:Abdul Zahir (Guantanamo Bay detainee 753)

Abdul Zahir was transferred to Guantanamo on October 28, 2002.

{{cite web

|url = http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/resources/library/documents-and-reports/gtmo_heightsweights.pdf

|title = Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version)

|publisher = humanrights.ucdavis.edu, from DoD data

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100613004352/http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/resources/library/documents-and-reports/gtmo_heightsweights.pdf

|archive-date = 2010-06-13

|url-status = dead

}}

{{cite news

|url = http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/753-abdul-zahir

|title = Guantanamo Docket: Abdul Zahir

|work = The New York Times

|author = Margot Williams

|author-link = Margot Williams

|date = 2008-11-03

|access-date = 2012-08-11

|archive-date = 2022-06-17

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220617002649/http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo/detainees/753-abdul-zahir+

|url-status = live

}}

Zahir was charged with conspiracy, aiding the enemy and attacking civilians in connection with the grenade attack that wounded Canadian reporter Kathleen Kenna.

{{cite news

|url = http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2012/07/07/us-in-talks-to-return-the-17-afghan-prisoners-in-guantanamo/

|title = US in Talks to Return the 17 Afghan Prisoners in Guantánamo

|author = Andy Worthington

|author-link = Andy Worthington

|date = 2012-07-07

|archive-date = 2012-07-07

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120707111821/http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2012/07/07/us-in-talks-to-return-the-17-afghan-prisoners-in-guantanamo/

|url-status = live

|quote = In December 2009, Kathleen Kenna, who was seriously injured in the attack that was allegedly undertaken by Abdul Zahir, wrote an op-ed for the Toronto Star, which should have shamed the US authorities.

}}

{{cite news

|url = http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2006/01/20/Tenth-Gitmo-inmate-charged/UPI-86311137786939/

|title = Tenth Gitmo inmate charged

|publisher = United Press International

|date = 2006-01-20

|access-date = 2012-08-12

|archive-date = 2016-03-04

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001033/http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2006/01/20/Tenth-Gitmo-inmate-charged/UPI-86311137786939/

|url-status = live

|quote = The legality of the military commission system and whether it meets the constitutional requirements of due process is to be the subject of a case to be heard before the Supreme Court in March. Zahir's trial date has not yet been set. Because of legal challenges, there has yet to be a single military commission completed.

}}

Kenna wrote an op-ed about her feelings about Abdul Zahir's trial on December 27, 2009.

{{cite news

|url = https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/742968--the-justice-i-want-for-captive-783

|title = The justice I want for Captive 783 [sic]

|publisher = Toronto Star

|date = 2009-12-27

|author = Kathleen Kenna

|author-link = Kathleen Kenna

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091230065116/http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/742968--the-justice-i-want-for-captive-783

|archive-date = 2009-12-30

|url-status = dead

}}

She wrote that she and her companions weren't interested in retribution.

She wrote that she hoped Abdul Zahir got a truly fair trial.

She wrote that she and her companions couldn't identify their attackers.

According to historian Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, Kenna's op-ed should have shamed the US Government.

:

Originally the Bush Presidency asserted that captives apprehended in the "war on terror" were not covered by the Geneva Conventions, and could be held indefinitely, without charge, and without an open and transparent review of the justifications for their detention.

{{cite news

|url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-11-guantanamo-combatants_N.htm

|title = U.S. military reviews 'enemy combatant' use

|publisher = USA Today

|date = 2007-10-11

|archive-date = 2007-10-23

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071023220558/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-11-guantanamo-combatants_N.htm

|url-status = live

|quote = Critics called it an overdue acknowledgment that the so-called Combatant Status Review Tribunals are unfairly geared toward labeling detainees the enemy, even when they pose little danger. Simply redoing the tribunals won't fix the problem, they said, because the system still allows coerced evidence and denies detainees legal representation.

}}

In 2004, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in Rasul v. Bush, that Guantanamo captives were entitled to being informed of the allegations justifying their detention, and were entitled to try to refute them.

