Ahmad Tourson
Encyclopedia
Ahmad Tourson or Ahmad Abdulahad is an Uyghur
refugee unlawfully detained for more than seven years in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
s, in Cuba
despite it became clear early on that he was innocent.
The Department of Defense reports that Tourson was born on January 26, 1971, in Xinjiang
Province, China and assigned him the Internment Serial Number 201. Tourson is one of approximately two dozen detainees from the Uighur ethnic group.
He won his habeas corpus
in 2008. Judge Ricardo Urbina declared his detention as unlawful and ordered to set him free in the United States
. He was sent to Palau
in October 2009.
was prepared for the tribunal of each detainee. The memo for his hearing lists the following allegations:
In response, on 4 January 2007
the Department of Defense released 29
pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
His enemy combatant status was confirmed, by Tribunal panel 7 on 5 November 2004.
His Tribunal recorded:
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.
was prepared for Ahmad Tourson's Administrative Review Board, on 11 August 2005.
The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
The following primary factors favor continued detention
The following primary factors favor release or transfer
In September 2007 the Department of Defense released all the Summary of Evidence memos
prepared for the Administrative Review Boards convened in 2006.
While a Board reviewed his status in 2005 no Board reviewed his status in 2006.
In September 2007 the Department of Defense released the recommendation memos from 133 of the Administrative Review Boards that convened in 2005 and the recommendation memos from 55 of the Administrative Review Boards that convened in 2006.
No recommendation memos were released for Ahmad Tourson.
On June 12, 2008 the United States Supreme Court restored the Guantanamo captives' access to the USA's civilian justice system in its ruling on Boumediene v. Bush
.
Specifically it re-initiated the captives' habeas corpus
petitions.
In an unrelated development Huzaifa Parhat's DTA appeal concluded that his Combatant Status Review Tribunal had erred in confirming he was an "enemy combatant", due to insufficient evidence.
The Department of Justice had the option of appealing the ruling, claiming it had new evidence. The Uyghurs' habeas petitions were the first to be scheduled for review.
In September 2008, days before the Department of Justice would have been expected to offer a justification in court for the Uyghurs' detention, and after six and half years of extrajudicial detention, the Department of Justice acknowledged the evidence to justify their detention did not exist.
announced that they would offer temporary asylum to some of the Uyghurs.
The government of Palau sent a delegation Guantanamo, and interviewed some of the remaining Uyghurs.
Some of the Uyghurs declined to be interviewed by the Palauns. In the end the government of Palau offered asylum to twelve of the remaining thirteen Uyghurs. Palau declined to offer asylum to one of the Uyghurs who suffered from a mental disorder, brought on by detention, that was too profound to be treated in Palau.
On October 31, 2009 Ahmad Tourson, Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman
, Edham Mamet, Anwar Hassan, Dawut Abdurehim
and Adel Noori
were released and transferred to Palau.
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...
refugee unlawfully detained for more than seven years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
despite it became clear early on that he was innocent.
The Department of Defense reports that Tourson was born on January 26, 1971, in 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...
Province, China and assigned him the Internment Serial Number 201. Tourson is one of approximately two dozen detainees from the Uighur ethnic group.
He won his habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
in 2008. Judge Ricardo Urbina declared his detention as unlawful and ordered to set him free in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was sent to Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
in October 2009.
Combatant Status Review
Tourson was among the 60% of prisoners who participated in the tribunal hearings. A Summary of Evidence memoSummary of Evidence (CSRT)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of the 558 captives who remained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba in the fall of 2004.-The 2005 release:...
was prepared for the tribunal of each detainee. The memo for his hearing lists the following allegations:
Ahmad Tourson v. George W. Bush
A writ of habeas corpus, Ahmad Tourson v. George W. Bush, was submitted on Ahmad Tourson's behalf.In response, on 4 January 2007
the Department of Defense released 29
pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
His enemy combatant status was confirmed, by Tribunal panel 7 on 5 November 2004.
His Tribunal recorded:
Administrative Review Board hearing
Administrative Review Board
The Administrative Review Board is a United States military body that conducts an annual review of the suspects held by the United States in Camp Delta in the United States Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba....
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.
