Abdallah Tohtasinovich Magrupov: Difference between revisions

Abdallah Tohtasinovich Magrupov
Detained at	Guantanamo
ISN	528
Charge(s)	No charge (held in extrajudicial detention)
Status	Released

Abdullah Tohtasinovich Magrupov is a citizen of Kazakhstan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 528. The Department of Defense reports he was born in Semey, Kazakhstan, on May 14, 1983.

Abdullah Tohtasinovich Magrupov was captured in Afghanistan in December 2001 and transferred to Kazakhstan on December 15, 2006.

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held in a trailer the size of a large RV. The captive sat on a plastic garden chair, with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor. Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.

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 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.

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdullah Tohtasinovich Magrupov's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 22 December 2004. The memo listed the following allegations against him:

a. The detainee is associated with the Taliban or al Qaida.

1. The detainee traveled from Semey, Kazakhstan, to Islamabad, Pakistan, in August 2001.
2. The detainee stayed at various madrassas during his travels around Pakistan.
3. The detainee admitted that he stayed at a house in Kabul, Afghanistan, that was owned by the Taliban.
4. The detainee stayed with two individuals in Kabul, Afghanistan, who worked as cooks for the Taliban.
5. The detainee, as well as those he was arrested with, had a cover story regarding their recruitment at a mosque in Kazakhstan.
6. The detainee was in Afghanistan when the United States bombing campaign began.
7. The detainee was captured by the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (UIFSA) and turned over to U.S. custody in December 2001.

Transcript

Magrupov chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a five page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

Response to the allegations

• Magrupov said he had never heard of the town of Semey, he denied being from Semey.
• Magrupov acknowledged attending various madrassas in Pakistan.
• Magrupov acknowledged staying in a house in Kabul, but was not sure who it belonged to.
• Magrupov acknowledged having two companions in Kabul, but denied they worked for the Taliban.
• Magrupov denied having a prepared cover story.
• Magrupov acknowledged being present in Afghanistan when the us bombing campaign began. But he assured his Tribunal that if he had known hostilities were going to begin he would have chosen to be somewhere else.
• Magrupov denited being captured by the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, and said he had no idea what this organization was. He said a stranger offered him help, but locked him in a basement instead. Later he was handed over directly to the Americans.

Response to Tribunal questioning

• Magrupov said he finished ninth grade in Kazakhstan, and then attended a technical college for four years.
• His capture occurred when he was traveled to Pakistan to look into further schooling there. He arrived when the colleges he was interested in were not in session, and an acquaintance he made in Pakistan talked him into a side-trip to nearby Afghanistan.
• Magrupov testified he was only in Afghanistan for five days prior to his capture.
• The two languages Magrupov speaks are Uyghur and Russian.
• Magrupov denied ever receiving any military training.
• Magrupov denied ever carrying weapons while in Afghanistan.
• Magrupov confirmed he was carrying his passport when he was captured.
• Magrupov testified he was unaware of the attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001 when he traveled to Afghanistan.
• The only two people he knew whom he traveled with were his fellow villagers Yakup [sic] and Tulkon [sic].
• Magrupov testified that he and his companions were in the custody of his Afghan captors for approximately three months before he was handed over to the Americans—first in the basement, then in a huge container, then in a place like a barn.
• Magrupov testified he had not heard anything about the US bombing campaign prior to his capture.

Yakub Abahanov

The official list of Guantanamo detainees, released on May 15, 2006, lists both Magrupov and Yakub Abahanov as being born in Semey, Kazakhstan. Template:ARB

Summary of Evidence memo

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdullah Tohtasinovich Magrupov's Administrative Review Board, on 14 September 2005. The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

The following primary factors favor continued detention

a. Commitment

1. While attending the central mosque in Almaty the detainee met an individual named Nidzhan who suggested he should attend a madrassa in Pakistan. When the detainee decided to go to Pakistan, Nidzhan helped him with the arrangements.
2. The detainee stated that in August 2001, he left Almaty for Bishkek and from Bishkek he flew to Islamabad, Pakistan to study.
3. The detainee tried to enroll at the Faisal Mesjitt Islamic School but was told the classes were full.
4. After spending some time in Islamabad at a madrassa, the detainee traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and then back to Islamabad. He stayed at various madrassas in Pakistan.
5. Many madrassas are popping up all over Pakistan and becoming training grounds for extremists. The detainee belongs to the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Party/Movement [sic] (ETIP/ETIM).
6. The Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement [sic] (ETIM), a small Islamic extremist group, is one of the most militant of the ethnic Uighur [sic] separatist groups pursuing an independent "Eastern Turkistan".
7. The U.S. has acknowledged that some Uighurs [sic] have been found fighting with al Qaida in Afghanistan.

b. Connections/Associations

1. The detainee clarified that he lived in Kazil Shariq village, Kazakh region, Imbekchi, Altma Province, and admitted that Farkat Yuspov lived there and he knew him.
2. The detainee said he did not know if Yuspov was affiliated with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan [sic] (IMU).
3. Reporting indicates Yuspove was a senior member of the IMU who was responsible for recruiting and arranging travel for the detainee into Afghanistan.

c. Other Relevant Data

1. The detainee was told to give fake information in case people in Afghanistan planned to threaten their families in Kazakhstan to ensure cooperation.
2. The detainee claimed his sole tie with the Taliban was having stayed in a house in Kabul owned by the Taliban.

The following primary factors favor release or transfer

a.	The detainee denied any involvement with the Taliban or al Qaida. He also denied that he was somehow recruited as part of the jihad.
b.	The detainee stated that while in Afghanistan, he did not partake in any military activities, and he never committed any crime.

Board recommendations

In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official. The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on 17 December 2005.

Although his Assisting Military Officer reported to his Board on the pre-hearing interview with 528, and on the notes compiled from that meeting on the Enemy Combatant election form, during the unclassified session of the hearing, the Department of Defense has not released a transcript of the unclassified session.

Unredacted passages from his memos stated:

"(U) The EC was captured in connection with the conduct of combat or terrorist operations against the United States and its allies." "(U) Individual affiliations. The EC is known to have affiliations with individuals who themselves plan, or are members of organizations that plan, to carry out acts of terrorism or violence against the United States and its allies.

Release

The Associated Press reports that three of the four Kazakh detainees in Guantanamo were repatriated and set free. According to the Herald Magrupov, Ihlkham Battayev and Yakub Abahanov were the three released men.