File:Trailer where CSR Tribunals were held.jpgs were held in a 3x5 meter trailer where the captive sat with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/national/08gitmo.html?ex=1257570000&en=4af06725bdf5c086&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court], The New York Times, November 11, 2004 - [http://cageprisoners.com/articles.php?aid=3838 mirror] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184542/http://cageprisoners.com/articles.php?aid=3838 |date=2007-09-30 }}[http://www.christusrex.org/www1/news/ft-12-11-04a.htm Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals"], Financial Times, December 11, 2004]]

Following the Supreme Court's ruling the Department of Defense set up the Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants.

{{cite news

|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1773140.stm

|title=Q&A: What next for Guantanamo prisoners?

|work=BBC News

|date=2002-01-21

|access-date=2008-11-24

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123204530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1773140.stm

|archive-date=23 November 2008

|url-status=bot: unknown

}}

According to The New York Times Guantanamo Docket Zahir had annual status reviews in 2004 and 2007.

There is no record that he had an annual reviews in 2005, 2006 or 2008.

Scholars at the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, listed the captives still held in Guantanamo in December 2008, according to whether their detention was justified by certain common allegations:

{{cite web

| url = https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1216_detainees_wittes.pdf

| title = The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study

| publisher = The Brookings Institution

| date = 2008-12-16

| author1 = Benjamin Wittes

| author-link = Benjamin Wittes

| author2 = Zaathira Wyne

| access-date = 2010-02-16

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170519100934/https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1216_detainees_wittes.pdf

| archive-date = 2017-05-19

| url-status = live

}}

• Abdul Zahir was listed as one of the captives who had faced charges before a military commission.
• Abdul Zahir was listed as one of the captives who had been charged before a Guantanamo military commission, and had subsequently had the charges dropped.
• Abdul Zahir was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... are members of al-Qaeda."
• Abdul Zahir was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges that the following detainees stayed in Al Qaeda, Taliban or other guest- or safehouses."
• Abdul Zahir was listed as one of the captives who was an "al Qaeda operative".
• Abdul Zahir was listed as one of the captives "who have been charged before military commissions and are alleged Al Qaeda operatives."
• Abdul Zahir was listed as one of the captives who "deny affiliation with Al Qaeda or the Taliban yet admit facts that, under the broad authority the laws of war give armed parties to detain the enemy, offer the government ample legal justification for its detention decisions."
• Abdul Zahir was listed as one of the captives who admitted "serving Al Qaeda or the Taliban in some non-military capacity."

File:Abdul Zahir v George W Bush.pdf of Abdul Zahir]]

When he assumed office in January 2009 President Barack Obama made a number of promises about the future of Guantanamo.

{{cite news

|title = Justice task force recommends about 50 Guantanamo detainees be held indefinitely

|author = Peter Finn

|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012104936.html

|newspaper = Washington Post

|date = January 22, 2010

|access-date = July 21, 2010

|archive-date = 2015-05-04

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150504225142/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012104936.html

|url-status = live

}}

{{cite news

|title = Most Guantanamo detainees low-level fighters, task force report says

|author = Peter Finn

|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/28/AR2010052803873.html

|newspaper = Washington Post

|date = May 29, 2010

|access-date = July 21, 2010

|archive-date = 2015-05-10

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150510052105/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/28/AR2010052803873.html

|url-status = live

}}

{{cite web

| author = Andy Worthington

| url = http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/06/11/does-obama-really-know-or-care-about-who-is-at-guantanamo/

| title = Does Obama Really Know or Care About Who Is at Guantánamo?

| date = June 11, 2010

| access-date = July 21, 2010

| archive-date = 2010-06-16

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100616161842/http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/06/11/does-obama-really-know-or-care-about-who-is-at-guantanamo

| url-status = live

}}

He promised the use of torture would cease at the camp. He promised to institute a new review system. That new review system was composed of officials from six departments, where the OARDEC reviews were conducted entirely by the Department of Defense. When it reported back, a year later, the Joint Review Task Force classified some individuals as too dangerous to be transferred from Guantanamo, even though there was no evidence to justify laying charges against them. On April 9, 2013, that document was made public after a Freedom of Information Act request.{{cite news

|url = https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1020057-guantanamo-parole-list.html

|title = 71 Guantanamo Detainees Determined Eligible to Receive a Periodic Review Board as of April 19, 2013

|publisher = Joint Review Task Force

|date = 2013-04-09

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150519230955/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1020057-guantanamo-parole-list.html

|archive-date = May 19, 2015

|access-date = 2015-05-18

|url-status = dead

}}

Abdul Zahir was one of the 71 individuals deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release.

