|
#REDIRECT [[Uyghur detainees at Guantanamo Bay]]{{R from subtopic}}
{{USgovtPOV|date=October 2010}}
{{Infobox WoT detainees
| subject_name = Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman
| image_name =
| image_size =
| image_caption =
| date_of_birth = {{Birth date|1973|03|15}}
| place_of_birth = [[Kucha]], [[Xinjiang Province]], [[China]]
| date_of_death =
| place_of_death =
| detained_at = [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo]]
| id_number = 281
| group =
| alias = Abd Al Ghatar Abd Al Rahman,<br />Abdulghappar Turkistani
| charge = No charge (unlawfully detained)
| penalty =
| status = Released to [[Palau]]
| occupation =
| spouse =
| parents =
| children =
}}
'''Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman''' is an [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]] refugee best known for the more than seven years he spent in the [[United States]] [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]s, in [[Cuba]].<ref name=DoDList2>
{{cite web
| url=http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf
|format=PDF| title=List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006
| author=[[OARDEC]]
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]
| date=May 15, 2006
| accessdate=2007-09-29
}}</ref>
The [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] reports that he was born on March 15, 1973, in [[Kucha, China|Kucha]], [[Xinjiang]] Province, China and assigned him the [[Internment Serial Number]] 281. He was captured near the Pakistan-Afghan border in December 2001.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/281-abdul-ghappar-abdul-rahman | work=The New York Times}}</ref>
Rahman is one of the 22 [[Uyghur detainees in Guantanamo|Uighurs held in Guantanamo]] for many years despite it became clear early on that they were innocent.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/04/02/innocent_detainees_need_a_home/ | work=The Boston Globe | title=Innocent detainees need a home | first1=Bill | last1=Delahunt | first2=Sabin | last2=Willett | date=2009-04-02|archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5s6nTMyn0 |archivedate = 2010-08-19|deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>[http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/17-innocent-uighurs-detained-guant%C3%A1namo-ask-supreme-court-release 17 Innocent Uighurs Detained at Guantánamo Ask Supreme Court for Release | Center for Constitutional Rights] {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5s6nfQuCV|date =2010-08-19}}</ref><ref name=AsiaTimes041104>[http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/FK04Ad02.html China's Uighurs trapped at Guantanamo], ''[[Asia Times]]'', November 4, 2004 {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5iiEnVC9Y|date =2009-08-01}}</ref>
He won his [[habeas corpus]] in 2008. Judge [[Ricardo Urbina]] declared his detention as unlawful and ordered to set him free in the [[United States]]. He was sent to [[Palau]] in October 2009.
== Combatant Status Review ==
{{main|Combatant Status Review Tribunal}}
Abdul Rahman was among the 60% of prisoners who participated in the tribunal hearings.<ref>[[OARDEC]], [http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_CSRT_detainees_testimony.pdf Index to Transcripts of Detainee Testimony and Documents Submitted by Detainees at Combatant Status Review Tribunals Held at Guantanamo Between July 2004 and March 2005], September 4, 2007</ref> A [[Summary of Evidence (CSRT)|Summary of Evidence memo]] was prepared for the tribunal of each detainee. The memo for his hearing lists the following allegations:<ref name=SummaryOfEvidence470>
{{cite web
| url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_mar05.pdf#271
| title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- name redacted
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]
| page=271
| date=2004-10-29
| author=[[OARDEC]]
| accessdate=2006
| quote=
}}</ref><ref name=CsrtMemoIsn277>
{{cite news
| url=http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/281-abdul-ghappar-abdul-rahman/documents/5/pages/321#1
| title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Abdul Rahman, Abdul Ghappar
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]
| date=2004-10-29
| author=[[OARDEC]]
| accessdate=2010-05-09
| quote=
}}</ref>
{{Quotation|
:a. The detainee is associated with the Taliban and supported hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners:
:# The detainee traveled to Afghanistan because he heard Uyghur people could receive military training there.
:# The detainee arrived in Afghanistan from China via Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan in June 2001.
:# The detainee stayed at a Uighur guesthouse in Pakistan.
:# The detainee attended a Uighur training camp in Afghanistan.
:# The detainee received training in the use of the Kalishnikov rifle {{sic}} and a type of pistol.
:# The detainee decided to travel to Afghanistan and join the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
:# Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a terrorist organization.
