Sabar Lal Melma

Sabar Lal Melma
Born	1962 Darya-e-Pech, Afghanistan
Died
Occupation(s)	Afghan military commander, former Guantanamo detainee
Known for	Detained at Guantanamo Bay, released in 2007, killed in 2011 by NATO and Afghan forces

Sabar Lal Melma (1962 – 3 September 2011) was an Afghan national held without formal charges at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detainment camps located in Cuba. His assigned Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 801. U.S. intelligence sources approximated his birth year as 1962 in Darya-e-Pech, Afghanistan.

As reported by New York Times journalist Ray Riviera, Sabar's death provoked significant discontent within the Afghanistan High Peace Council, an entity established by President Hamid Karzai to promote Taliban defections. The Council believed they had secured commitments that coalition forces would refrain from targeting Sabar, and his demise was perceived as a possible deterrent to other Taliban members considering defection. A representative of the NATO-led coalition clarified that security forces had not previously detained him before the operation resulting in his death.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

The Bush administration initially maintained that individuals captured during the war on terror were not entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions, a position that faced legal challenges. In response, the Department of Defense created Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) to determine if detainees satisfied the administration’s definition of "enemy combatant," although these tribunals did not assess lawful combatant status under international law.

Sabar Lal Melma took part in his CSRT, which evaluated evidence pertaining to his detention and classification.

Allegations

During his Tribunal, the accusations directed at Sabar Lal Melma included:

Administrative Review Board hearing

Individuals designated as "enemy combatants" were subject to annual Administrative Review Board hearings to evaluate whether their continued detention was warranted due to ongoing threats or if repatriation or release was suitable. These hearings did not reconsider prisoner of war status or enemy combatant designation.

Sabar Lal Melma attended his Administrative Review Board hearing.

Factors supporting continued detention

• Identified as a Brigadier General in the Afghan military, suspected of facilitating al Qaeda operatives’ escape from Tora Bora into Pakistan, commanding approximately 600 border security personnel in Konar Province.
• Affiliated with Jamiat-e-Dawa-el-al-Qurani Wasouna (JDQ), an Islamist extremist organization linked to Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate, involved in support for the Kashmir conflict.
• Maintained multiple meetings with Haji Rohullah, leader of JDQ and representative for Konar at the Loya Jirga.
• Elevated to Brigadier General due to prior combat experience against Soviet forces and the Taliban.
• Led Nasruldeen, a group allegedly responsible for assaults on government and coalition troops.
• Associated with Faquirullah, a senior commander within Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG), an organization connected to Osama bin Laden and known for operating terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.
• Confirmed contact with Ali (NFT), verifying membership in Hezb-e Islami Khalis under Yunis Khalis.
• In November 2001, provided security and shelter for nine Arab fighters escaping Tora Bora, coordinating their movement into Pakistan alongside Haji Rohullah; received weapons and payment as compensation.

Arguments opposing continued detention

• The individual denied any involvement or prior awareness of the September 11 attacks or any speculation regarding forthcoming assaults on the United States.

Return to home country

On September 28, 2007, Sabar Lal Melma was returned to Afghanistan alongside five other Afghan nationals, one detainee from Libya, and another from Yemen.

According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, since April 2007, all Afghan detainees released from Guantanamo have been handed over to Afghan authorities at a U.S.-constructed and monitored section of Pul-e-Charkhi prison located near Kabul.

Interview with McClatchy

On June 15, 2008, McClatchy News Service published interviews featuring 66 former detainees from Guantanamo, including Sabar Lal. He described himself as an anti-Taliban combatant who sustained a gunshot injury while opposing the Taliban and contributed to their removal during the U.S. military campaign. Lal also recounted experiencing sleep deprivation while held at Bagram.

Mohammed Roze, an Afghan official, confirmed Lal’s position as a border patrol commander but argued that his detention at Guantanamo was justified due to accusations of shelling civilian areas amid local conflicts. Mateullah Khan, the police chief of Konar Province, claimed Lal assisted militants in escaping. Nevertheless, Jonathan Horowitz, a human rights investigator with access to Lal’s classified records, stated that there was almost no evidence in his file supporting these claims.

Sabar Lal was killed by Afghan and NATO security forces in Kabul on September 3, 2011. By the following day, he was removed from the McClatchy Guantanamo Inmate Database.

Reports on his death on Friday, September 3

Officials from NATO reported that Sabar Lal Melma was fatally shot during a nighttime operation targeting his residence in Jalalabad on September 3, 2011. These sources indicated that he appeared armed with an AK-47 and was involved in orchestrating attacks and funding al Qaeda activities. Conversely, in a CNN interview, tribal leader Haji Sahib Rohullah Wakil, who had been detained with Sabar in 2002, asserted that Lal Melma "embraced a civilian lifestyle" following his release from Guantanamo.

Ray Rivera of the New York Times reported on September 4, 2011, that Sabar’s death occurred merely two days after coalition forces had assured the Afghanistan High Peace Council they would cease harassing him. NATO representatives denied recent detention or any promise to halt harassment. Haji Deen Muhammad of the Peace Council remarked that Lal’s death damages the council’s reputation and hampers efforts to encourage Taliban defections:

"It significantly undermines the Peace Council’s standing among Afghans. More critically, Taliban members who were released through our initiatives will now fear similar consequences."

In September 2011, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) stated they possessed intelligence indicating Lal Melma maintained contact with multiple senior al Qaeda figures across Kunar and Pakistan.

External links

• McClatchy News Service - video
• Guantanamo Inmate Database: Sabar Lal – Miami Herald, Tom Lasseter (archived)
• The Anonymous Victims Of Guantánamo: Eight More Wrongly Imprisoned Men Are Quietly Released – Andy Worthington