Abdul Rahim Muslimdost
Encyclopedia
Abdul Rahim Muslimdost is a Afghan
journalist and jeweller who was held in extrajudicial detention
in the United States
Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba
.
His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 561.
Muslimdost and his brother were captured on November 17, 2001, and later released on 17 April 2005 with no charges held against him.
He has been noted for his poetry
still detained by the American government and the lengths he went through to record it, ranging from scratching with a spoon onto polystyrene
teacups to using rubbery pens, and has received much esteem in this regard. His account on his stay at Guantanamo, The Broken Chains, is currently being translated into English
.
According to the Associated Press
the allegations against Muslimdost, in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal
, he was a member of an Islamic militant group, and served as a contact between that group and Al Qaeda.
Muslimdost acknowledged being a member of the militant group, but said he joined long ago, during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Muslimdost's brother was also a journalist; was also a held in extrajudicial detention in Guantanamo; was also released by the Americans following his Tribunal. Their presence in Guantanamo was discussed in the press prior the Department of Defense released the official list of detainee identities.
was one of the 38 captives the Bush Presidency determined had not been enemy combatants after all.
The Department of Defense refers to these men as No Longer Enemy Combatants.
Abdul Rahim Muslimdost was freed on April 20, 2005 with sixteen other Afghans whose Tribunals had determined they were not enemy combatants.
The Associated Press
reported that their release ceremony was addressed by Afghan Chief Justice Fazl Hadi Shinwari.
Carlotta Gall
of the New York Times reported that the Chief Justice encouraged the men to regard their detention as something sent from God.
The reports stated that the Chief Justice warned the cleared men that a candid description of their detention could damage the chances of other Afghan captives to be released.
Abdul Rahim Muslimdost was one of the three captives who chose to address the Press.
Carlotta Gall described him as openly disagreeing with the Chief Justice as to whether any Afghans should have been sent to Guantanamo:
Both reports quoted Chief Justice Fazil Hadi Shinwari distinguishing three categories of captives:
news agency Xinhua reported that Muslimdost had been arrested by Pakistani officials.
The article quotes Muslimdost's brother, who linked the arrest to criticisms of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate
's role in the capture of Guantanamo detainees.
Muslimdost's brother said he was arrested while leaving his Mosque.
Local Peshawar
Police Superintendent Iftikhar Khan
denied any knowledge of Muslimdost's arrest.
But he acknowledged Inter-Services Intelligence officials may have executed a covert arrest.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
journalist and jeweller who was held in extrajudicial detention
Extrajudicial detention
Arbitrary or extrajudicial detention is the detention of individuals by a state, without ever laying formal charges against them.Although it has a long history of legitimate use in wartime , detention without charge, sometimes in secret, has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian states...
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...
.
His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 561.
Muslimdost and his brother were captured on November 17, 2001, and later released on 17 April 2005 with no charges held against him.
He has been noted for his poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
still detained by the American government and the lengths he went through to record it, ranging from scratching with a spoon onto polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
teacups to using rubbery pens, and has received much esteem in this regard. His account on his stay at Guantanamo, The Broken Chains, is currently being translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
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...
the allegations against Muslimdost, in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
, he was a member of an Islamic militant group, and served as a contact between that group and Al Qaeda.
Muslimdost acknowledged being a member of the militant group, but said he joined long ago, during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Muslimdost's brother was also a journalist; was also a held in extrajudicial detention in Guantanamo; was also released by the Americans following his Tribunal. Their presence in Guantanamo was discussed in the press prior the Department of Defense released the official list of detainee identities.
Determined not to have been an Enemy Combatant
Abdul Rahim Muslimdostwas one of the 38 captives the Bush Presidency determined had not been enemy combatants after all.
The Department of Defense refers to these men as No Longer Enemy Combatants.
Abdul Rahim Muslimdost was freed on April 20, 2005 with sixteen other Afghans whose Tribunals had determined they were not enemy combatants.
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...
reported that their release ceremony was addressed by Afghan Chief Justice Fazl Hadi Shinwari.
Carlotta Gall
Carlotta Gall
Carlotta Gall is a British journalist who covers Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan for The New York Times.Carlotta Gall is a daughter of the British journalist Sandy Gall and Eleanor Gall. She was educated in England and read Russian and French at Newnham College, Cambridge...
of the New York Times reported that the Chief Justice encouraged the men to regard their detention as something sent from God.
The reports stated that the Chief Justice warned the cleared men that a candid description of their detention could damage the chances of other Afghan captives to be released.
|
Abdul Rahim Muslimdost was one of the three captives who chose to address the Press.
Carlotta Gall described him as openly disagreeing with the Chief Justice as to whether any Afghans should have been sent to Guantanamo:
|
Both reports quoted Chief Justice Fazil Hadi Shinwari distinguishing three categories of captives:
|
September 2006 arrest
On September 30, 2006 the ChineseChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
news agency Xinhua reported that Muslimdost had been arrested by Pakistani officials.
The article quotes Muslimdost's brother, who linked the arrest to criticisms of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
's role in the capture of Guantanamo detainees.
Muslimdost's brother said he was arrested while leaving his Mosque.
Local Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
Police Superintendent Iftikhar Khan
Iftikhar Khan
Major General Muhammed Iftikhar Khan was an officer inherited by the Pakistan Army from British India. He had been nominated to become the first local Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Army after General Douglas David Gracey's retirement...
denied any knowledge of Muslimdost's arrest.
But he acknowledged Inter-Services Intelligence officials may have executed a covert arrest.
External links
- VIDEO: ANDREW MOTION READS POEMS FROM GUANTÁNAMO
- In a Jail in Cuba Beat the Heart of a Poet: Afghan, Now Freed by U.S., Scribbled on Paper Cups but Never Stopped Writing, Washington Post, April 24, 2005
- Ex-inmates share Guantanamo ordeal, 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...
, May 2, 2005 - Dismay at US Koran 'desecration', 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...
, May 8, 2005 - Writing poetry was the balm that kept Guantanamo prisoners from going mad: Former inmates say they wrote thousands of lines, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, July 17, 2005