Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad
Encyclopedia
Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad is a citizen of Jordan
who was held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 1018.
Intelligence analysts estimate he was born in 1976 in Al-Zarqa, Jordan.
Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad was repatriated without ever been charged on 31 March 2004.
The McClatchy News Service interviewed 66 former Guantanamo captives in 2008, including Wissasm Abdul Ahmad.
He told McClatchy reporters he was first detained by Iran
ian authorities in a routine identity check at a bus-stop in the border city of Zahedan
. Iranian authorities held him for approximately a month, prior to sending him to Afghanistan.
The first prison he was held in was staffed by Afghans, but Americans ran the interrogation.
Wissam described over-crowded conditions where he and other captives were subjected to brutal beating by both Afghan guards and their American masters. He believed he was in CIA custody.
Amnesty reports that Ahmed was captured in March 2002, and held for fourteen months in an underground prison
.
Amnesty has tried to interview Ahmad, without success, and believes he is in an unknown Jordanian prison on unknown charges.
Eventually he was transferred to the Bagram Theater Internment Facility
.
He believed his transfer was in early 2003. While in Bagram he described being subjected to sleep deprivation
, and spent several days with his hands chained above his head—but without the peroneal strike
s that GIs had used to murder fellow captives Dilawar and Habibullah
.
Wissam acknowledged traveling on a Tablighi Jamaat
pilgrimage in Pakistan and was returning to Jordan when he was detained.
Guantanamo analysts have offered ties to the Tablighi movement as a justification for holding dozens of captives—have made the general claim that real terrorists have claimed to travel on Tabligh pilgrimages as a cover story for travels for terrorist purposes.
The McClatchy report stated that they were able to interview Wissam in late 2007, but when they returned to interview him in April 2008 Jordanian authorities had detained for unknown reasons, and without charge.
Wissam had been serving as an imam
when they first interviewed him.
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
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...
's 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 1018.
Intelligence analysts estimate he was born in 1976 in Al-Zarqa, Jordan.
Osam Abdul Rahan Ahmad was repatriated without ever been charged on 31 March 2004.
The McClatchy News Service interviewed 66 former Guantanamo captives in 2008, including Wissasm Abdul Ahmad.
He told McClatchy reporters he was first detained by 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...
ian authorities in a routine identity check at a bus-stop in the border city of Zahedan
Zahedan
Zahedan is a city in and the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 552,706, in 109,488 families.-Geography:...
. Iranian authorities held him for approximately a month, prior to sending him to Afghanistan.
The first prison he was held in was staffed by Afghans, but Americans ran the interrogation.
Wissam described over-crowded conditions where he and other captives were subjected to brutal beating by both Afghan guards and their American masters. He believed he was in CIA custody.
Amnesty reports that Ahmed was captured in March 2002, and held for fourteen months in an underground prison
The Dark Prison
The dark prison is the informal name used by some Guantanamo Bay detainees for a secret prison they claim they were detained in near Kabul, Afghanistan...
.
Amnesty has tried to interview Ahmad, without success, and believes he is in an unknown Jordanian prison on unknown charges.
Eventually he was transferred to 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...
.
He believed his transfer was in early 2003. While in Bagram he described being 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...
, and spent several days with his hands chained above his head—but without the peroneal strike
Peroneal strike
A peroneal strike is a temporarily disabling blow to the side of the leg, just above the knee. The attacker aims at the common peroneal nerve, roughly a hand span above the knee, towards the back of the leg...
s that GIs had used to murder fellow captives Dilawar and Habibullah
Habibullah
Mullah Habibullah was an Afghan who died while in US custody on December 4, 2002.His death was one of those classed as a homicide, though the initial military statement described his death as due to natural causes.Habibullah's brother was a Taliban leader....
.
Wissam acknowledged traveling on a Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat is a religious movement which was founded in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi in India. The movement primarily aims at Tablighi spiritual reformation by working at the grass roots level, reaching out to Muslims across all social and economic spectra to bring them closer to...
pilgrimage in Pakistan and was returning to Jordan when he was detained.
Guantanamo analysts have offered ties to the Tablighi movement as a justification for holding dozens of captives—have made the general claim that real terrorists have claimed to travel on Tabligh pilgrimages as a cover story for travels for terrorist purposes.
The McClatchy report stated that they were able to interview Wissam in late 2007, but when they returned to interview him in April 2008 Jordanian authorities had detained for unknown reasons, and without charge.
Wissam had been serving as an imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
when they first interviewed him.
External links
- CIA Torture Began In Afghanistan 8 Months Before DoJ Approval Andy Worthington