The United States delivered 20 prisoners to Camp X-Ray at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps on January 11, 2002.[1] A week after their arrival aboard a C-141 which had taken the detainees off their original C-17 Globemaster III,[2] President George W. Bush announced that they would not be treated as Prisoners of War, but "enemy combatants".[1]
The United States has refused to give the identity of the prisoners brought to the camp in its first month of operation,[3] who were identified by Rumsfeld as "the worst of the worst".[4]
Undersecretary of Defense Jed Babbin and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers clarified that these twenty men were being held in such draconian standards because they were "so extreme, so fanatical, that they would literally chew the hydraulic cables apart in the back of a cargo plane simply so it would crash".[5][6]
They were changed out of their blue jumpsuits, shaved "from head to toe",[7] and put into orange jumpsuits with blue masks and orange caps. As the plane taxied for take-off, tracer gunfire began tracking the northern section of the Kandahar airfield, but halted when Marines returned fire and two helicopters took off to engage the militants.[8] One of the 20 had to be sedated during the flight.[9]
On January 14, 30 prisoners arrived, bringing the total to 50 prisoners at Guantanamo.[10] On January 16, 30 prisoners arrived, bringing the total to 80 prisoners at that time.[11] Another 30 were scheduled to arrive on January 17.[12]
List edit
| Date | Detainee | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-01-12 | Zia Ul Shah | 0000-00-00 | A truck driver, he was told by his Tribunal to apply to the United Nations for help after his release. Released at an unknown date. |
| 2002-01-12 | Abdul Rahman Shalabi | Still held. | An alleged bodyguard for Osama bin Laden |
| 2002-01-12 | Fahed Nasser Mohamed | 2007-07-16 | A high school student who said he initially wanted to fight in Afghanistan until he realised the local Pathans practised un-Islamic rituals. Released after five years without charge. |
| 2002-01-12 | Gholam Ruhani | 2007-00-00 | A government driver, he was transferred to an Afghan prison after six years. |
| 2002-01-12 | David Hicks | 2007-05-20 | Australian who had traveled to fight in the Afghan Civil War, after five years of imprisonment, sentenced to seven months. |
| 2002-01-12 | Shabidzada Usman | 2007-05-09 | Poor and uneducated man sold to the Americans for a bounty. Held for five years before being released without charge.[13] |
| 2002-01-12 | Ali al-Bahlul | Convicted | A media relations colleague of Osama bin Laden. Convicted after less than an hour, sentenced to life imprisonment. |
| 2002-01-12 | Feroz Abbasi | 2005-01-25 | British man, quoted Malcolm X to his tribunal judge, "I am not anti-American and I did not come here to condemn America.. I came here to tell the truth and if the truth condemns America, then she stands condemned." Was released after three years without charge. |
| 2002-01-12 | Abdullah Gulam Rasoul | 2007-12-00 | A Taliban conscript arrested while sharing a car with an unnamed "Taliban leader". Released after nearly six years without charge. Allegedly then pressured Tehrik i Taliban to reduce focus on Pakistani government and look towards American presence in Afghanistan. |
| 2002-01-12 | Abdulah Alhamiri | 2008-08-01 | Served as an interpreter for a medical doctor. Repatriated after seven years without charge.[14] |
| 2002-01-12 | Muhammed al-Zayla | 0000-00-00 | Saudi who fought against the Afghan Northern Alliance, before surrendering to Pakistani Army. Released after nearly five years without charge. |
| 2002-01-16 | Omar Rajab Amin | 2007-11-09 | Kuwaiti graduate of the University of Nebraska, released without charge and local courts upheld his innocence.[15] |
| 2002-01-12 | Abdullah Muhammed Abdel Aziz | Saudi who joined Taliban convoys of fighters prior to the Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif | |
| 2002-01-00 | Sha Mohammed Alikhel | 2003-05-09 | Baker with four suicide attempts before being released without charge.[16] |
| 2002-01-16 | Yousef al-Shehri | 2007-11-09 | 13 years old at capture, released after nearly six years without charge.[17] |
| 2002-01-12 | Mishal Awad Sayaf Alhabri | 2005-07-20 | Saudi cabdriver who suffered brain trauma in Guantanamo, and was released in a wheelchair after three years without charge.[18] |
| 2002-01-12 | Abdullah Muhammed Abdel Aziz | 2007-11-09 | Saudi who joined Taliban convoys of fighters prior to the Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif |
| 2002-01-12 | Abdullah Muhammed Abdel Aziz | 2007-11-09 | Saudi who joined Taliban convoys of fighters prior to the Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif |
| 2002-01-12 | Abdullah Muhammed Abdel Aziz | 2007-11-09 | Saudi who joined Taliban convoys of fighters prior to the Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif |
References edit
- ^ a b c Washington Post, Guantanamo Timeline
- ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/01/10/ret.afghan.detainees/index.html
- ^ Rosenberg, Carol. "Photo Reverberates 6 Years Later’, Miami Herald, January 11, 2008.
- ^ New York Times, Some Guantanamo prisoners will be freed, Rumsfeld says, October 2002
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/programmes/newsnight/archive/2524241.stm
- ^ CNN, Pentagon calls detainees dangerous, January 12, 2002
- ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/01/11/ret.detainee.transfer/index.html
- ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/01/10/ret.afghan.detainees/index.html
- ^ San Antonio Express, "Afghanistan war captives reach Guantanamo BayAt least one kept sedated for long flight", January 12, 2002
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/bal-te.bombing14jan14,1,5118439.story
- ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/01/16/ret.frontlines.facts/index.html
- ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,43248,00.html
- ^ Mark Bowden (2008-09-21). "The Point: Disturbing line Palin tossed off in address". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2009-01-05. mirror
- ^ H. Candace Gorman (2008-08-15). "7/28/08 Transfers updated". Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ^
"Kuwait clears two former Guantánamo captives". Miami Herald. May. 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Threats And Responses: Captives; Tales Of Despair From Guantánamo - New York Times
- ^ Amnesty International, Youth among first detainees at Guantanamo, February 23, 2007
- ^ Faiza Saleh Ambah (Sunday, March 11 2007). "Episode at Guantanamo Leaves Family at a Loss". Washington Post.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)