Arkin Mahmud
Encyclopedia
Arkin Mahmud is an Uyghur
refugee best known for the seven and a half years he spent in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo
counter-terrorism
analysts reports Mahmud was born on July 1, 1964, in Ghulja, China.
Arkin traveled to Afghanistan
in order to look for his younger brother Bahtiyar Mahnut
.
He is one of approximately twenty-two captives from the Uighur ethnic group.
By the summer of 2009 Arkin's mental health had deteriorated so profoundly he wasn't offered sanctuary in Palau. For some time in 2005 during his stay in Guantanamo he was held in solitary confinement
.
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
.
Until his transfer to Switzerland
on March 23, 2010 Arkin Mahmud had been held at Guantanamo for more than seven and a half years despite it became clear early on that he like the other Uyghurs in Guantanamo
was innocent.
country of Palau
offered sanctuary to all the remaining Uyghur captives in Guantanamo, except Arkin.
Arkin's younger brother Bahtiyar declined the invitation of sanctuary in Palau in order to stay with Arkin.
Due to reports from camp guards that Arkin had broken the camp's rules from 2005 he was held in isolation
from other captives.
Arkin told Elizabeth Gibson, his habeas counself, "I know I'll die in here. In China, at least I would have a trial and sentence."
Swiss authorities helped them settle in Canton of Jura
. Historian Andy Worthington
, author of The Guantanamo Files commented that Switzerland's grant of Asylum preserved the Obama
Presidency from political embarrassment, because all the Uyghurs had been offered a new home, except for Arkin Mahmud, and that the swiss offer of asylum would complicate the habeas petitions of the four remaining Uyghur captives who had declined to agree to accept refugee status in 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 best known for the seven and a half years he spent 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 detention camps, 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 reports Mahmud was born on July 1, 1964, in Ghulja, China.
Arkin traveled to 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...
in order to look for his younger brother Bahtiyar Mahnut
Bahtiyar Mahnut
-Transcript:Mahnut participated in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.His Tribunal convened on 23 October 2004 and 27 October 2004.On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published an eighteen page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status...
.
He is one of approximately twenty-two captives from the Uighur ethnic group.
By the summer of 2009 Arkin's mental health had deteriorated so profoundly he wasn't offered sanctuary in Palau. For some time in 2005 during his stay in Guantanamo he was held in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
.
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...
.
Until his transfer to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
on March 23, 2010 Arkin Mahmud had been held at Guantanamo for more than seven and a half years despite it became clear early on that he like the other Uyghurs in Guantanamo
Uyghur detainees in Guantanamo
The United States government detained twenty-two Uyghurs in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp since 2002. As of today the five Uyghurs Abdul Razakah, Yusef Abbas, Hajiakbar Abdulghupur, Saidullah Khalik and Ahmed Mohamed remain in Guantanamo and have filed cases in US courts to obtain the right to...
was innocent.
Writ of habeas corpus
A writ of habeas corpus, Arkina Amahmud v. George W. Bush, was submitted on Arkina Amahmud's behalf.Mental health
In July 2009 the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
country of 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...
offered sanctuary to all the remaining Uyghur captives in Guantanamo, except Arkin.
Arkin's younger brother Bahtiyar declined the invitation of sanctuary in Palau in order to stay with Arkin.
Due to reports from camp guards that Arkin had broken the camp's rules from 2005 he was held in isolation
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
from other captives.
Arkin told Elizabeth Gibson, his habeas counself, "I know I'll die in here. In China, at least I would have a trial and sentence."
Granted asylum in Switzerland
Switzerland granted political asylum to Arkin Mahmud and Bahtiyar Mahnut on February 4, 2010.Swiss authorities helped them settle in Canton of Jura
Canton of Jura
The Republic and Canton of the Jura , also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the cantons of Switzerland. It is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont...
. Historian Andy Worthington
Andy Worthington
Andy 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....
, author of The Guantanamo Files commented that Switzerland's grant of Asylum preserved the Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
Presidency from political embarrassment, because all the Uyghurs had been offered a new home, except for Arkin Mahmud, and that the swiss offer of asylum would complicate the habeas petitions of the four remaining Uyghur captives who had declined to agree to accept refugee status in 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
- Taking On Guantánamo Connecticut Law Tribune, May 10, 2010
- Human Rights First; Habeas Works: Federal Courts’ Proven Capacity to Handle Guantánamo Cases (2010)