Ruzatullah
Ruzatullah | |
|---|---|
| Born | Afghanistan |
| Occupation | Detainee |
| Known for | Extrajudicial detention at Bagram Theater Internment Facility; habeas corpus petition (Ruzatullah v. Gates) |
Ruzatullah is an Afghan national detained by the United States at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Afghanistan. He was relocated to the "National Security" section, constructed by the Americans, within Pul-e-Charkhi prison. Significantly, he is one of the earliest detainees subjected to extrajudicial confinement in Afghanistan for whom a habeas corpus petition has been submitted.
Capture
Eric Lewis, representing Ruzatullah legally, stated that he and his brother were apprehended roughly two and a half years before August 2007.
Ruzatullah v. Gates
On October 2, 2006, a habeas corpus petition was filed on behalf of Ruzatullah and Hajji Rohullah, both held without formal charges at Bagram, initiating the case Ruzatullah v. Gates. By December 2007, legal representatives from both parties had exchanged 38 document submissions.
Mark Berman, counsel for Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri—the sole enemy combatant detained within the continental United States—highlighted that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 granted detainees held outside Guantanamo access to the DC Court of Appeals.
Transfer to Pul-e-Charkhi prison
On June 7, 2007, the Department of Defense moved Ruzatullah to Pul-e-Charkhi prison without informing his legal team beforehand. The Department asserted that since Afghan personnel operated and guarded the facility, Ruzatullah was effectively under Afghan jurisdiction rather than US control.
Eric Lewis disputed this claim, emphasizing that close to one hundred detainees—including Ruzatullah—were housed in a US-constructed wing staffed by Afghan guards trained and employed by US forces, with a US-operated control center overseeing operations. He maintained that these individuals remained under American authority and questioned whether Afghan courts possessed the autonomy to release them.
Lewis also conveyed that during a family visit at Pul-e-Charkhi, Ruzatullah appeared agitated and confrontational.