Update Recommendation to Release or Transfer to the Control of Another Country (TR) for Guantanamo Detainee ISN US9AF-000826DP (S)

by Jay W. Hood

JTF GTMO-CG

S E C R E T // NOFORN // 20300513 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE JOINT TASK FORCE GUANTANAMO GUANTANAMO BAY. CUBA APO AE 09360

13 May 2005

MEMORANDUM FOR Commander, United States Southern Command, 3511 NW 91st Avenue, Miami, FL 33172.

SUBJECT: Update Recommendation or Transfer to the Control of Another Country to Release (TR) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN:US9AF-000826DP (S)

JTF GTMO Detainee Assessment

1.

(FOUO)Personal Information:

• JDIMS/NDRC Reference Name: Abdul Salaam
• Aliases and Current/True Name: Abdul Salam Ghulamjohn
• Place of Birth: Paktia. Afghanistan (AF)
• Date of Birth: 1 Januarv 1975
• Citizenship: Afghanistan
• Intemment Serial Number (ISN): US9AF-000826DP

2.

(FOUO) Health: Detainee is in good health,and has no known drug allergies. He has been seen for chronic low back pain, acid reflux, and constipation. Detainee is currently on Zantac and Metamucil. He has no travel restrictions.

3.

(S//NF)JTF GTMO Assessment:

a.

(S) Recommendation: JTF GTMO recommends be Released detainee or Transferred to the Control of Another Country (TR).

b.

(S/NF) Summary: JTF GTMO previously assessed detainee Retain in DoD (DoD) on 20 November 2003. For this update recommendation, detainee is assessed as not being a member of the Taliban and/or Al-Qaida's terrorist network. It was first assessed detainee was involved in money laundering operations, however, after reviewing all of the available documentation, nothing has been found to support this claim. It is highly probable detainee's statements that he and his family are honest business people,have no connections to the Taliban or Al Qaida, and have never transferred any money for or on behalf of the Taliban or Al Qaida are truthful. Detainee was suspected of laundering money through a system known as Hawala (money transfer system). It is a system where funds are moved around the world through a network of moneychangers operating on trust. It is also an ancient system through which thousands of dollars can be transferred without any formal paperwork and is therefore difficult to monitor. Through debriefings with relatives of detainee and other individuals who operated Hawalas in Pakistan (PK) and Afghanistan, it cannot be confirmed detainee was doing anything illegal. It is assessed this detainee is a LOW risk, as he is unlikely to pose a threat to the US, its interests and allies.

4.

(S//NF) Detainee Background Summary: Unless otherwise noted, the following paragraphs are based solely on the detainee's statements.