:# The detainee was captured in Pakistan after crossing the border from Afghanistan.
:b. The detainee supported military operations against the coalition.
:# The detainee was injured during U.S. air strikes.
:# The detainee worked construction and improvement of the ''Uyghur''<ref>The word "Uyghur" was redacted when this memo was first published in March 2005.</ref> training camp while in Afghanistan.
:# The detainee was in the Tora Bora mountains during the U.S. air campaign.
}}
===Transcript===
On March 3, 2006, in response to a [[court order]] from [[Jed Rakoff]] the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] published a twelve page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.<ref name=CsrtAbdulGhapparAbdulRahman>
{{cite web
| url={{DoD detainees ARB|Set_43_2811-2921.pdf#34-45}}
| title=Summarized Sworn Detainee Transcript
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]
| date=date redacted
| pages=34–45
| author=[[OARDEC]]
| accessdate=2010-03-16
}} [http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/281-abdul-ghappar-abdul-rahman/documents/4/pages/2097#4 fast mirror]
</ref><ref name=TheAge20060404>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/US-releases-Guantanamo-files/2006/04/04/1143916500334.html
| title=US releases Guantanamo files
| publisher=[[The Age]]
| date=April 4, 2006
| accessdate=2008-03-15
| quote=
}}</ref>
===Joint Task Force Guantanamo biography===
{{Uyghur detainee}}
:{| class="wikitable"
|
:Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman is a 31-year-old Chinese citizen. who is an ethnic Uighur from [[Kucha]] China. He was last interviewed in mid 2003 He has no reported incidents of violence in his discipline history. Rahman is suspected as being a probable member of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM). He is suspected of having received training in an ETIM training camp in Afghanistan.
|}
The information paper also identified him as "Abd Al Ghatar Abd Al Rahman".
==Administrative Review Board hearings==
[[File:ARB trailer.jpg|thumb|Hearing room where Guantanamo captive's annual Administrative Review Board hearings convened for captives whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal had already determined they were an "enemy combatant".<ref name=TheWire20060310>{{Cite news | url=http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/wire/WirePDF/v6/TheWire-v6-i049-10MAR2006.pdf#1 | title=Review process unprecedented | publisher=[[JTF-GTMO Public Affairs Office]] | page=1 | author=Spc Timothy Book | date=Friday March 10, 2006|accessdate=2007-10-10 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071025123044/http%3A//www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/wire/WirePDF/v6/TheWire-v6-i049-10MAR2006.pdf%231 |archivedate = October 25, 2007|deadurl=yes}}</ref>]]
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 weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't 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.
In September 2007 the Department of Defense published all the [[Summary of Evidence (ARB)|Summary of Evidence memos]] prepared for the Administrative Review Boards convened in 2005 or 2006.<ref name=OardecArb1Factors>
{{cite web
| url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_ARB_Round_1_Detention_Transfer_Factors.pdf
|format=PDF| title=Index to Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round One
| author=[[OARDEC]]
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]
| date=August 9, 2007
| accessdate=2007-09-29
}}</ref><ref name=OardecArb2Factors20070717>
{{cite web
| url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/index_ARB_Round_2_Detention_Transfer_Factors.pdf
|format=PDF| title=Index of Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for ARB Round Two
| author=[[OARDEC]]
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]
| date=July 17, 2007
| accessdate=2007-09-29
}}</ref><ref name=Arb3Indexes>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/ARB3FactorIndex8Jan09.pdf
| title=Index to Summaries of Detention-Release Factors for Administrative Review Boards (Round 3) Held at Guantanamo
| publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]
| author=
| date=2009-01-09
| accessdate=2009-01-22
| quote=
}}
</ref>
There is no record that an Administrative Review Board convened in 2005, 2006 or 2007 to review his detention.