Although Obama promised that those deemed too innocent to charge, but too dangerous to release would start to receive reviews from a Periodic Review Board less than a quarter of men have received a review.

On April 25, 2011, whistleblower organization WikiLeaks published formerly secret assessments drafted by Joint Task Force Guantanamo analysts.

{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8471907/WikiLeaks-Guantanamo-Bay-terrorist-secrets-revealed.html |title=WikiLeaks: Guantanamo Bay terrorist secrets revealed -- Guantanamo Bay has been used to incarcerate dozens of terrorists who have admitted plotting terrifying attacks against the West – while imprisoning more than 150 totally innocent people, top-secret files disclose |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=2011-04-27 |access-date=2012-07-13 |author1=Christopher Hope |author2=Robert Winnett |author3=Holly Watt |author4=Heidi Blake |archive-date=2012-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715015806/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8471907/WikiLeaks-Guantanamo-Bay-terrorist-secrets-revealed.html |url-status=live |quote=The Daily Telegraph, along with other newspapers including The Washington Post, today exposes America’s own analysis of almost ten years of controversial interrogations on the world’s most dangerous terrorists. This newspaper has been shown thousands of pages of top-secret files obtained by the WikiLeaks website. }}

{{cite news

|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/guantanamo-bay-wikileaks-files/8476672/WikiLeaks-The-Guantanamo-files-database.html

|title = WikiLeaks: The Guantánamo files database

|publisher = The Telegraph (UK)

|date = 2011-04-27

|archive-date = 2012-08-27

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120827092242/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/guantanamo-bay-wikileaks-files/8476672/WikiLeaks-The-Guantanamo-files-database.html

|url-status = dead

}}

Joint Task Force Guantanamo drafted a 12 page assessment on November 19, 2008.

{{cite news

|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/guantanamo-bay-wikileaks-files/8476903/Guantanamo-Bay-detainee-file-on-Abdul-Al-Zaher-US9AF-000753DP.html

|title = Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Abdul Al Zaher, US9AF-000753DP, passed to the Telegraph by Wikileaks

|publisher = Telegraph (UK)

|date = 2011-04-27

|archive-date = 2013-07-08

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130708211251/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/guantanamo-bay-wikileaks-files/8476903/Guantanamo-Bay-detainee-file-on-Abdul-Al-Zaher-US9AF-000753DP.html

|url-status = live

|quote = Detainee Summary: If released without rehabilitation, close supervision, and means to successfully reintegrate into his society as a law-abiding citizen, it is assessed CLASSIFIED(S) detainee would immediately seek out prior associates and reengage in hostilities and extremist support activities at home and abroad...

}}

{{cite news

|url = http://media.mcclatchydc.com/smedia/2011/04/27/18/us9af-000753dp.source.prod_affiliate.91.pdf

|title = Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN US9AF000753DP

|publisher = Joint Task Force Guantanamo

|author = David M Thomas Jr.

|author-link = David M Thomas Jr.

|date = 2008-11-19

|access-date = 2012-08-11

|archive-date = 2013-05-09

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509105104/http://media.mcclatchydc.com/smedia/2011/04/27/18/us9af-000753dp.source.prod_affiliate.91.pdf

|url-status = dead

}}

{{commons-inline|File:ISN 00753, Abdul Sahir's Guantanamo detainee assessment.pdf}}

Zahir's assessment recommended his continued detention under DoD control and was signed by camp commandant David M Thomas Jr.

