Said Mohammed

Said Mohammed is a citizen of Afghanistan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. Mohammed's Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 1056. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate that Mohammed was born in 1977. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts listed his place of birth simply as Afghanistan.

Said Mohammed was captured in Afghanistan in May 2003 and was transferred to Afghanistan on August 25, 2006.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

File:Trailer where CSR Tribunals were held.jpg

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a trailer the size of a large RV. The captive sat on a plastic garden chair, with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor. Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

Mohammed chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

allegations

The allegations Mohammed faced during his Tribunal were:

a. The detainee is a member of the Taliban:

1. Detainee's family actively supported the Taliban and al Qaida forces in Afghanistan.
2. Detainee was apprehended by United States Forces for assisting Anti-Coalition Forces.
3. Detainee was reportedly an enemy of the infidels and non-Muslims and supported the Taliban.

b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.

1. The Detainee and his family guarded al Qaida weapons.

Administrative Review Board hearing

Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Administrative Review Boards were not authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they were not authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".

They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat—or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.

Mohammed chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. 'Commitment

1. The detainee's family actively aided and abetted Taliban and al Qaida in the Serkhankhel Village area.
2. The detainee admitted that his family had collected firewood for al Qaida but this took place during the time of the Taliban. In late 2001, Arabs came to his village and took houses.
3. The detainee's father admitted that the guarded al Qaeda weapons in their home.
4. The detainee has assisted his brother Allah Mohammed in his footwear business and participated in Allah's anti-coalition activities.
5. The detainee stated that he was an enemy of infidels and non-Muslims.

b. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee knew about two people that were former Taliban and were assisting al Qaida operatives in the area of Zurmat, Afghanistan.
2. The detainee's brother Allah Mohammed is an al Qaida sympathizer and leader of anti coalition activities in the Districts of Shahi Kot and Zurmat [sic], Paktia Province, Afghanistan. He has ties to past and present Taliban leaders.
3. Allah Mohammed supported Mualim Shah Wali and the Taliban in the past and maintains strong ties to other Taliban and al Qaida sympathizers/operatives in his area.
4. Mualim Shah Wali is the displaced leader of Shahi Kot District, Paktia Province, Afghanistan and a long time al Qaida facilitator and Taliban supporter.
5. Mualim Shah Wali maintains relationships with al Qaida members living in Saudi Arabia.

c. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee was apprehended by United States Forces on 02 May 2003 in Serkhankhel, Zurmat District, Paktia Province, Afghanistan, under suspicion of assisting anti-coalition forces.
2. The detainee's brother, Allah Mohammed, remained an active leader of Mualim Shah Wali's political structure based in Shahi Kot, He is known to have strategized acts against United States forces and the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan.
3. The detainee's father, Said Khan, knew of his son Allah's involvement in anti-coalition activities and supported his efforts as an advisor.
4. The detainee seemed very uncomfortable and was shaking when he was asked questions about his support of al Qaida and Taliban elements in his village.

The following factors favor release or transfer

1. The detainee denied helping the Arabs.
2. The detainee admits that his brother, Allah Mohammed, has had dealings with al Qaida in the past and only by force.
3. The detainee recanted the statements he made in Bagram about giving al Qaida firewood and denied ever saying that his brother ever dealt with al Qaida.
4. The detainee has fired a Kalashnikov and an "American Rifle" but only during ceremonial events as wedding celebrations.

References

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