Adel Hamad's Story
Accusations and Rebuttals: The Case Against Hamad
Adel Hamad has never been accused of a belligerent act against the United States. Despite not being captured on a battlefield (Mr. Hamad was arrested in the middle of the night from his bed) the U.S. nevertheless categorized him as an enemy combatant. Below are the 3 allegations that the administrative tribunal uses to justify Mr. Hamad's continued detention. There is little logical consistency to these allegations as you will discover when you read the rebuttals following each one.
Accusations
1)The hospital Adel Hamad worked for was run by a charity (World Assembly of Muslim Youth or WAMY) that may support "terrorist ideals"
Adel Hamad's job at the Afghani hospital involved buying food for the hospital and writing vouchers. Later in the district office of WAMY in Pakistan he was responsible for getting relief supplies (food, clothing, blankets) for the Afghan refugees coming across the border.
At Adel Hamad's administrative review tribunal at Guantanamo he denies that WAMY is a terrorist organization and poses an important question: If you truly believe WAMY is a terrorist organization why are you arresting a simple employee rather than the president of the charity or the people who support it financially?
The U.S. Army Major, who dissented in his case, concurred: "Even if elements of certain NGOs provide support to terrorist ideals and causes that is insufficient to declare an employee of said NGO an enemy combatant; to do so would lead to unconscionable results: one would have to declare all physicians, nurses and aid workers of any suspect NGO as enemy combatants; the ramifications of such logic would lead to unforeseen and unconscionable results."
→ CloseArticle 20 of the 4th Geneva Convention states: Persons regularly and solely engaged in the operation and administration of civilian hospitals, including the personnel engaged in the search for, removal, and transporting of and caring for wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and maternity cases, shall be respected and protected.
WAMY is not a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) according to the State Department's own watch list.
WAMY worked regularly with the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Food Program.
In fact, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees wrote: "UNHCR wishes to express gratitude and appreciation to WAMY for the humanitarian assistance, most notably, the commendable primary health care it provided to the Afghan refugees in Old Bagzai camp, Kurram Tribal Agency."
2)In the course of his work with refugees Adel Hamad may have come into contact with Al-Qaeda or Taliban members
The dissenting Army Major in Adel Hamad's Administrative Review at Guantanamo states: "The fallacy of logic that seeks to classify Hamad as an enemy combatant because he may have come in contact with al Qaeda member in the course of providing aid to refugees, or teaching at a school, would also provide support that a local merchant who 'came in contact' with al Qaeda members could be detained as an enemy combatant."
→ CloseAdel Hamad's own words: "If I was a criminal, with association to those criminals, why would I return to Pakistan knowing that the Pakistani intelligence was arresting al Qaeda members?"
According to doctors who worked at the same WAMY hospital in Afghanistan as Hamad, this hospital was in an area where the Taliban had very little influence. The area was supported by powerful local tribal leaders which prevented the Taliban from having much control over the hospital. In fact, one of the doctors, Dr. Sailani, transferred to that hospital for that very reason because the Taliban was enforcing strict rules of how one could cut their hair at other hospitals.
Interviews with Dr. Sailani, and Dr Roghman (both WAMY hospital physicians) and Dr Najib (the hospital director and general surgeon) reveal that Hamad never spoke about politics, that there was no anti-American activity at the hospital and that Hamad did not have contacts outside the hospital grounds.
3)Adel Hamad is an Enemy Combatant
Adel Hamad was not captured on a battlefield. Instead he was arrested in the middle of the night from his own home. He had a valid passport and work visa and Pakistani intelligence found nothing incriminating in his place of residence.
No allegations have been made against Adel Hamad that he engaged in terrorism, acts supporting terrorists, violence against the United States or any belligerent act.
Interviews with his employers, his colleagues, his brother-in-law, and his landlord all describe Adel Hamad as a family man with a good sense of humor, a man who never spoke of politics, who was not a radical or an extremist.
→ CloseThe dissenting Army Major in Adel Hassan's case states that the U.S. government failed to provide sufficient evidence that Hamad was an enemy combatant, that there was no evidence that he supported al Qaeda, and that the mere possibility that he may have had contact with al Qaeda members through his work with refugees. "Simply stated, even assuming all the allegations are accurate the detainee has constructively been denied his right to prepare and participate in the Tribunal. The Detainee could not prepare for an overall allegation that he is an enemy combatant when the supporting allegations do not even qualify him as an enemy combatant.
An enemy combatant is, by definition, someone who supported al Qaeda or Taliban forces; someone committing a belligerent act or supporting hostilities in aid of enemy forces.
Adel Hamad's own words: "I hate them [al Qaeda] and I pray to God not to let people among the Muslims carry their ideas."