Zahir was charged with conspiracy, aiding the enemy and attacking civilians in connection with the grenade attack that wounded Canadian reporter Kathleen Kenna.[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20320547.htm US brings charges against 10th Guantanamo prisoner], Reuters, January 20, 2006

{{cite news

| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rwQzAAAAIBAJ&dq=military-commission%20abdul-zahir%20charges&pg=2313%2C5409491

| title = 10th Guantanamo captive facing war crimes charges

| newspaper = Free Lance Star

| author = Carol Rosenberg

| author-link = Carol Rosenberg

| date = 2006-01-21

| page = 10

| access-date = 2013-06-16

| quote = His U.S. defense lawyer, Robert A. Gensburg of St. Johnsbury, Vt., said he had met Zahir at Guantanamo but was not authorized to talk about his client or the case. Gensburg said he first learned of the charges from The Miami Herald.

}}

Kenna wrote an op-ed about her feelings about Abdul Zahir's trial on December 27, 2009.

She wrote that she and her companions weren't interested in retribution.

She wrote that she hopes Abdul Zahir has a truly fair trial.

She wrote that she and her companions couldn't identify their attackers.

Abdul Zahir was transferred to Guantanamo on October 28, 2002.

The first hearing in Zaher's case was held on April 5, 2006.

{{cite news

|url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/////2006-04/05/content_560616.htm

|title = Court rules questioned at Gitmo hearing

|publisher = China Daily

|date = 2006-04-05

|archive-date = 2016-03-04

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084634/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/////2006-04/05/content_560616.htm

|url-status = live

|quote = But, when pressed by the defense attorney, Army Lt. Col. Thomas Bogar, the judge would not specify which set of laws would guide the trial.

}}

{{cite news

|url = http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006_04_04_indexarch.php#114419383182467159

|title = Guantanamo military judge unsure of what laws govern detainee trial

|publisher = The Jurist

|author = Joshua Pantesco

|date = April 2006

|archive-date = 2011-01-18

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110118003146/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006_04_04_indexarch.php#114419383182467159

|url-status = live

|quote = When asked by Zahir's military counsel, judge Col. Robert Chester said "Obviously military law is going to have some application. I suppose we will look at military criminal law and federal criminal laws and procedures." Asked to be more specific, he later shot back "I'm not going to speculate as to what is or what is not controlling."

}}

Although the rules for Military Commissions required the suspect to be given a copy of the charges against them in a language they could read, Zahir had not been given a translation.

Officials could not explain why the hearing had been convened without hiring a Farsi translator, so Zahir could understand what was going on.

According to Jamil Dakwar, the director of the ACLU's Human Rights Program, an observer at Zahir's April 5 hearing, the military commission system "...is a deficient system rife with legal and procedural problems..."

{{cite news

|url=https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/judging-abdul-zahir

|title="Judging" Abdul Zahir

|publisher=ACLU

|author=Jamil Dakwar

|date=2012-04-05

|access-date=2012-08-11

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814140814/http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/judging-abdul-zahir

|archive-date=2012-08-14

}}

Dakwar noted that Zahir's hearing was the first when the Presiding Officer wore a black robe, like a civilian judge.

He noted that the charge "conspiracy to commit war crimes" was not a crime recognized under any international law.

Zahir's second hearing was held on May 17, 2006.

{{cite news

|url = https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/mouth-prohibits-mouth-permits

|title = The Mouth That Prohibits Is the Mouth That Permits

|publisher = ACLU

|author = Jamil Dakwar

|date = 2006-05-16

|access-date = 2012-08-11

|archive-date = 2012-08-14

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120814140827/http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/mouth-prohibits-mouth-permits

|url-status = live

|quote = Tomorrow will be Mr. Zahir's second appearance before the military commission. Last month, his military defense counsel started a voir dire inquiry — a process which allows the defense to question the impartiality of the presiding officer.

}}

It was convened because Zahir sole defense attorney, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Bogar, had filed a motion questioning whether the Presiding Officer Colonel Robert Chester should recuse himself due to inherent bias.

