Abdul Zahir (Guantanamo Bay detainee 753)

Abdul Zahir
Born	1972 Afghanistan
Occupation	Detainee
Known for	Detained at Guantanamo Bay; faced military commission charges

Abdul Zahir (عبدالظاهر; born 1972) is an Afghan national who was detained without formal charges at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. He was the tenth individual to face charges under the initial military commissions authorized by the President for Guantanamo detainees and was the first Afghan to be prosecuted in this manner. The accusations against Zahir included conspiracy, providing support to enemy forces, and targeting civilians. He was alleged to have acted as both a translator and financier for the former Taliban regime and al Qaeda, with specific involvement cited in a 2002 grenade attack that injured three journalists.

After the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the President did not possess constitutional authority to create military commissions, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006; however, Zahir was never charged under this revised legal framework.

He received approval for transfer on July 11, 2016. Subsequently, on January 17, 2017—just days before President Donald Trump's inauguration—ten detainees were released from Guantanamo. Abdul Zahir’s attorney confirmed his departure, although government officials did not publicly disclose the names of those transferred.

Background

Abdul Zahir was brought to Guantanamo on October 28, 2002. The charges against him included conspiracy, aiding enemy forces, and attacking civilians connected to a grenade assault that wounded Canadian journalist Kathleen Kenna. On December 27, 2009, Kenna penned an op-ed stating that neither she nor her companions sought vengeance but wished for Zahir to receive a just trial. She also acknowledged their inability to identify their assailants. Historian Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, remarked that Kenna’s editorial should have been a source of embarrassment for the U.S. Government.

Having endured months in a conflict zone in Afghanistan and closely monitoring the war’s developments since then, we firmly believe every prisoner of war deserves to be treated with dignity and granted all rights protected by the Geneva Conventions and international human rights standards. This is what we expect for any Canadian, American, or other citizen—whether combatant or humanitarian worker—captured and detained in a wartime country. It is what we desire for Zahir and all detainees at Guantánamo. —Kathleen Kenna

Official status reviews

During the Bush Administration, it was initially claimed that individuals captured in the war on terror were not entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions and could be held indefinitely without formal charges or transparent procedures. However, in 2004, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Rasul v. Bush that detainees at Guantanamo must be informed of the accusations against them and allowed to contest their detention.

Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants

In response to this Supreme Court decision, the United States Department of Defense created the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants. According to The New York Times Guantanamo Docket, Abdul Zahir underwent status reviews in 2004 and again in 2007; there are no available records from 2005, 2006, or 2008.

A 2008 study by the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, classified detainees based on allegations supporting their detention:

• Abdul Zahir was charged before a military commission; these charges were subsequently dropped.
• He was identified as an al-Qaeda member.
• He allegedly resided in safehouses affiliated with al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
• He was labeled as an al Qaeda operative.
• He faced military commission charges as an alleged al-Qaeda operative.
• While denying ties to al-Qaeda or Taliban, he acknowledged facts warranting detention under laws of war.
• He admitted involvement with al-Qaeda or Taliban in a non-combatant role.

Joint Review Task Force

When President Barack Obama assumed office in January 2009, he committed to ending torture practices at Guantanamo and establishing a revised detainee evaluation process involving six government departments, replacing the previous reviews conducted solely by the Department of Defense through OARDEC. One year later, the Joint Review Task Force designated certain detainees as too dangerous to release despite insufficient evidence to formally charge them. This categorization was disclosed on April 9, 2013, following a FOIA request.<ref name=Unchargeable71> Among those classified were 71 detainees considered too innocent to prosecute yet deemed too risky for release. Although President Obama assured that these individuals would be subject to Periodic Review Board assessments, fewer than 25% have actually undergone such evaluations.

Previously Confidential Joint Task Force Guantanamo Evaluation

On April 25, 2011, the whistleblower platform WikiLeaks revealed confidential evaluations prepared by analysts from Joint Task Force Guantanamo. The Joint Task Force Guantanamo compiled a detailed 12-page report on November 19, 2008, recommending continued detention for detainee Abdul Al Zahir. Signed by camp commander David M Thomas Jr., the document stressed the potential threat of reengaging in extremist activities if Zahir were released without undergoing rehabilitation and supervision.

Military Commission Charges

Zahir faced charges including conspiracy, providing aid to the enemy, and attacking civilians in connection with a grenade attack that injured Canadian journalist Kathleen Kenna. Kenna later authored an op-ed expressing her hope for a just trial and noting that neither she nor her companions could identify their assailants.

After being transferred to Guantanamo on October 28, 2002, Zahir’s initial hearing was held on April 5, 2006. Although Military Commission regulations mandate that charges be presented in a language the defendant comprehends, Zahir was not provided with a Farsi translation, and officials failed to clarify why no interpreter was present during the hearing.

Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU's Human Rights Program and an observer at the proceedings, criticized the military commission system as "flawed" due to numerous legal and procedural deficiencies. He also pointed out that this was the first hearing where the Presiding Officer donned a black robe and emphasized that "conspiracy to commit war crimes" lacks recognition under international law.

Zahir’s second hearing occurred on May 17, 2006, following a motion filed by his only defense attorney, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Bogar, challenging the impartiality of Presiding Officer Colonel Robert Chester. After receiving satisfactory explanations from Chester and jury members, Bogar withdrew this motion.

Throughout these proceedings, Zahir remained cooperative with his defense counsel despite facing increasingly restrictive detention conditions that could hinder his capacity to adequately prepare his defense.

Transfer to Oman

On January 17, 2017, Oman agreed to receive ten individuals transferred from Guantanamo. The identities of these men were not disclosed by either U.S. or Omani officials. Oman provided the transferred detainees with temporary residency. Vermont attorney David Sleigh, who offered legal representation without charge to detainee Zahir, confirmed to the Associated Press that Zahir was included among those relocated.

External links

• Afghan fantasist to face trial at Guantánamo Andy Worthington
• Pentagon announces war-crimes charges against a 10th captive at Guantánamo -- an Afghan citizen, Miami Herald, January 20, 2006
• [ Testimony by Abdul Zahir as witness for detainee Islam (p. 10)] Pentagon Reprocessed Combatant Status Review Tribunal
• Who Are the Remaining Prisoners in Guantánamo? Part Eight: Captured in Afghanistan (2002-07) Andy Worthington