==Letter from Guantanamo==
{{Wikisource|Abdulghappar Turkistani (281) December 12, 2007}}
On March 20, 2008 the Department of Defense released for publication a rare letter from Guantanamo, drafted in December, from a Uyghur named '''"Abdulghappar Turkistani"'''.<ref name=Msnbc20080319>
{{Cite news
| url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23714346/
| title=Chinese Muslims issue plea for freedom as Guantanamo release stalls
| publisher=[[MSNBC]]
| date= 19 March 2008
| author=[[Ben Fox]]
| accessdate=2008-03-24
| quote=The prisoner, from a vast province on China's Central Asian border, complains in a letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press that he and the other Uighurs were told in 2004 and 2005 that they would be let go, yet they languish in windowless, cramped cells.
|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080401074107/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23714346/ |archivedate = 2008-04-01}}</ref><ref name=Bbc20080320>
{{Cite news
| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7306087.stm
| title=Uighur inmate in Guantanamo plea
| publisher=BBC
| date= 20 March 2008
| accessdate=2008-03-24
| quote=Abdulghappar Turkistani, 35, is one of a group of 17 Chinese Muslims who have been held at the US camp for six years.
}}</ref><ref name=AlJazeera20080320>
{{Cite news
| url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C9A311CD-305A-4A90-B1B7-C4C6D5548CE6.htm
| title='Free' Uighurs stuck in Guantanamo
| publisher=[[Al Jazeera]]
| date= 20 March 2008
| accessdate=2008-03-24
| quote=In a rare direct appeal from inside Guantanamo Bay, a Chinese Muslim has said he is continuing to be held in harsh conditions at the US detention centre, despite being told years ago that he was innocent and would be released.
}}</ref>
According to the ''[[Associated Press]]'' "Abdulghappar Turkistani" is a 35 year old Uyghur.
The letter said that all 17 remaining Uyghurs were being held in isolation, in solitary confinement, in the high security [[Camp 6 Guantanamo|Camp 6]], even though they were told the authorities recognized they were innocent in 2004.
The letter said the writer had developed Rheumatism.
The letter said that another Uyghur was participating in the on-going [[Guantanamo hunger strike|hunger strike]], and was being force-fed twice a day.
:{| class="wikitable"
|
* "Being away from family, away from our homeland... being forbidden from the natural sunlight, natural air, being surrounded with a metal box all around, is not suitable for a human being,"
* "We fail to know why we are still in jail here. We are still in hope that the US government will free us soon and send us to a safe place."
|}
The ''Associated Press'' reported that [[Commander]] [[Rick Haupt]], a spokesman for the detention center, said the captives were being held in "safe and humane" conditions.<ref name=Msnbc20080319/>
Haupt described Camp 6 as "a state-of-the-market detention facility modeled after stateside facilities."
Camp 6 was designed to have common areas where the captives could interact with one another. But since the camp was opened in December 2006 the common areas have remained off-limits. The ''Associated Press'' reported:<ref name=Msnbc20080319/>
{{Quotation|"In January, a Guantanamo official told AP that the military planned to allow detainees in Camp 6 to congregate for the first time in indoor communal areas for the first time to ease tension in the prison. It was unknown when that would begin."}}
On June 12, 2008 the [[United States Supreme Court]] restored the Guantanamo captives' access to the USA's civilian justice system in its ruling on [[Boumediene v. Bush]].
Specifically it re-initiated the captives' [[habeas corpus]] petitions.
In an unrelated development [[Huzaifa Parhat]]'s [[DTA appeal]] concluded that his Combatant Status Review Tribunal had erred in confirming he was an "enemy combatant", due to insufficient evidence.
The Department of Justice had the option of appealing the ruling, claiming it had new evidence. The Uyghurs' habeas petitions were the first to be scheduled for review.
In September 2008, days before the Department of Justice would have been expected to offer a justification in court for the Uyghurs' detention, and after six and half years of extrajudicial detention, the Department of Justice acknowledged the evidence to justify their detention did not exist.
==Temporary Asylum in Palau==
In June 2009 the government of [[Palau]] announced that they would offer temporary asylum to some of the Uyghurs.<ref name=DoJ2009-10-31>
{{Cite news
| url=http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/October/09-ag-1179.html
| title=United States Transfers Six Uighur Detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Palau
| publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]
| date=2009-10-31
| author=
| archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.justice.gov%2Fopa%2Fpr%2F2009%2FOctober%2F09-ag-1179.html&date=2009-10-31
| archivedate=2009-10-31
}}</ref><ref name=NYTimes2009-10-31>
{{Cite news
| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/world/asia/01uighurs.html
| title=Uighurs Leave Guantánamo for Palau
| publisher=New York Times
| date=2009-10-31
| author=David Johnston
| archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F11%2F01%2Fworld%2Fasia%2F01uighurs.html&date=2009-10-31
| archivedate=2009-10-31
}}</ref><ref name=Bbc2009-10-31>
{{Cite news
| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8336343.stm
| title=Guantanamo Uighurs sent to Palau
| publisher=BBC News
| date=2009-10-31
| archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F1%2Fhi%2Fworld%2Fasia-pacific%2F8336343.stm&date=2009-10-31
| archivedate=2009-10-31
}}</ref>
The government of Palau sent a delegation Guantanamo, and interviewed some of the remaining Uyghurs.