Bogar dropped his motion, telling reporters later he was satisfied with the answers he received from Chester and the jury members.

{{cite news

|url = https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/beginning-end-or-end-beginning

|title = The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?

|publisher = ACLU

|author = Jamil Dakwar

|date = 2006-05-20

|access-date = 2012-08-11

|archive-date = 2012-08-14

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120814140841/http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/beginning-end-or-end-beginning

|url-status = live

|quote = In camp 4, Mr. Abdul Zahir enjoyed less restrictive conditions and shared a communal facility with other detainees from Afghanistan. Unlike some of the detainees in camp 5, Mr. Abdul Zahir has not threatened to boycott the proceedings and, according to his lawyer, he is still keen to cooperate and prove his innocence before the commission. His lawyer is therefore concerned that the worsening conditions might affect the relationship with his client and ultimately the ability to prepare a proper defense before the military commission.

}}

On January 17, 2017, Oman accepted the transfer of ten men from Guantanamo. The names of the transferred men was withheld, by both American and Oman authorities. Oman officials said the men had been granted "temporary residence". Vermont lawyer David Sleigh, Zahir's pro-bono habeas attorney, told the Associated Press he was one of the transferred men.

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite news

| url = https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/16/510089954/10-guantanamo-prisoners-freed-in-oman-45-detainees-remain

| title = 10 Guantanamo Prisoners Freed In Oman; 45 Detainees Remain

| publisher = National Public Radio

| author = Greg Myre

| date = 2017-01-16

| access-date = 2017-01-17

| quote = The freed prisoners were not identified by name or nationality, though the Oman News Agency, citing the country's Foreign Ministry, reported that the 10 had arrived in the country on Monday for "temporary residence."

}}

{{cite news

| url = http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article126793529.html

| title = U.S. sends 10 Guantánamo captives to Oman

| publisher = Miami Herald

| author = Carol Rosenberg

| author-link = Carol Rosenberg

| date = 2017-01-16

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170117150202/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article126793529.html

| archive-date = 2017-01-17

| url-status = live

| quote = A Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the transfer had taken place, downsizing the detainee population to 45. Neither Oman nor the official provided the identities of the 10 men who were sent there.

}}

{{cite web

| url=http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf

| title=List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006

| author=OARDEC

| author-link=OARDEC

| publisher=United States Department of Defense

| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184034/http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf

| archive-date= 2007-09-30

| url-status= live

| access-date=2006-05-15

}}

{{wikisource-inline|List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006}}

{{cite news

| url = http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/17/vermont-lawyer-says-client-out-of-guantanamo-bay-p/?

| title = Vermont lawyer says client out of Guantanamo Bay prison

| work=The Washington Times

| date = 2017-01-17

| location = St. Johnbury, Vermont

| access-date = 2017-01-17

| quote = Attorney David Sleigh said his client Abdul Zahir was transferred on Tuesday.

}}

}}

{{Portal|Biography}}

• [http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2008/06/04/afghan-fantasist-to-face-trial-at-guantanamo/ Afghan fantasist to face trial at Guantánamo] Andy Worthington
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060125121410/http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13673202.htm Pentagon announces war-crimes charges against a 10th captive at Guantánamo -- an Afghan citizen], Miami Herald, January 20, 2006
• [{{DoD detainees ARB|Set_30_2048-2144.pdf}} Testimony by Abdul Zahir as witness for detainee Islam (p. 10)] Pentagon Reprocessed Combatant Status Review Tribunal
• [http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/11/17/who-are-the-remaining-prisoners-in-guantanamo-part-eight-captured-in-afghanistan-2002-07/ Who Are the Remaining Prisoners in Guantánamo? Part Eight: Captured in Afghanistan (2002-07)] Andy Worthington

{{Afghanistan War}}

{{WoTPrisoners}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahir, Abdul}}

Category:Detainees of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp

Category:Afghan extrajudicial prisoners of the United States

Category:Bagram Theater Internment Facility detainees

Category:Living people

Category:1972 births