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UNCLASSIFIED//FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

CA: This Periodic Review Board is being conducted at 0 9 08 hours

on June 26, 2018, wi t h rega rd t o t he following detainee: Ha roon al -

A ghani, IS 31 48.

As a reminder, t he unclassified p ortions of t hese p roceed ings

a re being recordec f or t he purpose o f generat ing a ·_r a nscrip ~ _o b e

os t e on he PRS webs i t e.

TRA S 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVE]

CA: Rep resen a t ives from he f o l lowing agencies are p resent a nd

are members of _he Board :

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE;

DEPARTMENT OF STATE;

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE;

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY;

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE; and

OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS

The following p ersonnel are also p resent:

LEGAL ADVISOR TO THE BOARD;

CASE ADMINISTRATORS;

PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE;

PRIVATE COUNSEL;

TWO TRANSLATORS;

THE DETAINEE; and,

1 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

OF STAFF.

the


SECURITY OFFICER.

TR.I\ S 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVEj

CA: The aetainee' s Pers ona l Rep resenta ive, Privat e Couns el,

he d e tainee, a n d one t r a nslat or a re locat e d at t he de t e nt i on

f aci lit y, .s. ava l Stat ion Gu a n a n a mo Ba y, Cub a . They are

attend i n g v i a v i d eo t eleconfere n ce and he d e t a i n e e wa i v e d

t r ans l a l on o f t h e u ncl a ss i f ied summary a n d Pers on a l Re p r e sen tat i ve

a n d Private Counsel's opening s tat ement s. These d ocument s h ave b een

pos t e d o t he Period ic Rev iew Secretariat we b sit e. This se s sion i s

bein g observ e d by foreign, n at iona l a n d loca l med i a ; a n d

re resentatives from non- governmen t a l orga niz a tio n s .


PM: This Boa r d i s convened t o d e t e r mine wh ether cont i n ued 1 - w

of wa r d e t ent ion is wa r ran t e d fo r Haroon a l · Afgh a ni , IS 3 1 48, to

p rot ect a g a ins t a cont inuing signi f ica n t t hreat t o t he s ecur i ty o f

t he nit e d St at e s . From here on forwa r d , will r efe r t o t h e deta i nee

a s Ha roon . Th i s session of _he he a r i n g is unclass l f ied .


PM: Ha roon , t his is your Per iod ic Rev i ew Board t o d e t ermin e

whet her cont inu e d l aw of wa r d e e n t i o n i s warra n e d i n y o u r case .

Cont inu e d l a w o f wa r d e t ent ion will b e warr a n t e d i f it i s n ece s s a ry

t o p rot ect a g a ins t a continuing s ign ifica nt .hreat ·_o t he n a. iona l



securit y of t he nit e d Stat e s . The f oc us o f t his hea ring i s on t he

t hreat you may p ose to t he United States and i t s int erest s if

r ans f erred or releas e d f rom U.S. cu s ~ ody . I t is no on . he

l a wf uln ess of your detention.

IRA S 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVE ]

PM: The Persona l Rep resentat i ve a nd Priv a t e Couns el are y ou r

represen at i ves o ass i st you dur i ng t hi s p roces s . Fi n a lly , t he

translators ensure t hat everyone understand s your s tat ements a nd t hat

you unders t and is wh at is being said during t he hea ring .

TRi\ S 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVE]

PM: Persona l Rep resent a tive and Private Counsel, h a s t he

de ta inee h ad an opportunity t o review t he unclas sified s umma ry?

IRA S 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVE ]

PC: Yes, sir.

PM: Tha n k you. I will now read t he unclas si f ied summa r y :

Ha roon a l - Afgh ani (IS 31 48) was a Hezb - e Isla rni Gulb uddin

(HIG) comma nder who o r g a nlzed a nd led a tac k s on coa lition f orces i n

Afgh a nistan and se rve d as an in.er mediar y be~ween he senior a l -

Qa' i da membe rs a nd o t her a n i coa li ion f ighters .

IRAS 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVE]



PM: Do Persona l Rep resentativ e a nd Private Counsel wish t o make

uncla ssified opening s t atement s at t his time?

TRA S 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVE ]

PC: Yes, sir.

PR: Yes sir.

PM: I' d like t o remind a ll par i cipants hat a ny informa_ ion

sha red a t his t ime mus t e unclas si f ied . I f here ' s a c oncern abou· _

the cla ss ificat ion of t he informat ion, I will ind icate s uch a nd s t op

t he p roceedings unt il we resolve t his issue. Ha s the d e tainee h ad

t he opport unity to rev iew your s tatements?