Summary of Evidence memo
A Summary of Evidence memoSummary of Evidence (ARB)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Administrative Review Board hearings of approximately 460 captives in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba from December 2004 to December 2005.-Release of the memos:...
was prepared for Ahmad Tourson's Administrative Review Board, on 11 August 2005.
The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.
The following primary factors favor continued detention
The following primary factors favor release or transfer
Status from 2005-2008
Five Uyghurs, whose CSR Tribunals determined they had not been enemy combatants were transferred to detention in an Albanian refugee camp in 2006. A man who was born to Uyghur parents, in Saudi Arabia, and thus was considered a Uyghur, was nevertheless returned to Saudi Arabia. All the other Uyghurs remain in Guantanamo.In September 2007 the Department of Defense released all the Summary of Evidence memos
Summary of Evidence (ARB)
Counter-terrorism analysts prepared a Summary of Evidence memo for the Administrative Review Board hearings of approximately 460 captives in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba from December 2004 to December 2005.-Release of the memos:...
prepared for the Administrative Review Boards convened in 2006.
While a Board reviewed his status in 2005 no Board reviewed his status in 2006.
In September 2007 the Department of Defense released the recommendation memos from 133 of the Administrative Review Boards that convened in 2005 and the recommendation memos from 55 of the Administrative Review Boards that convened in 2006.
No recommendation memos were released for Ahmad Tourson.
On June 12, 2008 the United States Supreme Court restored the Guantanamo captives' access to the USA's civilian justice system in its ruling on Boumediene v. Bush
Boumediene v. Bush
Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723 , was a writ of habeas corpus submission made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba...
.
Specifically it re-initiated the captives' habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
petitions.
In an unrelated development Huzaifa Parhat's DTA appeal concluded that his Combatant Status Review Tribunal had erred in confirming he was an "enemy combatant", due to insufficient evidence.
The Department of Justice had the option of appealing the ruling, claiming it had new evidence. The Uyghurs' habeas petitions were the first to be scheduled for review.
In September 2008, days before the Department of Justice would have been expected to offer a justification in court for the Uyghurs' detention, and after six and half years of extrajudicial detention, the Department of Justice acknowledged the evidence to justify their detention did not exist.
Temporary Asylum in Palau
In June 2009 the government of PalauPalau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
announced that they would offer temporary asylum to some of the Uyghurs.
The government of Palau sent a delegation Guantanamo, and interviewed some of the remaining Uyghurs.
Some of the Uyghurs declined to be interviewed by the Palauns. In the end the government of Palau offered asylum to twelve of the remaining thirteen Uyghurs. Palau declined to offer asylum to one of the Uyghurs who suffered from a mental disorder, brought on by detention, that was too profound to be treated in Palau.
On October 31, 2009 Ahmad Tourson, Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman
Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman
Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman is an Uyghur refugee best known for the more than seven years he spent in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba....
, Edham Mamet, Anwar Hassan, Dawut Abdurehim
Dawut Abdurehim
On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a nine page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.-Dawut Abdurehim v. George W. Bush:A writ of habeas corpus, Dawut Abdurehim v. George W...
and Adel Noori
Adel Noori
Adel Noori is an Uyghur refugee best known for the more than seven years he was wrongly imprisoned in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 584....
were released and transferred to Palau.
External links
- From Guantánamo to the United States: The Story of the Wrongly Imprisoned Uighurs Andy WorthingtonAndy WorthingtonAndy Worthington is a British historian, journalist, and film director.He has published three books, and been published in numerous publications.In 2009 Worthington was the co-director of a documentary about the Guantanamo detainees....
October 9, 2008 - Judge Ricardo Urbina’s unclassified opinion (redacted version)
- MOTIONS/STATUS HEARING - UIGHURS CASES BEFORE THE HONORABLE RICARDO M. URBINA
- Relief funds help Guantanamo Uighur move forward Amnesty International USA
- Ahmad Abdulahad The Center for Constitutional Rights
- IN PARADISE Turkistan Australian Association
- Palau urges Australia to allow permanent resettlement for six Uighurs Radio AustraliaRadio AustraliaRadio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
June 3, 2010 - Palau Uyghurs try to build new lives Kyodo NewsKyodo Newsis a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million subscribers. K. K. Kyodo News is Kyodo News' business...
December 15, 2009 - Human Rights First; Habeas Works: Federal Courts’ Proven Capacity to Handle Guantánamo Cases (2010)