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Umar Abdullah Al Kunduzi is a citizen of Afghanistan, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in Cuba. Al Kunduzi's Guantanamo detainee ID number is 222. American intelligence analysts estimate that Al Kunduzi was born in 1979, in Kunduz, Afghanistan.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct a competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant.

Al Kunduzi chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

Allegations

The allegations against the captives are repeated in most transcripts. They are not repeated in Al Kunduzi's transcript. But the allegations are paraphrased in some of his responses:

Response to the allegations

1. "With regard to the 1st Charge I did not confess that I met someone in Saudi Arabia. But I did say that I know him in Afghanistan."
2. "With regard to the 2nd Charge I did not confess that I fought the Americans in Tora Bora or any other place. When I went with these people from Tora Bora I had no knowledge that they were Al-Qaida or Taliban members."
3. "The Charge that I traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan should not be considered a charge because Afghanistan is my home country, I don't think this is a charge."
4. "I did confess that I went from Tora Bora to Pakistan where I turned myself in, with a group of Arabs, Pakistanis, and Afghanistans. I did say I was given a Kalishnikov [sic] and I had it with me in the trench, the cave that we were sleeping in."
5. "I did not know that they were an armed group till I hear [sic] it on the radio. I heard that there was a war on Tora Bora, on the radio they were talking about Al-Qaida members."

Response to Tribunal questions

• Al Kunduzi confirmed that he returned home to Afghanistan after September 11, 2001.
• Al Kunduzi confirmed that he stayed in a house in Jalalabad.
• Al Kunduzi confirmed that he retreated with the other residents of that house when Kabul and Jalalabad fell to the Northern Alliance.
• Al Kunduzi confirmed that other men, armed men, joined his group of refugees, and supplied them with weapons, and they drove to a cave, in the Tora Bora mountains, a two hour drive from Jalalabad.
• Al Kunduzi confirmed that a month later everyone proceeded to the Pakistan border to surrender.
• Al Kunduzi confirmed that there were no women or children were at the cave.

Administrative Review Board hearing

Detainees who were determined to have been properly classified as "enemy combatants" were scheduled to have their dossier reviewed at annual Administrative Review Board hearings. The Administrative Review Boards weren't authorized to review whether a detainee qualified for POW status, and they weren't authorized to review whether a detainee should have been classified as an "enemy combatant".

They were authorized to consider whether a detainee should continue to be detained by the United States, because they continued to pose a threat -- or whether they could safely be repatriated to the custody of their home country, or whether they could be set free.

The factors for and against continuing to detain Al Kunduzi were among the 121 that the Department of Defense released on March 3 2006.

The following primary factors favor continued detention:

a. Commitment

1. After Jalalabad fell to Northern Alliance forces, detainee admits to fleeing to the Tora Bora region with another known al Qaida figure where he sought refuge in a cave for approximately one month and was armed with a Kalishnikov [sic] rifle.
2. While in Tora Bora, the detainee carried a rocket-propelled grenade and was assigned the responsibility for preparing mortars for use as directed by the cave commander.
3. The detainee and others were led out of the Tora Bora region by the leader of the Khalden training camp, who has been linked to Usama Bin Laden, Abu Zubaydah and several other major al Qaida leaders.
4. While some people left their weapons behind as they were fleeing Tora Bora, the detainee chose to continue to carry his, along with three additional magazines.
5. Following his flight from Tora Bora, detainee was captured along with a number of other armed Arab men by Pakistani military forces after crossing the border from Afghanistan.

b. Training

1. The detainee attended a terrorist training camp.
2. The detainee attended urban warfare training at a training camp in the city of Murad Beek.

c. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee was identified as a fighter for the Taliban against the Northern Alliance.
2. The detainee was separately identified as fighting along with the Taliban and other Arab fighters aligned with Usama Bin Laden.
3. The detainee was seen at various guesthouses in and around Kabul in the summer of 2001.
4. Detainee admits to traveling with armed Taliban forces to the Tora Bora region to escape U.S. bombings.
5. The detainee traveled from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan along a route commonly used by al Qaida recruits: by air from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Bahrain to Doha, Qatar to Karachi, Pakistan; and by ground from Karachi, Pakistan to Peshawar, Pakistan to Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
6. The detainee admits to staying at the residence of a known al Qaida facilitator in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
7. The detainee admitted that some of the people staying at this guesthouse had weapons.

d. Intent

1. The detainee repeatedly expressed a desire to kill a military guard.
2. The detainee stated that he really wanted to be let free so he could kill "bad" Americans.
3. The detainee stated that while he has never had ill feelings for Americans prior to his detention, he has now developed particular contempt and disgust for America as a result of his detention and treatment while in custody.

e. CSRT

1. The detainee admitted he had a Kalishnikov [sic] while staying in the cave in Tora Bora.

f. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee threw water on a guard protesting the treatment of another detainee.
2. The detainee struck a guard while being unshackled.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer:

a. CSRT

1. The detainee stated he did not know the people he fled to Tora Bora with were members of al Qaida or Taliban.

b. Excuplatory

1. The detainee stated that he went to Afghanistan to visit his familiy, not to fight.
2. The detainee stated that he did not fight with al Qaida or the Taliban.
3. The detainee stated that he was never recruited into the Taliban or al Qaida by anyone.
4. The detainee denied that the names and phone numbers found on him when he was captured were those of al Qaida members; instead, they were of his brothers and friends.

c. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee stated he has an uncle who is a friend of General Dostum and is a supporter of the Northern Alliance.
2. The detainee stated that if he were released he would simply return home and would not harm anyone unless they were the aggressor.

