree to Qatar transfer' . . 2012-03-10 . 2012-03-12 . If the president pursues this strategy, though, he will need support from wary politicians in Congress, our correspondent says. Many there see a transfer of what they call the most dangerous inmates at Guantanamo as a step too far, he adds. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120312214224/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17327440 . 2012-03-12.
  35. News: Taliban Guantanamo detainees agree to Qatar transfer - official . . 2012-03-10 . 2012-03-12 . Karzai's top aide, Ibrahim Spinzada, visited the Guantanamo facility this week to secure approval from the five Taliban prisoners to be moved to Qatar. . Hamid Shalizi . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120312035549/http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/10/afghanistan-guantanamo-taliban-idINDEE82905620120310 . 2012-03-12.
  36. News: Freed Taliban Commander Tells Relative He'll Fight Americans Again - NBC News. NBC News. 2017-10-11. en.

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