PR: Yes, sir.

PC: Yes, sir.

PM: Persona l Rep resentat ive, p lea se p roc e ed t hen.

PR: Honorab le Boa r d Members, t h a n k you for t his opport unit y t o

meet wi t h you t oday in an e f for t t o gain your appr ova l for Ha roon a l -

Afgh a n i Gul's r elea s e and repat riat ion. Haroon con· i n ues t o b e a

well- b ehave d d e tainee. He cont inues t o take a jvantage o f t he cla s ses

offered he r e a t Guantan a mo where he improves his s ills in a r t ,

English, compu t ers a nd li f e s k ills.

As noted dur i ng p rior r eviews a nd hea rings , Haroon h a s severa l

i de a s f or businesses t hat could support him a nd his f amily . One o f



t hese pro'ects is a honey farm, another is an Arabic ba ery,

specializing in b reads and sweets, and a third is an idea for a 'oint

school p ro'ect t ha he would like o introduce in Afghanis tan . In

addition to these pro j ects, Haroon speaks seven language s (Pashtu,

Arabic, Dari, rdu, Farsi, English and Spanish) and could ge a 'ob

as a r a nsla .or or t our guide . He is also willing o take a 'ob as a

taxi or t ruc k driver and will look at any j ob t hat will enable him to

support his family. With the support and assistance of Rep rieve

hrough t heir Life After Guant a n amo Pro'ect , we feel tha Haroon

would find gainful emp loyment wi t h litt le or no d ifficul .y ,

regard less of where he is released .

Haroon wants nothing more than t o p rovide for his family and

raise his da ughter in a s afe environment where she c a n continue her

educat ion. He f eels i t is vital for her to be self - su f icient and to

be able t o choose her own husband when the time is right.

Haroon is here today and knows that t he board has questions, he

is prepared o answer all uestions and p rove t o you t h a . he is not a

.hreat t o t he safety and securi .y of .he ni e d ... ni .ed St a · es, nor

t o any nation.

Than you for your time and consideration in his ma· t er. We are

s anding by to a nswer any questions you may have.



PM: Than k you. Private Counsel, you may proceed with your

unclassified opening statement.

TRA S 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVE}

PC: ear Period ic Review Board Members, my name is Shelb y

Sullivan- Bennis and it is my privilege .o rep resen. Haroon " a l -

Afghani" Gul in .his proceeding. I wri t e his s.at ement .od ay,

eleven years and four mont hs a f t er Ha roon was c aptured - not on a

battlefield, or fighting at a ll, b ut ostensibly for his a lleged

association wi t h a group t hat is now at peace wi t h the Afghan

government.

Haroon spent over nine year s in .s. custod y without ever being

given a ccess to counsel despite multiple documentea attempts to

retain it. With neither counsel nor lega l c ase, those were nine long

years lived wi t hout a ny understanding of t he allegations against him

beyond the one ... the one p aragraph summary p rovided t o him bac in

2008. As his cou nsel today, I h ave no reason to be lieve t hat the

government h a s any int ention of charging wit h a crime ... him with a

crime in a mili t ary commi ssion p roceeding or in a ny o t her.

In light of t he Trump Adminis tra ion's clear policy against t he

relea se o f Guantan amo Bay d e tainees who h ave b een appr ove d for

ransfer by t he Period ic Review Board p rocess, I h ave advised Haroon

agains t answering any bac kward- look ing questions in t his Full Rev iew.



This advice takes into account ma ny fac t ors - all of which s t em f r om

recent a ction (a nd inaction) on t he part of t he Execut ive. It makes ...

i takes no mathemat ica l p rowess t o det ermine t hi s pas t ye ar' s r a_ e

of a f f irmative determinations in the PRB p rocess: 0%. Coincid e d wi t h

t he ina ugurat ion o f t he t hen Presid e n - e lect who d e c l a red t h at he

wou l d " absolut ely aut horize " t o r_ u r e .echn i q ue s for peop le such a s

Ha roon . Lat er a ssert ing t h a "there should b e no f urt her r elea ses

f rom Gitmo ."

