Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman
Encyclopedia
Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman is an Uyghur
refugee best known for the more than seven years he spent in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
The Department of Defense
reports that he was born on March 15, 1973, in Kucha, Xinjiang
Province, China and assigned him the Internment Serial Number 281. He was captured near the Pakistan-Afghan border in December 2001.
Rahman is one of the 22 Uighurs held in Guantanamo
for many years despite it became clear early on that they were innocent.
He won his habeas corpus
in 2008. Judge Ricardo Urbina declared his detention as unlawful and ordered to set him free in the United States
. He was sent to Palau
in October 2009.
According to the Associated Press
"Abdulghappar Turkistani" is a 35 year old Uyghur.
The letter said that all 17 remaining Uyghurs were being held in isolation, in solitary confinement, in the high security Camp 6, even though they were told the authorities recognized they were innocent in 2004.
The letter said the writer had developed Rheumatism.
The letter said that another Uyghur was participating in the on-going hunger strike, and was being force-fed twice a day.
The Associated Press reported that Commander
Rick Haupt, a spokesman for the detention center, said the captives were being held in "safe and humane" conditions.
Haupt described Camp 6 as "a state-of-the-market detention facility modeled after stateside facilities."
Camp 6 was designed to have common areas where the captives could interact with one another. But since the camp was opened in December 2006 the common areas have remained off-limits. The Associated Press reported:
On June 12, 2008 the United States Supreme Court restored the Guantanamo captives' access to the USA's civilian justice system in its ruling on Boumediene v. Bush
.
Specifically it re-initiated the captives' habeas corpus
petitions.
In an unrelated development Huzaifa Parhat's DTA appeal concluded that his Combatant Status Review Tribunal had erred in confirming he was an "enemy combatant", due to insufficient evidence.
The Department of Justice had the option of appealing the ruling, claiming it had new evidence. The Uyghurs' habeas petitions were the first to be scheduled for review.
In September 2008, days before the Department of Justice would have been expected to offer a justification in court for the Uyghurs' detention, and after six and half years of extrajudicial detention, the Department of Justice acknowledged the evidence to justify their detention did not exist.
announced that they would offer temporary asylum to some of the Uyghurs.
The government of Palau sent a delegation Guantanamo, and interviewed some of the remaining Uyghurs.
Some of the Uyghurs declined to be interviewed by the Palauns. In the end the government of Palau offered asylum to twelve of the remaining thirteen Uyghurs. Palau declined to offer asylum to one of the Uyghurs who suffered from a mental disorder, brought on by detention, that was too profound to be treated in Palau.
On October 31, 2009 "Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman" Ahmad Tourson
, Edham Mamet, Anwar Hassan, Dawut Abdurehim
and Adel Noori
were released and transferred to Palau.
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
refugee best known for the more than seven years he spent in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
The Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
reports that he was born on March 15, 1973, in Kucha, Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
Province, China and assigned him the Internment Serial Number 281. He was captured near the Pakistan-Afghan border in December 2001.
Rahman is one of the 22 Uighurs held in Guantanamo
Uyghur detainees in Guantanamo
The United States government detained twenty-two Uyghurs in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp since 2002. As of today the five Uyghurs Abdul Razakah, Yusef Abbas, Hajiakbar Abdulghupur, Saidullah Khalik and Ahmed Mohamed remain in Guantanamo and have filed cases in US courts to obtain the right to...
for many years despite it became clear early on that they were innocent.
He won his habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
in 2008. Judge Ricardo Urbina declared his detention as unlawful and ordered to set him free in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was sent to Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
in October 2009.
Letter from Guantanamo
On March 20, 2008 the Department of Defense released for publication a rare letter from Guantanamo, drafted in December, from a Uyghur named "Abdulghappar Turkistani".According to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
"Abdulghappar Turkistani" is a 35 year old Uyghur.
The letter said that all 17 remaining Uyghurs were being held in isolation, in solitary confinement, in the high security Camp 6, even though they were told the authorities recognized they were innocent in 2004.
The letter said the writer had developed Rheumatism.
The letter said that another Uyghur was participating in the on-going hunger strike, and was being force-fed twice a day.
|
The Associated Press reported that Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Rick Haupt, a spokesman for the detention center, said the captives were being held in "safe and humane" conditions.
Haupt described Camp 6 as "a state-of-the-market detention facility modeled after stateside facilities."
Camp 6 was designed to have common areas where the captives could interact with one another. But since the camp was opened in December 2006 the common areas have remained off-limits. The Associated Press reported:
On June 12, 2008 the United States Supreme Court restored the Guantanamo captives' access to the USA's civilian justice system in its ruling on Boumediene v. Bush
Boumediene v. Bush
Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723 , was a writ of habeas corpus submission made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba...
.
Specifically it re-initiated the captives' habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
petitions.
In an unrelated development Huzaifa Parhat's DTA appeal concluded that his Combatant Status Review Tribunal had erred in confirming he was an "enemy combatant", due to insufficient evidence.
The Department of Justice had the option of appealing the ruling, claiming it had new evidence. The Uyghurs' habeas petitions were the first to be scheduled for review.
In September 2008, days before the Department of Justice would have been expected to offer a justification in court for the Uyghurs' detention, and after six and half years of extrajudicial detention, the Department of Justice acknowledged the evidence to justify their detention did not exist.
Temporary Asylum in Palau
In June 2009 the government of PalauPalau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
announced that they would offer temporary asylum to some of the Uyghurs.
The government of Palau sent a delegation Guantanamo, and interviewed some of the remaining Uyghurs.
Some of the Uyghurs declined to be interviewed by the Palauns. In the end the government of Palau offered asylum to twelve of the remaining thirteen Uyghurs. Palau declined to offer asylum to one of the Uyghurs who suffered from a mental disorder, brought on by detention, that was too profound to be treated in Palau.
On October 31, 2009 "Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman" Ahmad Tourson
Ahmad Tourson
Ahmad Tourson or Ahmad Abdulahad is an Uyghur refugee unlawfully detained for more than seven years in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba despite it became clear early on that he was innocent....
, Edham Mamet, Anwar Hassan, Dawut Abdurehim
Dawut Abdurehim
On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a nine page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.-Dawut Abdurehim v. George W. Bush:A writ of habeas corpus, Dawut Abdurehim v. George W...
and Adel Noori
Adel Noori
Adel Noori is an Uyghur refugee best known for the more than seven years he was wrongly imprisoned in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 584....
were released and transferred to Palau.
External links
- From Guantánamo to the United States: The Story of the Wrongly Imprisoned Uighurs Andy WorthingtonAndy WorthingtonAndy Worthington is a British historian, journalist, and film director.He has published three books, and been published in numerous publications.In 2009 Worthington was the co-director of a documentary about the Guantanamo detainees....
October 9, 2008 - Judge Ricardo Urbina’s unclassified opinion (redacted version)
- MOTIONS/STATUS HEARING - UIGHURS CASES BEFORE THE HONORABLE RICARDO M. URBINA
- Palau urges Australia to allow permanent resettlement for six Uighurs Radio AustraliaRadio AustraliaRadio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
June 3, 2010 - Palau Uyghurs try to build new lives Kyodo NewsKyodo Newsis a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million subscribers. K. K. Kyodo News is Kyodo News' business...
December 15, 2009 - Abdul Ghappar Abdul Rahman explains how he came to be at Guantanamo BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
NewsnightNewsnightNewsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
14 January 2010 - Human Rights First; Habeas Works: Federal Courts’ Proven Capacity to Handle Guantánamo Cases (2010)