Akhdar Qasem Basit

Infobox WoT detainees
subject_name = Akhdar Qasem Basit

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image_size =
image_caption =
date_of_birth = Birth date|1973|11|04
place_of_birth = Ghulja, China
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
detained_at = Guantanamo
id_number = 276
group =
alias =
charge = no charge, held in extrajudicial detention
penalty =
status = Transferred to an Albanian refugee camp.
occupation =
spouse =
parents =
children =

Akhdar Qasem Basit is a citizen of China, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf
title=List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=May 15 2006
accessdate=2007-09-29] His Guantanamo Internee Security Number is 276.
Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts report Basit was born on November 14 1973, in Ghulja, China.

Basit is one of approximately two dozen detainees from the Uyghur ethnic group. [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/FK04Ad02.html China's Uighurs trapped at Guantanamo] , "Asia Times", November 4 2004]

Identity

*Captive 276 was identified as Akhadar Qasem in the .cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/publicly_filed_CSRT_records_1731-1808.pdf#28
title=Information paper: Uighur Detainee Population at JTF-GTMO
date=30 October 2004
pages=pages 28-34
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2007-12-19]
*Captive 276 was identified as Akhdar Qasem Basit on the Summary of Evidence memo prepared for his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 12 November 2004.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000300-000399.pdf#17
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Basit, Akhdar Qasem
date=12 November 2004
page=page 17
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-04-16]

:

The information paper also identified him as "Akhadar Qasem".

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

] Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed.cite web
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=3902
title=Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials
publisher=United States Department of Defense
date=March 6 2007
accessdate=2007-09-22] ]

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 a 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.

CSRT-Yescite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000300-000399.pdf#17
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Basit, Akhdar Qasem
date=12 November 2004
page=page 17
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-04-16]

:"'a. The detainee is associated with the Al Qaida and the Taliban::#The detainee, in August 2001, departed China for Kyrgyzstan, to Islamabad, Pakistan, continued to Jalalabad, Afghanistan and to Tora Bora, Afghanistan.:#The detainee was at the Uighur training camp in Tora Bora, Afghanistan.:#The detainee received training on the AK-47 assault rifle at Uigher training camp in Tora Bora, Afghanistan.:#The detainee received training on the PK machine gun and military tactics at a Uigher training camp.:#The training camp was provided to the Uighers by the Taliban.:#The ETIM operated facilities in the Tora Bora region Afghanistan in which Uigher expatriates underwent small arms training. These camps were funded by Bin Laden and the Taliban.

:"'b. The detainee participated in military operations against the United States and its coalition partners.:#The detainee fled, along with others, when the United States forces bombed their camp.:#The detainee was captured in Pakistan, along with other Uigher fighters.

Transcript

Basit chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.cite web
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/Set_16_1363-1446.pdf#1
title=Summarized Statement
date=date redacted
pages=pages 1-6
author=OARDEC
publisher=United States Department of Defense
accessdate=2008-04-16] On March 3 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a six page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.cite news
url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/US-releases-Guantanamo-files/2006/04/04/1143916500334.html
title=US releases Guantanamo files
publisher=The Age
date=April 4, 2006
accessdate=2008-03-15
quote=]

Testimony

* Basit confirmed he received training on the AK-47, during which he fired three or four bullets.
* Basit stated that there wasn't much time for marksmanship lessons, because they were so busy doing construction work.
* Basit stated the [American aerial bombardment followed shortly after his arrival.
* Basit stated that he was directed to the camp by a Uyghur he met in Kyryzstan.
* Basit stated he didn't meet any Arabs in Afghanistan.

Determined not to have been an Enemy Combatant

The Washington Post reports that Basit was one of 38 detainees who was determined not to have been an enemy combatant during his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. [http://projects.washingtonpost.com/guantanamo/nlec/ Guantanamo Bay Detainees Classifed as "No Longer Enemy Combatants"] , "Washington Post"] cite news
url=http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2008/03/27/20/NLEC_DetaineeList.source.prod_affiliate.56.pdf
title=Detainees Found to No Longer Meet the Definition of "Enemy Combatant" during Combatant Status Review Tribunals Held at Guantanamo
publisher=United States Department of Defense
author=
date=November 19, 2007
accessdate=2008-04-15
quote=] The Department of Defense refers to these men as No Longer Enemy Combatants.

Press reports

On June 8 2007, in an interview in the Dallas Star-Telegram Basit described his health deteriorating in his Albanian refugee camp.cite news
url=http://www.star-telegram.com/279/story/129720.html
title=Freedom proves bitter for released detainee
author=Matthew Schofield
publisher=Dallas Star-Telegram
accessdate=2007-6-8]

On June 15 2008 the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Akhdar Qasem Basit. cite news
url=http://services.mcclatchyinteractive.com/detainees?page=2
title=Guantanamo Inmate Database: Page 2
publisher=McClatchy News Service
author=Tom Lasseter
date=June 15 2008
accessdate=2008-06-16
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fservices.mcclatchyinteractive.com%2Fdetainees%3Fpage%3D2&date=2008-06-18 mirror] ] cite news
url=http://detainees.mcclatchydc.com/detainees/22
title=Guantanamo Inmate Database: Akhdar Qasem Basit
publisher=McClatchy News Service
author=Tom Lasseter
date=June 15 2008
accessdate=2008-06-16
quote= [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdetainees.mcclatchydc.com%2Fdetainees%2F22&date=2008-08-01 mirror] ] The McClatchy interviews confirms the reports his health is failing::

References