As you we l l know, t he Administ rat ion h a s a l s o closed t he Off ice

of t he Special Env oy for Gu a nt an amo Closure in b ot h t he State and

Defense De pa r t ment s , whi c h, among ot her p riorities, was p revious l y

taske d with d r a fting and negotiat ing d i p lomat ic agreement s wi t h

na tions r e ceiving clea red d e taihees. - Whi l e a t fi r s t t he cha nge

seemed t o take hold in n ame a lon e, i t soon became clea r t h at former

employe e s o f t hat o ffi ce (suddenly d i sbursed t hroughout t he State

De par t ment ) were not a u t horized t o negotiate such d e a l s , d i d n ot

resp ond t o i nq u iries f r om c ou nt r y des ks as o he s.atus of _heir

c lea red nat iona ls, and even u a lly , t he Trump S .ate Dep ar_me nt went a s

fa r as t o d emote a nd d i s mi s s f o r me r Envo y 's Offi ce s t aff, f orb i dding

t hem t o work on former de tainee affairs a l t oge.her.

Fur he r cemen i ng h at pad1 i s --a court f iling made by t he

Depar t ment o f J us t ice in resp ons e t o a Janua ry 18t h c ourt order



requiring the Government to address "whether [it ] intends to t ransfer

t he Petitioners p reviously designated for transfer by the Tas k Force

and/ or PRB." The Government' s res ponse, filed Feb ruary 16, 2008

[sic] in t he consolidat ed cases o f eight curren de tainees, contained

no plans for release of current __ currently cleared men. Moreover ,

.here was no indication whatsoever that e ff o r t s o nego i at e t he

t rans fe r of such designated men have , in t he pas year, a r e

current ly, or p lan to b e under way.

I t is with this knowledge--t hat now, not only is an affirmat i ve

de t erminat ion by the PRB solely a 11 recommendat ion" that d oes "not

b ind " the Executive, but one that is received b y a n administration

that has removed all p ractical v a lue from such a clea rance--that my

advice rega r d ing part icipat ion is given.

With all due res pect for your ef f orts to continue wi t h t he 'ob

wi t h which you were tas ke d , we hop e t hat you unders_and t he p osit ion

creat e d by t he aforementioned facts and where t h a t leaves us

p resent ly. Iha s a i d , he decision regarding t he manner in which he

participa.es is and will remain Haroon's t o ma e.

I am p roud t o s ay t hat Haroon has used his d ecad e in .s.

cus t ody as wisely as one could : he learns . You h ave seen multip le

hund red page business p rop os a ls r a nging from a honey b ee farm t o a

bakery; now Haroon h a s focused his attention and t ime on t he worthy



t op ic of t he e ducat ion s ystem in Afghanis t an. Haroon is fully

capa b le of supp ort ing himsel f p ost - release, wit h five l a nguages a nd a

een sense of ent rep reneurship under his bel ; i g oes wi . h ou saying

tha t Rep riev e will b e behind him e ve ry s t e p o f t he way, making hi s

t r ansi t ion easier , as we h a ve f or s o ma n y b e f o re him t h r ough our

funded Li f e a ft er Guan a namo p ro'ect . His famil y remains read y a nd

availab le t o a ssis · him, in he unlikely e vent .ha he requires t hei r

support , a s their s tatement s make clear. Ha roon is inarguab ly one of

t he mos t poli t ically in f ormed and socially liberal men in Gua ntan amo

today a nd I see no ind icat ion tha t hi s b ehavior or s t a t ements over

the las t decad e contradict that a ssert ion. If t his review i s

intend e d to b e a true evalua tion of t he threa t he p oses tod ay, as

oppos e d t o a f orum f or confe s sion t o a ll of t he a llegat ion s that t he

government believes to b e true, I see no rea son t hat t his hea ring

wou l d not result i n a posit i ve d e t ermination. Thank you.

PM: Bo a r d Members may res e rve quest ions unt il de ta i nee a nd

witnes s s a .ement s h a ve been p r ese n .ed in heir e nt ire y . Does

a n yone have a q ues ion at t his t ime?

TRA S 1: [TRANSLATION OF ABOVE ]

PM: Wi h no q ues t i ons , t his c oncludes t his p ort i on o f .he

hearing. I a s k t hat all remain seat e d unt il fur t he r ins t ruct e d by

t he Ca se Administrator.




CA: Okay, we will take a 15- minute recess to prepare for the

remaining sessions.


[The public session closed at 0924, 26 June 2018.]

[END OF PAGE]

18 -UNCLASSIFIED//FOR PUBLIC RELEASE


ABBREVIATION AND ACRONYM KEY

BM: BOARD MEMBER

CA: CASE ADMI ISTRATOR

DET: DETAI EE

PC: PRIVATE COU SEL

PM: PRESI DI G MEMBER

PR: PERSONAL REPRESE TATIVE

TRANS 1: TRM SLATOR 0 E (LOCATED AT PRS HQ)

TRA S 2: TRA SLATOR TWO (LOCATED AT GUA TA AMO BAY)


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