Gholam Ruhani
Encyclopedia
Gholam Ruhani is a citizen of Afghanistan
, who was held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 3.
A widely distributed Associated Press
story said that Ruhani was a clerk for the Taliban intelligence
service.
AP quoted from Ruhani's testimony before his Combatant Status Review Tribunal
.
Abdul Salam Zaeef
described being flown to the United States Navy
's amphibious warfare vessel, the USS Bataan
, for special interrogation.
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 The Guantanamo Files,
identified Ruhani as one of the men Zaeef recognized.
He identified
Mullah Wasseeq as Abdul-Haq Wasiq, Mullah Noori as Norullah Noori
and Mullah Fazal as Mohammed Fazil.
Ruhani was among the 60% of prisoners who participated in the tribunal hearings. A Summary of Evidence memo
was prepared for the tribunal of each detainee. The memo for his hearing lists the following allegations:
Ruhani's Personal Representative read a statement prepared by Ruhani.
Summarized transcripts (.pdf)], from Gholam Ruhani's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
- pages 7–12
was prepared for
Gholam Ruhani's
first annual
Administrative Review Board,
on
2 May 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
was prepared for
Gholam Ruhani's
second annual
Administrative Review Board,
on
22 March 2006.
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
.
An American sponsored wing of the Pul-e-charkhi prison
was opened near Kabul
, in mid 2007.
This 316 cell prison was built at a cost of $30 million, to enable captives to be transferred from Guantanamo and the Bagram Theater internment facility
.
According to an article by Carol Rosenberg
, writing in the Miami Herald, Ghulam Ruhani had initially been held with David Hicks
and John Walker Lindh
, aboard a USN warship.
Ruhani was one of the first twenty captives transferred to Guantanamo on January 11, 2002, whose images were captured in a widely republished picture of kneeling captives.
On November 25, 2008 the Department of Defense published a list of when Guantanamo captives were repatriated.
According to that list he was repatriated on December 12, 2007.
The Center for Constitutional Rights
reports that all of the Afghans repatriated to Afghanistan from April 2007 were sent to Afghan custody in the American built and supervised wing of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison
near Kabul
.
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...
, 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...
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...
.
His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 3.
A widely distributed 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...
story said that Ruhani was a clerk for the Taliban intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
service.
AP quoted from Ruhani's testimony before his 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...
.
- "The Taliban law was that young people had to join the Taliban, I had to join, but protested several times that I had an old father and I wanted to go back to my family. ... If I had not cooperated with the Taliban Intelligence service member, I would have been sent to the front lines. I was afraid I would be killed."
Held aboard the USS Bataan
Former Taliban Ambassador to PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
Abdul Salam Zaeef
Abdul Salam Zaeef
Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef was the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan before the US invasion of Afghanistan.He was detained in Pakistan in the fall of 2001 as an and held until 2005 in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp...
described being flown to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's amphibious warfare vessel, the USS Bataan
USS Bataan (LHD-5)
USS Bataan is a commissioned in 1997. She is named to honor the defense of the Bataan Peninsula on the western side of Manila Bay in the Philippines during the early days of US involvement in World War II.-Christening:...
, for special interrogation.
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
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 The Guantanamo Files,
identified Ruhani as one of the men Zaeef recognized.
He identified
Mullah Wasseeq as Abdul-Haq Wasiq, Mullah Noori as Norullah Noori
and Mullah Fazal as Mohammed Fazil.
Combatant Status Review
Summary 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:
Ruhani's Personal Representative read a statement prepared by Ruhani.
Summarized transcripts (.pdf)], from Gholam Ruhani's 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...
- pages 7–12
Allegations
Unlike most of the other transcripts from captive's Combatant Status Review Tribunal Ruhani's transcript did not record the allegations against him.First annual Administrative Review Board
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
Gholam Ruhani's
first annual
Administrative Review Board,
on
2 May 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
Second annual Administrative Review Board
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
Gholam Ruhani's
second annual
Administrative Review Board,
on
22 March 2006.
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
Repatriation
A captive named "Ghulam Ruhani" was transferred to Afghan custody in "a U.S-sponsored lockup near KabulKabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
.
An American sponsored wing of the Pul-e-charkhi prison
Pul-e-Charkhi prison
Pul-e-Charkhi , also known as Afghan National Detention Facility, is the largest prison in Afghanistan east of Kabul. Construction of the jail began in the 1970s by order of former president Mohammed Daoud Khan and was completed during the 1980s...
was opened near Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, in mid 2007.
This 316 cell prison was built at a cost of $30 million, to enable captives to be transferred from Guantanamo and the Bagram Theater internment facility
Bagram Theater Internment Facility
The Parwan Detention Facility , also called the Bagram Theater Internment Facility, is a United States-run prison located next to Bagram Airfield in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan.It was formerly known as the Bagram Collection Point...
.
According to an article by Carol Rosenberg
Carol Rosenberg
Carol Rosenberg is a senior journalist, currently with the McClatchy News Service.Rosenberg works at the Miami Herald, which has provided extensive coverage of the operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.-Biography:...
, writing in the Miami Herald, Ghulam Ruhani had initially been held with David Hicks
David Hicks
David Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism...
and John Walker Lindh
John Walker Lindh
John Phillip Walker Lindh is a United States citizen who was captured as an enemy combatant during the United States' 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. He is now serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection with his participation in Afghanistan's Taliban army...
, aboard a USN warship.
Ruhani was one of the first twenty captives transferred to Guantanamo on January 11, 2002, whose images were captured in a widely republished picture of kneeling captives.
On November 25, 2008 the Department of Defense published a list of when Guantanamo captives were repatriated.
According to that list he was repatriated on December 12, 2007.
The Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
reports that all of the Afghans repatriated to Afghanistan from April 2007 were sent to Afghan custody in the American built and supervised wing of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison
Pul-e-Charkhi prison
Pul-e-Charkhi , also known as Afghan National Detention Facility, is the largest prison in Afghanistan east of Kabul. Construction of the jail began in the 1970s by order of former president Mohammed Daoud Khan and was completed during the 1980s...
near Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
.