Report: Profiles of Ten Guantanamo Refugees

Adel Noori is a Chinese Uyghur, a Muslim minority from East Turkestan, the Uyghur homeland in far western China. Adel Noori had been well-connected to the literary and progressive political movements in East Turkestan, his friends suffered arrest and imprisonment in China because of their intellectual pursuits, and Adel is wanted in China for “political crimes” because of his involvement in a political demonstration. He was living in a house in Kabul when forced to flee the war only to fall into the arms of bounty-hunters.

Ali Mohammed is a Chinese Uyghur, a Muslim minority from East Turkestan, the Uyghur homeland in far western China. Ali and other Uyghurs fled for safety from a Uyghur village in Afghanistan after the bombing campaign began, and were turned over to the United States by bounty-hunters. Five among them were classified as non-enemy combatants and, years later, released to Albania; seventeen remain in Guantánamo today. Ali himself was classified as a non-enemy combatant before being ordered to undergo a second Combatant Status Review Tribunal in an effort to secure “consistency” in outcomes.

Maher Refaat Al-Khawary (Maher El-Falesteny), a stateless Palestinean without identification papers or official status in any country. Maher left Jordan to seek refugee papers to allow him to travel freely with his family, but he was captured by villagers in Afghanistan, and transferred to the Northern Alliance soldiers who beat him brutally and then likely sold him to the U.S. forces seeking a bounty.

Abdul Sabour fled China seeking a better life. He was living in a Uyghur village in Afghanistan when he and seventeen others were forced to flee for safety after the U.S. bombing campaign began in Afghanistan. All eighteen were turned over to the United States by bounty-hunters. Five among them were classified as non-enemy combatants and, years later, released to Albania. Though his circumstances are virtually identical to those classified as non-enemy combatants, Abdul was classified in his CSRT as an enemy combatant. Though he has long ago been cleared for release, he remains in Guantánamo today.

Oybek Jamoldinivich Jabbarov is an Uzbek refugee who had been living with his pregnant wife, infant son and elderly mother in northern Afghanistan when fighting broke out. He separated from his family to seek a safe place for them all. However, when he accepted a ride from Northern Alliance solidiers, he was driven to Bagram Air Base and transferred to U.S. forces, likely for a sizable bounty. In Guantánamo, Oybek was subjected to interrogations by Uzbek interrogators even though Uzbekistan is one of the most notorious countries in the world for its use of torture against prisoners.

Bahityar Mahnut is a Chinese Uyghur, a Muslim minority from East Turkestan, the Uyghur homeland in far western China. Bahityar and other Uyghurs fled for safety from a Uyghur village in Afghanistan after the bombing campaign began, and were turned over to the United States by bounty-hunters. Five among them were classified as non-enemy combatants and, years later, released to Albania; seventeen remain in Guantánamo today.

Abdul Aziz Naji describes his situation as “dancing between fires.” If he were returned to Algeria, he would face threats to his life and safety from both the Algerian government and from fundamentalist insurgents. He was brought to Guantánamo as the victim of a Pakistani house raid in the chaotic aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Yet, he remains in Guantánamo because no country will advocate for his release.

Ravil Mingazov left Russia because of religious intolerance and persecution by the Russian intelligence and military services. He fled in search of a new home that would be tolerant of his faith and hospitable to his family. Instead, he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and has since endured years of abuse at the hands of the U.S. government. After more than six years of unjust imprisonment, Ravil still desires the one thing that led him to leave Russia in the first place: a new home state that will be tolerant of his religion and where he can safely live with his family.

Houzaifa Parhat fled China seeking a better life. He was living in a Uyghur village in Afghanistan when he and seventeen others were forced to flee for safety after the U.S. bombing campaign began in Afghanistan. All eighteen were turned over to the United States by bounty-hunters. Five among them were classified as non-enemy combatants and, years later, released to Albania. Though his circumstances are virtually identical to those classified as non-enemy combatants, Huzaifa was classified in his CSRT as an enemy combatant. Though he has long ago been cleared for release, he remains in Guantánamo today.

Photo credits, from top: Center for Constitutional Rights and the Afghan Human Rights Organization; shapeshift@flickr.com; Department of Defense; gak@flickr.com; Roman Milert@Fotolia; Clemson@flickr.com; couterclockwise@flickr.com; verymissberry@flickr.com; dwrawlinson@flickr.com; rutty@flickr.com