Obaidullah (detainee)

Obaidullah
Born	1980 Khost, Afghanistan
Occupation	Former detainee at Guantanamo Bay detention camp
Known for	Detention at Guantanamo Bay without formal charges; military commission charges; hunger strike

Obaidullah (born 1980) is an Afghan national who was among the final group of Afghan detainees held without formal charges at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp located in Cuba. Captured as an Enemy combatant on July 20, 2002, he was transferred to Guantanamo on October 28, 2002, subsequently relocated to the United Arab Emirates on August 15, 2016, and ultimately released and returned to Afghanistan on December 23, 2019.

His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 762. U.S. intelligence agencies estimate his birth year as 1980, originating from Khost, Afghanistan.

Capture and detention

On July 20, 2002, U.S. Special Forces conducted a raid on Obaidullah's family residence following an anonymous tip, detaining him along with his cousins. At the time of arrest, Obaidullah was found carrying a notebook purportedly containing diagrams of improvised explosive devices.

During his habeas corpus hearings, Obaidullah recounted:

While my family and I were asleep in Milani near Khost City, American forces arrived. I was approximately 19 years old. The soldiers awakened me, bound my hands and feet with plastic restraints despite my cooperation, covered my head with a hood, and forced me to sit against a wall for hours. The plastic bindings cut into my skin causing pain. I was frightened about what might happen to me.

Chapman Airfield

Following capture, Obaidullah was taken to Chapman Airfield, a forward operating base. He detailed his experience during interrogations there:

At the base, I was ordered to hold heavy sandbags with outstretched arms throughout the night without rest. When moved, soldiers pushed me forcefully using their knees and elbows. Before dawn, three or four interrogators threatened to kill me if I did not provide information. After denying knowledge, one knocked me down and brandished a sharpened long knife near my head while demanding answers. I was terrified and feared for my life.

Bagram

Obaidullah reported mistreatment during interrogations at Bagram, where officers acknowledged employing the banned practice of chaining detainees’ hands above their heads to cause sleep deprivation.

He described confinement in a small isolation cell with his hands chained overhead:

"My hands were shackled above my head to the ceiling for periods ranging from 45 minutes up to two hours between interrogations."

Interrogations involved being placed in painful postures under intense lighting, frequently hooded with a rope tightened around his neck. He was restrained by his hands to walls or ceilings, subjected to slapping, spitting, and physical shaking during questioning.

A Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent remarked:

"During this timeframe at Bagram, detainees including Obaidullah experienced highly coercive methods that raise serious doubts about the credibility of any statements obtained."

Guantanamo

On October 28, 2002, Obaidullah was moved to Guantanamo.

He recounted being confined for extended periods in freezing interrogation rooms following questioning sessions, with interrogators regulating his access to water and medical attention. When he was seriously ill, exhibiting symptoms such as fever and a sore throat, an interrogator interrupted his medical examination, which resulted in no treatment being administered and his subsequent return to his cell despite his condition.

Hunger Strike

In February 2013, after more than ten years of detention at Guantanamo, Obaidullah initiated a hunger strike. He expressed that intrusive searches of his cell—including the confiscation of personal belongings like family photographs and correspondence with his lawyer—were profoundly distressing and degrading. Obaidullah conveyed:

Prior to this, I had not engaged in hunger strikes. I have been contesting my detention through U.S. civil courts. However, recent measures have stripped away my dignity after eleven years of confinement. Despite the health risks involved, we plan to persist with the strike until we are treated with respect. After nearly eleven years without clarity on my status, my hope is fading.

Official status reviews

During the Bush administration, detainees captured in the war on terror were initially deemed outside the protections of the Geneva Conventions and could be held indefinitely without charges or transparent judicial review. However, in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Rasul v. Bush that Guantanamo detainees must be informed of the accusations against them and be allowed to contest their detention.

Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants

In response to the Supreme Court decision, the Department of Defense created the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants.

By December 2008, Benjamin Wittes and associates at the Brookings Institution classified Guantanamo detainees according to allegations justifying their continued detention:

• Obaidullah was charged before a military commission.
• He was accused of having connections with al Qaeda or the Taliban.
• The military asserted he received terrorist training in Afghanistan.
• The circumstances surrounding his capture indicated involvement in hostilities.
• He was identified as an "al Qaeda operative."
• He was among those charged by military commissions as alleged al Qaeda members.
• He admitted to lesser associations such as residing in Taliban or al Qaeda guesthouses or attending training camps.
• He acknowledged undergoing training at al Qaeda or Taliban facilities.

Obaidullah provided testimony during his hearings in 2004 and 2005.

Habeas Petition

Following the Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene v. Bush, which affirmed habeas corpus rights for Guantanamo detainees, Obaidullah submitted a habeas petition to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in July 2008. Two months later, he was formally charged by military commissions at Guantanamo.

