Swar Khan
Encyclopedia
Swar Khan also known as Swatkhan Bahar (born c. 1970) is a citizen of Afghanistan
, who was held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
Khan was a security official for the Hamid Karzai
government prior to his capture.
His boss told reporters that his capture was due to false denunciations from a jealous rival, whose sons worked as interpreters for the Americans, and that he had tried to tell the Americans he should be set free—without success.
He was represented by James Wyda and Martin Bahl, Federal Public Defenders in Maryland
.
Tom Lasseter, the lead McClatchy reporter, wrote that while his Tribunal President
ruled that even though he had offered their phone numbers the witnesses he requested were not reasonably available but McClatchy reporters "had little trouble" phoning his boss at the Interior Ministry, Mohammed Mustafa. Mustafa confirmed he had been falsely denounced by a rival in the Afghan security services.
Khan told about being beaten in Bagram, and being hung from the ceiling by his wrists in an isolation cell.
Khan described making two suicide attempts in Guantanamo.
Following his repatriation the Governor of his Province offered him another position as a Police officer, but he declined.
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...
'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...
.
Khan was a security official for the Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
government prior to his capture.
His boss told reporters that his capture was due to false denunciations from a jealous rival, whose sons worked as interpreters for the Americans, and that he had tried to tell the Americans he should be set free—without success.
Writ of habeas corpus
Khan had a writ of habeas corpus, Swat Khan v. Bush, filed on his behalf in 2005.He was represented by James Wyda and Martin Bahl, Federal Public Defenders in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
McClatchy interview
On June 15, 2008 the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo detainees. McClatchy reporters interviewed Khan.Tom Lasseter, the lead McClatchy reporter, wrote that while his Tribunal President
Tribunal President (CSRT)
The Combatant Status Review Tribunal the US Department of Defense commissioned, like the Tribunals described in Army Regulation 190-8, which they were modeled after, were three member panels, led by a Tribunal President.-History of the Tribunals:...
ruled that even though he had offered their phone numbers the witnesses he requested were not reasonably available but McClatchy reporters "had little trouble" phoning his boss at the Interior Ministry, Mohammed Mustafa. Mustafa confirmed he had been falsely denounced by a rival in the Afghan security services.
Khan told about being beaten in Bagram, and being hung from the ceiling by his wrists in an isolation cell.
Khan described making two suicide attempts in Guantanamo.
Following his repatriation the Governor of his Province offered him another position as a Police officer, but he declined.
See also
- Bagram torture and prisoner abuseBagram torture and prisoner abuseIn 2005, The New York Times obtained a 2,000-page United States Army report concerning the homicides of two unarmed civilian Afghan prisoners by U.S. armed forces in 2002 at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Bagram, Afghanistan. The prisoners, Habibullah and Dilawar, were chained to the...
- Guantanamo Bay detention camp suicide attempts