Transcript

Al Kunduzi chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing.

Assisting Military Officer's notes

Al Kunduzi's Assisting Military Officer read notes he made during his interviews with Al Kunduzi. According ot his notes:

• Al Kunduzi denied carrying a Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher.
• Al Kunduzi denied preparing mortars.
• Al Kunduzi denied being lead out of the cave by the leader of the Khalden Training Camp.
• Al Kunduzi denied carrying a weapon and additional magazines when he fled Tora Bora.
• Al Kunduzi denied that he was captured. He voluntarily surrendered.
• Al Kunduzi pointed out that he was legally entitled to travel to Pakistan, that he had legitimate travel documents that entitled him to return to Pakistan.
• Al Kunduzi denied ever expressing a desire to kill Guantanamo guards.
• Al Kunduzi denied striking a guard while he was being unshackled. Al Kunduzi said the incident occurred a year and a half earlier, that he was the one who was struck, and that he had merely defended himself. He said that his finger was fractured during the incident.
• Al Kunduzi stated that: "...if he were released he would never retaliate against Americans or anyone else even if they stuck him first."

Al Kunduzi's opening statement

Al Kunduzi made the following statement, under oath:

"First of all, all these allegations that are pointed at me, most of it [sic], are not true. How it started [sic], I left my country, which is Saudi Arabia [sic] to Afghanistan to visit some of my family. I came in [sic] a very legal route. I had my legal papers. I went to Jalalabad for three days only. I never went to Kabul. I did admit that I went from Jalalabad to Tora Bora with the intent that I wanted to go back to Pakistan. I did not really know or was aware mat I was going to Tora Bora though [sic] all these mountains. I did not know where I was going and that the country I went to was Tora Bora. After the fact I learned that through these mountains this is the route for Tora Bora. I did not know the route or the way through these mountains, but the people I was with they told me or informed me to stay here for now till we find another way to get out All this information that is stated that I had been though training and to fight, all this information are not true. I have no connection whatsoever with the Taliban or Al-Qaida. I never wanted to be in trouble. I never wanted to make any problems with anybody or with any country. Most of the people mat were captured at this time were mistaken, they were captured by mistake, and I believe I am one of them. I was captured by mistake. That is all I have to say."

Response to Board questions

• Al Kunduzi testified that although he was officially a citizen of Afghanistan, because his parents were guest workers in Saudi Arabia, he had only traveled to Afghanistan once.
• Al Kunduzi testified that he did not consider himself an extremist.
• Al Kunduzi testified that if he was released he wanted to go back to Afghanistan, get a job, and live a simple, normal life, and live in peace.
• When asked if he had a trade Al Kunduzi said he had worked in his father's restaurant in Saudi Arabia.
• Al Kunduzi said he didn't know any of the people he traveled with when they went through Tora Bora.
• When asked how he could travel with people he didn't know Al Kunduzi explained:

"When I Left from Pakistan to Afghanistan, I met one guy, one Arabic guy. He took me to his guesthouse or his house. It was really coincidence meeting with him. This Arabic guy or man, he knew Persian and when he learned Persian is my language and I speak it. So, we started talking to each other on the bus, this is how I met him."

• Al Kunduzi explained that he fled because he heard the Northern Alliance was killing innocent people.
• When Al Kunduzi was asked if he had any final reasons the Board should not consider him a threat to the USA he replied:

"Because, I am innocent I never ever thought to have any relation with Al Qaida or Taliban. I never had any intentions to kill Americans. I never had any problems with Americans."

Al Kunduzi had a final question for the Board's Presiding Officer.

References

1. list of prisoners (.pdf), US Department of Defense, May 15 2006
2. Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, New York Times, November 11 2004 - mirror
3. Inside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11 2004
4. "Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials". United States Department of Defense. March 6 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Umar Abdullah Al Kunduzi's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 75-77
6. (Spc Timothy Book (Friday March 10 2006). "Review process unprecedented" (PDF). The Wire (JTF-GTMO). p. 1. Retrieved 2007-10-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Umar Abdullah Al Kunduzi Administrative Review Board - pages 59-61
8. Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Umar Abdullah Al Kunduzi's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 55

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from December 2007
• People held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp
• Afghan extrajudicial prisoners of the United States
• Afghan people
• Afghan refugees