On October 19, 2010, Judge Richard Leon ruled that Obaidullah's detention was lawful and denied his habeas petition after concluding that it was "more likely than not" he was an insurgent.

Appeal

Obaidullah filed an appeal; however, in August 2012, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the original decision, concluding it was "more likely than not" that he was affiliated with al Qaeda. This ruling was based on information from a confidential informant whose tip prompted the raid on Obaidullah's family residence. Neither Obaidullah nor his legal counsel received any specifics regarding this source.

A Navy intelligence officer reported that two individuals from Obaidullah’s village—suspected of providing false intelligence to U.S. forces—vanished, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Motion to Reopen

On February 8, 2012, legal representatives for Obaidullah requested the case record be reopened to permit a new trial, citing recently discovered evidence. This motion included a statement from Lieutenant Commander Richard Pandis, an NCIS investigator. The request was ultimately denied on January 30, 2013.

Supreme Court

Obaidullah submitted a petition for a writ of certiorari to the US Supreme Court on February 26, 2013.

Previously Classified Joint Task Force Guantanamo Evaluation

On April 25, 2011, the whistleblowing group WikiLeaks released confidential evaluations prepared by analysts at Joint Task Force Guantanamo. Obaidullah’s eight-page evaluation, dated June 16, 2008 and signed by camp commander Rear Admiral David M Thomas Jr., recommended his continued detention at Guantanamo Bay.

Joint Review Task Force

Following his inauguration in January 2009, President Barack Obama committed to ending torture practices at Guantanamo and establishing a new detainee review process involving six government departments, replacing the prior Department of Defense-exclusive system.

One year later, the Joint Review Task Force designated certain detainees as too dangerous to release despite insufficient evidence to bring formal charges. On April 9, 2013, this classification was disclosed publicly after a FOIA request. Among those listed, Obaidullah was categorized as too innocent to prosecute but too high-risk to free. Although President Obama promised periodic evaluations through a Periodic Review Board, fewer than one-quarter of eligible detainees have undergone such reviews.

Charges

On September 10, 2008, Obaidullah faced charges of "conspiracy" and "providing material support for terrorism" under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The accusations claimed he concealed mines and explosives in Khost, Afghanistan between October 2001 and July 2002 and possessed a notebook outlining methods for detonating explosive devices.

Anne Richardson, one of his attorneys, highlighted that once his defense disproved the basis for his detention and charges, the prosecution opted to drop the case rather than proceed to trial. In 2011, a military defense lawyer uncovered evidence supporting Obaidullah’s innocence, including findings that the mines dated back to the Soviet occupation period while his family resided in Pakistan. Despite attempts to expedite legal proceedings, the U.S. government abandoned criminal charges and continued indefinite detention without formal accusation.

On June 7, 2011, the Convening Authority dismissed all charges without prejudice. Currently, no charges are pending against Obaidullah. His military defense counsel was MAJ Jason D. Wright.

Detention at Guantanamo

As of April 19, 2014, Obaidullah was identified by the Department of Defense as one of the "71 Guantanamo Detainees Eligible for Periodic Review Board Consideration." In April 2013, he joined approximately half of the detainees in a hunger strike. His Periodic Review Board (PRB) hearing took place on April 19, 2016. Subsequently, on May 20, 2016, the PRB authorized his transfer to a suitable country willing to accept him—this location was not necessarily Afghanistan—under conditions comparable to those imposed on detainees previously released.

Relocation to the United Arab Emirates

On August 15, 2016, Obaidullah was among fifteen individuals transferred by the United States to the United Arab Emirates. Alongside him, fellow Afghan detainee Mohammed Kamin had initially faced charges under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, but these charges were dropped following amendments introduced in the Military Commissions Act of 2009.

An interview conducted by the Associated Press with Obaidullah’s family on August 17 revealed that a legal representative informed them Obaidullah would likely be free to depart after spending six months to a year in the UAE, during which he would participate in government-supervised rehabilitation. The Independent emphasized that Obaidullah consistently claimed his confessions were obtained through torture and that evaluations indicated he did not harbor anti-American views.

Return and Release in Afghanistan

By December 23, 2019, reports confirmed that Obaidullah had been freed and returned to Afghanistan.

External links

• Afghan Nobody Faces Trial by Military Commission Andy Worthington
• Amnesty International Blasts Obama for Delays and Injustice on Human Rights, Guantánamo and Terrorism Andy Worthington, June 26, 2010
• Human Rights First; The Case of Obaidullah, Afghan
• Human Rights First; The Case of Obaidullah, Afghan
• Family fears that Afghan prisoner at Guantanamo will be forgotten Los Angeles Times, Ali M. Latifi, April 9, 2015