Adel Abdulhehim
Encyclopedia
Adel Abdulhehim or Adel Abdul Hakim is a citizen of the People's Republic of China
from the Uighur
ethnic group who was held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
-controlled Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
s, in Cuba
.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
counter-terrorism
analysts report he was born on October 10, 1974, in Ghulja, Xinjiang
.
Abdulhehim was captured in late 2001, and detained in Camp Delta
. He is one of the 38 detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal
concluded he had not been an "illegal combatant" after all.
Abdulhehim is one of approximately two dozen detainees from the Uighur ethnic group.
According to an article distributed by the Associated Press
, Abdulhehim, his compatriot Abu Baker Qassim, and eight others were moved from imprisonment at the main compound of Camp Delta to a less harsh imprisonment at Camp Iguana
.
A February 18, 2006 article in the Washington Times claimed that Abu Bakker Qassim and A'Del Abdu al-Hakim had received military training in Afghanistan
. It reported they were not classified as "illegal combatants" because they intended to go home and employ their training against the Chinese government
, and were released. Some earlier reports had described them as economic refugees who were slowly working their way to Turkey
.
Hakim and Abu Bakker Qassim report they were sold to US forces by bounty hunter
s.
Abdul Hakim said in January 2007 that "Albania
n people are very welcoming and there are many Muslim brothers here".
However, in Albania Hakim was separated from his wife and their three children, as Albania did not permit family-reunification. In November 2007 he was granted a 4-day visa to Sweden
, to lecture about human rights
in Stockholm
. Since his sister lived in Sweden, he applied for asylum there. However, in June 2008 the immigration authorities in Sweden announced that Hakim had been denied political asylum.
On June 15, 2008 the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Adel Abdulhehim.
The McClatchy interview records his account of his "military training" in the Uyghur construction camp:
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
from the Uighur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
ethnic group who was held in extrajudicial detention
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-controlled Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
s, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Joint Task Force Guantanamo is a U.S. military joint task force based at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on the southeastern end of the island. JTF-GTMO falls under US Southern Command...
counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
analysts report he was born on October 10, 1974, in Ghulja, Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
.
Abdulhehim was captured in late 2001, and detained in Camp Delta
Camp Delta
Camp Delta is a permanent detainment camp at Guantanamo Bay that replaced the temporary facilities of Camp X-Ray. Its first facilities were built between February 27 and mid-April 2002 by Navy Seabees, Marine Engineers, and workers from Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root...
. He is one of the 38 detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
concluded he had not been an "illegal combatant" after all.
Abdulhehim is one of approximately two dozen detainees from the Uighur ethnic group.
According to an article distributed by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, Abdulhehim, his compatriot Abu Baker Qassim, and eight others were moved from imprisonment at the main compound of Camp Delta to a less harsh imprisonment at Camp Iguana
Camp Iguana
Camp Iguana is a small compound in the detainment camp complex on the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Camp Iguana originally held three child detainees who camp spokesmen then claimed were the only detainees under age 16. It was closed in the winter of 2004 when the three were sent home...
.
A February 18, 2006 article in the Washington Times claimed that Abu Bakker Qassim and A'Del Abdu al-Hakim had received military training in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. It reported they were not classified as "illegal combatants" because they intended to go home and employ their training against the Chinese government
Government of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
, and were released. Some earlier reports had described them as economic refugees who were slowly working their way to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Bounty
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
s.
Press reports
To the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Abdul Hakim said in January 2007 that "Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n people are very welcoming and there are many Muslim brothers here".
However, in Albania Hakim was separated from his wife and their three children, as Albania did not permit family-reunification. In November 2007 he was granted a 4-day visa to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, to lecture about human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. Since his sister lived in Sweden, he applied for asylum there. However, in June 2008 the immigration authorities in Sweden announced that Hakim had been denied political asylum.
On June 15, 2008 the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Adel Abdulhehim.
The McClatchy interview records his account of his "military training" in the Uyghur construction camp:
External links
- Judge Asks Status of Gitmo Detainees, South Georgia Online, August 25, 2005
- Judge Weighs Order to Release Two at Gitmo, ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, December 13, 2005 - Guantánamo’s Uyghurs: stranded in Albania Andy Worthington
- WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Former Guantánamo detainee seeks asylum in Sweden Andy Worthington
- Bad News And Good News For The Guantánamo Uighurs Andy Worthington