Jawed Ahmad
Encyclopedia
Jawed Ahmad was an Afghan reporter working for Canadian media outlet CTV
who was arrested by American troops and declared an enemy combatant
, while working with NATO at Kandahar Airport on October 26, 2007.
Ahmad was then held in military custody at the detention facility at the United States Air Base in Bagram
, Afghanistan for 11 months without access to a lawyer. As a result of advocacy by his friends and family, and a habeas corpus petition http://www.ijnetwork.org/documents/Jawed_Ahmad_Habeas_Petition_Stamped.pdf filed by the International Justice Network
, Jojo was released on September 21, 2008 after almost a year of being held in U.S. custody.
Jawed earned 75 cents a day. He used the money he earned to pay for schooling.
His education, and language skills, allowed him to start working as a translator for United States forces shortly after the overthrow of the Taliban.
Jawed was later to work for independent security firms.
In 2006 Jawad started working as a translator and "fixer" for Canadian journalists.
Jawed reported on his release that he was captured after receiving a request to come to Kandahar Air Field to complete a survey on opinion survey of Afghan journalists from a GI who represented himself as a Public Affairs Officer.
American officials claimed the 22-year old native of Kandahar was carrying phone numbers and videos of Taliban officials.
He appeared before a military review, which determined there was "credible information" and is held at Bagram Airbase.
His brother, Siddique, has been in contact with him during his detention, due to the efforts of the International Red Cross.
According to his brother, he has been beaten since being detained.
Captives in the Bagram Theater Detention Facility do not have Combatant Status Review Tribunal
s convened to confirm their combatant status. According to Eliza Griswold
in the The New Republic
their status is determined by the base commander, who may convene a more secret, less formal, less thorough procedure called an "Enemy Combatant Review Board".
According to Grizwold:
The Washington Post reported on June 29, 2008 on comments Tina Monshipour Foster
made about Jawed Ahmad's detention in Bagram.
He credited the help of friends and supporters for his relatively early release, and said guards had told him that many people were lobbying on his behalf.
Jawad said he had seen the documentary film "The Road to Guantanamo
" and said he was subjected to the same kind of treatment as the captives whose homicides in US custody were described in the film.
He described being hooded, bound, slammed into walls and beaten. One of the beatings broke two of his ribs.
Jawad said he was subjected to sleep deprivation
. In an interview with the BBC
he states "When I landed first of all they stood me in snow for six hours, it was too cold - I had no socks, no shoes, nothing. I became unconscious two times.".
Jawad said his interrogators insisted he was a spy: for the Taliban; for Iran
; for Pakistan
.
Jawad said his interrogators told him his family had all been captured, and had already confessed.
Jawad said his interrogators told him that he was being held because his Canadian employers had insisted on it.
After his release Jawad told journalists that he was told he was going to be sent to Guantanamo.
Jawad reported that Koran desecration remained routine at Bagram.
(RWB) issued a statement saying Jawad was killed by being "gunned down .... by two men in a vehicle as he was getting out of his own car in the centre of the southern city of Kandahar." The statement said, "Several Afghan journalists told Reporters Without Borders they suspected the murder may have been ordered by the Taliban," but a Kandahar provincial government spokesman "offered no details." The statement also said Ahmad's brother "did not rule out any hypothesis" regarding a motive for the shooting.
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
who was arrested by American troops and declared an enemy combatant
Enemy combatant
Enemy combatant is a term historically referring to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. Prior to 2008, the definition was: "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war." In the case of a civil war or an...
, while working with NATO at Kandahar Airport on October 26, 2007.
Ahmad was then held in military custody at the detention facility at the United States Air Base in Bagram
Bagram
Bagram , founded as Alexandria on the Caucasus and known in medieval times as Kapisa, is a small town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir...
, Afghanistan for 11 months without access to a lawyer. As a result of advocacy by his friends and family, and a habeas corpus petition http://www.ijnetwork.org/documents/Jawed_Ahmad_Habeas_Petition_Stamped.pdf filed by the International Justice Network
International Justice Network
The International Justice Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to protection of human rights and the rule of law throughout the world...
, Jojo was released on September 21, 2008 after almost a year of being held in U.S. custody.
Early life
Jawed started working as a tailor's apprentice at twelve years old.Jawed earned 75 cents a day. He used the money he earned to pay for schooling.
His education, and language skills, allowed him to start working as a translator for United States forces shortly after the overthrow of the Taliban.
Jawed was later to work for independent security firms.
In 2006 Jawad started working as a translator and "fixer" for Canadian journalists.
Capture
Jawed was captured on October 26, 2007.Jawed reported on his release that he was captured after receiving a request to come to Kandahar Air Field to complete a survey on opinion survey of Afghan journalists from a GI who represented himself as a Public Affairs Officer.
American officials claimed the 22-year old native of Kandahar was carrying phone numbers and videos of Taliban officials.
He appeared before a military review, which determined there was "credible information" and is held at Bagram Airbase.
His brother, Siddique, has been in contact with him during his detention, due to the efforts of the International Red Cross.
According to his brother, he has been beaten since being detained.
Captives in the Bagram Theater Detention Facility do not have 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...
s convened to confirm their combatant status. According to Eliza Griswold
Eliza Griswold
Eliza Griswold is an award-winning American journalist and poet. She is a fellow at the New America Foundation and won a 2010 Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters....
in the The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
their status is determined by the base commander, who may convene a more secret, less formal, less thorough procedure called an "Enemy Combatant Review Board".
According to Grizwold:
The Washington Post reported on June 29, 2008 on comments Tina Monshipour Foster
Tina Monshipour Foster
Tina Monshipour Foster is an American lawyer and director of the International Justice Network.-Legal career:Prior to working in the field of human rights, Foster worked at Clifford Chance LLP in New York City. She later worked for the Center for Constitutional Rights on Guantanamo Bay cases and...
made about Jawed Ahmad's detention in Bagram.
Release
Jawad Ahmad was released, without explanation, on September 22, 2008.He credited the help of friends and supporters for his relatively early release, and said guards had told him that many people were lobbying on his behalf.
Jawad said he had seen the documentary film "The Road to Guantanamo
The Road to Guantanamo
The Road to Guantanamo, alternatively The Road to Guantánamo, is a British 2006 docudrama directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross about the incarceration of three British detainees at a detainment camp in Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba...
" and said he was subjected to the same kind of treatment as the captives whose homicides in US custody were described in the film.
He described being hooded, bound, slammed into walls and beaten. One of the beatings broke two of his ribs.
Jawad said he was subjected to sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
. In an interview with the BBC
BBC
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...
he states "When I landed first of all they stood me in snow for six hours, it was too cold - I had no socks, no shoes, nothing. I became unconscious two times.".
Jawad said his interrogators insisted he was a spy: for the Taliban; for Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
; for Pakistan
Pakistan
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...
.
Jawad said his interrogators told him his family had all been captured, and had already confessed.
Jawad said his interrogators told him that he was being held because his Canadian employers had insisted on it.
After his release Jawad told journalists that he was told he was going to be sent to Guantanamo.
Jawad reported that Koran desecration remained routine at Bagram.
Death
On March 10, 2009, Reporters Without BordersReporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
(RWB) issued a statement saying Jawad was killed by being "gunned down .... by two men in a vehicle as he was getting out of his own car in the centre of the southern city of Kandahar." The statement said, "Several Afghan journalists told Reporters Without Borders they suspected the murder may have been ordered by the Taliban," but a Kandahar provincial government spokesman "offered no details." The statement also said Ahmad's brother "did not rule out any hypothesis" regarding a motive for the shooting.