Mohammed Aman

Aman or Mohammed Aman (born 1957) is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 1074. American intelligence analysts report he was born in 1957, in Malik Village, Kardez. Afghanistan.

Aman was captured in Afghanistan in May 2002 and transferred to Afghanistan on October 11, 2006.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

File:Trailer where CSR Tribunals were held.jpg

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a 3 x 6 meter trailer.

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.

Aman chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

Allegations

Unlike many transcripts the allegations against Aman were not recorded in his transcript.

Habeas corpus submissions

Mohammed Amon is one of the sixteen Guantanamo captives whose amalgamated habeas corpus submissions were heard by US District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton on January 31, 2007.

On April 17, 2007 the United States Department of Justice argued that Amon v. Bush should be considered moot, because "Mohammed Amon" had been transferred from US custody.

The Department of Defense published the unclassified documents generated through the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of 179 captives who had habeas petitions submitted on their behalf. But they did not publish this one.

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.

Aman chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.

Enemy Combatant Election Form

Mohammed Aman's Assisting Military Officer read from his Enemy Combatant Election Form that on August 9, 2005 and August 11, 2005, for seventy-three minutes and forty-five minutes. He described Mohammed Aman as "polite and very cooperative" during both meetings. He reported that Mohammed Aman had characterized the allegations against him as untrue. Mohammed Aman was given a Farsi translation of the Summary of Evidence memo containing the allegations against him.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment

1. The detainee admitted he joined the Taliban in 1999.
2. The detainee worked for the Taliban for two years, until the Taliban was defeated.
3. The detainee was the Deputy Officer of Personnel at 3rd Corps in Gardez. He was offered the position and promoted to Colonel by general Zaiudeen, the 12th Division Commander.
4. Ziaudeen has been cited as being responsible for attacks in Gardez out of spite for being removed from his position in May 2003, and may be working with Taliban and al Qaida leaders against Afghanistan.

b. Training

1. The detainee was a Captain in the Afghani Army for 17 years. He had 6 months of military training at the Technical Military School in Kabul, Afghanistan.

c. Connections / Associations

1. The detainee was captured at his residence by United States Forces, suspected of being a Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) member.
2. A Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) identification card was found in the detainee's residence at the time of his capture.
3. The Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) was one of the major Mujahedin groups in the war against the Soviets. HIG has long-established ties with Bin Ladin. HIG has staged attacks in its attempt to force United States troops to withdraw from Afghanistan, overthrow the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA) and established a fundamentalist state.
4. It was reported that the detainee met with HIG leader Asadullah on 10 May 2003.
5. Asadullah is an associate of former Taliban commander Saifullah Rahman Mansour and acts as a liaison between Mansour and the Hisb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG).
6. Detainee said the last time he met with Asadullah was in the early part of May 2003.
7. Detainee admitted to knowing the police chief of Gardez, Abdullah Mujahid.
8. Abdullah Mujahid was identified as being responsible for the attack on a Special Forces Detachment in the vicinity of Gardez City, Afghanistan.
9. The detainee was present at a 30 April 2003, Taliban leadership council meeting.

d. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee left Gardez and joined the Mujahedin in Zormat, Pakistan. He worked under CDR Mohammed Ghani for approximately three years and nine months.
2. When the Taliban came to Gardez, the detainee lived in a military division housing area in Kabul (Wazir Akbar Khan area) for free.
3. The detainee was given permission to stay at the government military division housing area in complex (Wazir Akbar Khan area) by Said Ishraq Husseini, the Under Secretary of Defense for Ahmad Shah Masoud and Under Secretary for the Ministry of Interior.
4. The detainee referenced his supervisor as the Taliban Modir for Gardez, Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammed Rahim.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a. The detainee said he was obligated to work for the Taliban, because they were the controlling government, and it was the only way he could support his family.

b. Detainee stated he registered with Hisb-I Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) despite not being an actual member. He explained that when the Soviets first invaded Afghanistan, the only way a person could enter Pakistan as a refugee, was to register with a political group.

c. Witnesses testified that the detainee was a lower level clerk or functionary with the Taliban and/or Afghan military.

d. Detainee stated he feels 9/11 was a crime against humanity, a crime against the world.

e. Detainee stated he would support the new government if released because a stable government is the only means to achieve peace within the country.

f. Detainee stated he would go back home and attempt recruitment back into the Afghani Army if released from custody.

g. Detainee also stated that if released he would like to return to his village in Gardez to rejoin his wife and children and work at his pharmacy in order to provide for them.

h. Detainee stated he would be willing to undergo a polygraph examination to prove his innocence as well as his loyalty to President Karzi and the Americans.

Witness Request

Abdullah Mujahid requested Aman's testimony at his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. Mujahid was informed that Aman could not be allowed to testify in person, for "Force Protection reasons".

Release

According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer Aman said:

"I was relaxed because I was innocent. I was sure I would be freed. I was always thinking that today or tomorrow I will be free."

Aman described being shipped to Afghanistan in black googles, ear-muffs, shackles after three years of detention.

References

External links

• The Guantánamo Files: Website Extras (12) – The Last of the Afghans (Part Two) Andy Worthington

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