Some of the Uyghurs declined to be interviewed by the Palauns. In the end the government of Palau offered asylum to twelve of the remaining thirteen Uyghurs. Palau declined to offer asylum to one of the Uyghurs who suffered from a mental disorder, brought on by detention, that was too profound to be treated in Palau.
On October 31, 2009 "Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman" [[Ahmad Tourson]], [[Edham Mamet]], [[Anwar Hassan]], [[Dawut Abdurehim]] and [[Adel Noori]] were released and transferred to Palau.<ref name=DoJ2009-10-31/><ref name=NYTimes2009-10-31/><ref name=Bbc2009-10-31/><ref name=Afp2009-10-31>
{{Cite news
| url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j256OdOnArVNzoV0oVLD3PRaY-bQ
| title=Six Guantanamo Uighurs arrive in Palau: US
| publisher=[[Agence France Presse]]
| date=2009-10-31
| archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhostednews%2Fafp%2Farticle%2FALeqM5j256OdOnArVNzoV0oVLD3PRaY-bQ&date=2009-10-31
| archivedate=2009-10-31
}}</ref><ref name=Pacific2009-10-31>
{{Cite news
| url=http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1343:6-muslim-uighurs-arrive-in-palau-from-guantanamo&catid=45:guam-news&Itemid=156
| title=6 Muslim Uighur Detainees From Guantanamo Arrive In Palau
| publisher=[[Pacific News Center]]
| date=2009-11-01
| author=
| archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pacificnewscenter.com%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D1343%3A6-muslim-uighurs-arrive-in-palau-from-guantanamo%26catid%3D45%3Aguam-news%26Itemid%3D156&date=2009-10-31
| archivedate=2009-10-31
| accessdate=2009-09-26
}}</ref><ref>[http://nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=103574&z=5 Trung Quốc phản đối việc Hoa Kỳ đưa khủng bố người Uighur tới Palau] {{Vi icon}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2008/10/09/from-guantanamo-to-the-united-states-the-story-of-the-wrongly-imprisoned-uighurs/ From Guantánamo to the United States: The Story of the Wrongly Imprisoned Uighurs] [[Andy Worthington]] October 9, 2008
* [http://ccrjustice.org/files/2008-10-09%20Kiyemba%20corrected%20release%20order%20%282008-10-09%29.pdf Judge Ricardo Urbina’s unclassified opinion (redacted version)]
* [http://ccrjustice.org/files/2008-10-07%20Kiyemba%20-%20Uighur%20hearing%20transcript.pdf MOTIONS/STATUS HEARING - UIGHURS CASES BEFORE THE HONORABLE RICARDO M. URBINA]
* [http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201006/s2916807.htm Palau urges Australia to allow permanent resettlement for six Uighurs] [[Radio Australia]] June 3, 2010
* [http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=475911 Palau Uyghurs try to build new lives] [[Kyodo News]] December 15, 2009
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8371321.stm Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman explains how he came to be at Guantanamo] [[BBC]] [[Newsnight]] 14 January 2010
* Human Rights First; [http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/Habeas-Works-final-web.pdf Habeas Works: Federal Courts’ Proven Capacity to Handle Guantánamo Cases (2010)]
{{ListUyghurDetainees}}
{{Controversies surrounding people captured during the War on Terror}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Abdul Rahman, Abdul Ghappar
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = March 15, 1973
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Kucha]], [[Xinjiang Province]], [[China]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Rahman, Abdul Ghappar}}
[[Category:Chinese expatriates in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Chinese extrajudicial prisoners of the United States]]
[[Category:People from Xinjiang]]
[[Category:Uyghur people]]
[[Category:1973 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Exonerated terrorism suspects]]
[[Category:Guantanamo detainees known to have been released]]
| 