Awal Gul

Awal Gul
Born	(1962-07-01) 1 July 1962 Sawati Ghundi, Afghanistan
Died	2 February 2011(2011-02-02) (aged 48)
Occupation(s)	Alleged Taliban commander, detainee
Known for	Detention at Guantanamo Bay without charges; death in custody

Awal Gul (July 1, 1962 – February 2, 2011) was an Afghan national who passed away while held without judicial process at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention facility after nearly a decade in custody without formal charges.

Personal

According to the Department of Defense, Awal Gul’s birth date was July 1, 1962, and his place of birth was Sawati Ghundi, Afghanistan. He was a father to eighteen children.

Association with the Taliban

Despite U.S. allegations labeling him as a Taliban commander, Gul asserted that he had left the Taliban a year prior to the September 11 attacks, citing corruption and mistreatment within the organization as his reasons. Reports from USA Today indicated that Gul played a significant role in convincing Taliban leaders to hand over control of Nangarhar Province to local tribal authorities. His legal representatives argued that accusations linking him to Al-Qaida were unsupported by credible proof and emphasized that Gul had never been hostile toward the United States. Supporting documents, including correspondence from Mullah Omar, corroborated his departure from the Taliban before 9/11.

Beginning in the early 1980s, Gul allied himself with U.S.-supported factions opposing Soviet forces. Between 1989 and 1996, he oversaw a regional weapons depot aimed at preserving stability. After the Taliban seized his hometown in 1996, Gul remained to manage the depot under their oversight but resigned from the group more than a year before September 2001 due to its corrupt practices. He was detained in December 2001 following a voluntary meeting with American military personnel.

Phillip Smucker of The Asia Times noted that Gul’s defense counsel contended that prosecution allegations were based on an unestablished premise—that Osama bin Laden fled Tora Bora with Gul’s assistance—rather than through collaboration with corrupt border officials.

The Taliban demanded Gul’s release as part of negotiations involving U.S. Army prisoner of war Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured in June 2009 and subsequently freed in May 2014 in exchange for five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo.

Guantanamo

Gul was among those detained at Guantanamo whose medical files and arrival information were not disclosed publicly.

Combatant Status Review

Gul took part in his tribunal hearing, joining approximately 60% of detainees who elected to participate. A Summary of Evidence document prepared for his tribunal outlined accusations against him:

Testimony

During his tribunal, Gul stated that he believed his surrender occurred on February 10, 2002; however, media reports suggest he was captured on December 25, 2001.

Administrative Review Board

Individuals classified as "enemy combatants" by the Combatant Status Review Tribunal underwent yearly Administrative Review Board evaluations designed to assess any potential threat they could pose upon release or transfer and to review other relevant factors affecting continued detention.

For Awal Gul’s initial annual Administrative Review Board in 2005, a Summary of Evidence memo listed nine principal reasons supporting ongoing detention and two factors favoring release or transfer.

In his second annual review conducted in 2006, eleven factors were cited supporting continued detention alongside five advocating release or transfer.

The third annual review held in 2007 included an extensive four-page memo detailing twenty-four reasons for maintaining detention and thirteen factors recommending release or transfer.

Military Commissions Act

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 prohibited detainees at Guantanamo from utilizing the US civil court system, effectively suspending all pending habeas corpus petitions.

Boumediene v. Bush

On June 12, 2008, the United States Supreme Court determined in Boumediene v. Bush that the Military Commissions Act could not revoke Guantanamo detainees' entitlement to seek relief through the US Federal Courts. As a result, previously filed habeas corpus petitions were allowed to be reinstated. Judicial authorities were tasked with assessing whether the evidence supported labeling detainees as "enemy combatants".

Writ of habeas corpus

A habeas corpus petition was submitted on Gul’s behalf. On December 30, 2008, Daniel M. Barish, an official from the United States Department of Justice, informed the court that "factual returns" had been submitted in seven habeas cases, including Gul's. The case underwent full argument before a federal court in March 2010, nearly a year prior to his death. No further developments occurred, and the matter remained unresolved at the time of his passing.

Death

According to media accounts, he collapsed in the shower after exercising on an elliptical machine and subsequently died. An autopsy conducted on February 3, 2011, indicated that a heart attack or pulmonary embolism might have caused his death. His legal representatives expressed doubts regarding the official narrative, stating, "we have no way of knowing whether the government is telling us the truth" about Gul's demise. They further remarked: "It is a tragedy that the government will finally return him home not shackled and hooded, but enclosed in a coffin. ... Justice has come too late for Mr. Gul."

Around 5,000 people attended his funeral on February 7, 2011, running alongside the procession transporting his remains. His body was draped in white cloth with his face and beard visible within the coffin. The burial took place in Jalalabad, located east of Kabul.

External links

• The Guantánamo Files: Website Extras (11) – The Last of the Afghans (Part One) and Six “Ghost Prisoners” Andy Worthington
• Who Are the Remaining Prisoners in Guantánamo? Part Eight: Captured in Afghanistan (2002-07) Andy Worthington
• CCR Responds to Death of Awal Gul at Guantanamo Bay