a.	(S) Prior History: Detainee has been working in a family business, which was started thirty years ago by his uncle, Shahmohd Khan (also called Shah Mohammed Jan), who now lives in Bermal, AF. The family business consisted of the Hawala (money exchange/forwarding business), telephone public call office business, and limited travel reservations. When detainee was approximately eight years old, he moved to Miram Shah, PK, to go to school. In Miram Shah, he lived with his uncle and cousin. While attending school, he helped his uncle by working in his textile store. In school,he studied Pashtu, Urdu and mathematics. Detainee attended school for six years. He remained in Miram Shah with his uncle for eleven more years. Detainee and his cousin opened a money transferring business they operated for nine years in Miram Shah. Detainee opened another money transferring business in Bermal, AF, with his brother, Haji Osman Khan (Osman), US9AF000818DP (ISN 818). When asked about the money transferring business, detainee finally admitted to transferring large amounts of money, the largest being, 2.5 million rupees, which equals to about 42 thousand US dollars.
b.	(S) Travel: Detainee used three primary routes when traveling to the family business in Miram Shah, PK: 1) from Bermal, AF, he took the Wana Trail, which is an unpaved route that goes through the mountains. Some portions of the trail are only wide enough for one vehicle to pass; 2) from various other cities in his area they would take the "Lu Wer Lay" trail, directly into Miram Shah; or 3) from Bermal, AF, through the Shawan Trail to Datakhil, PK, into Miram Shah.
c.	(S) Activities: Detainee explained the operation of the Hawala business. His brother, Ibrahim, also runs a family-owned Hawala in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Families bring in money they wish to send back to their relatives in Afghanistan. His brother collects money and has it transferred to the family Hawala in Miram Shah, PK. Mohammad Ullah, detainee's cousin gathers the money there. Mohammad Ullah and detainee have couriers who hand carry the money to the shop owned by detainee and his brother, Osman, in Bermal, AF. Once the money is received, detainee turns it over to an accountant he hired, located next to his shop. This shop is owned and operated by Ibrahim, an Afghani, who stores the money in a safe and hands out the money to the appropriate recipients. The Hawala is the only way known to send money to fellow family members. Detainee has known about the Hawala business for about ten years. Detainee is the owner of community service telephones.
d.	(S) Capture Information: Detainee went to work on the morning of 7 September 2002. Approximately twenty minutes later, three Afghan army soldiers and three US soldiers entered his shop. The individuals took his telephones and searched his store. In addition to the two phones they seized, they also confiscated five personal photographs that he had of himself, relatives and friends. The soldiers also searched the shop next to his (his accountant Ibrahim's shop). The soldiers then led him away from his shop and took him to the Afghanistan Government building in town. Detainee did not know why he was arrested, but believed that someone must have provided false information to the US or Afghan Governments. He was held at Bagram until his transfer to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
e.	(S) Transferred to JTF GTMO: 28 October 2002
f.	(S//NF)Reasons for Transfer to JTF GTMO: To provide information on the following: Economic issues in Pakistan and Afghanistan Foreign trade in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates Hawala money transfer system in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates

5.

(S//NF) Detainee Threat:

a.	(S) Assessment: It has assessed the detainee poses a LOW risk, as he is unlikely to pose a threat to the US, its interests and allies.
b.	(S//NF) Reasons for Release or Transfer to Another Country: (S//NF) It was first assessed detainee was involved in money laundering operations, however, after reviewing all of the available documentation, nothing has been found to support this claim. It is highly probable detainee's statements that he and his family are honest business people and have no connections to the Taliban or Al Qaida are truthful. (S) Detainee is a community service telephone owner in Bermal, AF. Detainee has family members residing in Qatar and UAE that are originally from the Bermal area.Detainee has admitted to transferring money from the United Arab Emirates to Bermal, AF. From previous interrogations, it appears that all businesses detainee ran were legal. (S//NF) Detainee's brother, ISN 818, and cousin, Noor Aslaam, US9AF000822DP, have already been released. They were both assessed as TRCD cases with a Medium Threat and Low Intel, and transferred almost a year ago. (S//NF) There were several people involved in the money transfer process. Detainee has been willing to talk about his associates that were involved. (S//NF) As of January 2004, Hakim Noor, Ajab Noor, and Bashir Noor (brothers and associates of detainee) all operated Hawalas and have previously done business with the former Taliban Minister of Frontiers and Tribal Affairs Jalaluddin Haqqani. (Analyst Note: Jalaluddin Haqqani is a high value target.) Alternate reporting states that Haqqani had entrusted Hajib Bashir (variant Haib Bashir) to keep and distribute his money. Hajib Bashir also reportedly had a brother named Haji Ajab Nur who was involved in the financial sector in Dubai, UAE, and whose son (Hajib Bashir's nephew), Haji Hakim Nur, operated a financial business in Peshawar, PK.
c.	(S//NF) Detainee's Conduct: Detainee's overall behavior has been generally compliant and non-aggressive.

6.

(S//NF) Detainee Intelligence Value Assessment:

a.

(S) Assessment: JTF GTMO has determined is of LOW intelligence that this detainee value to the US. (S) Detainee, as well as others associated with the Hawala system, has provided a number of reports concerning how the Hawala system works and where they fit in the process. It is known that there are two types of Hawala systems in operation as of today: the legal type that operates from village to village only with known members of the village and the illegal type that was responsible for the Bali terrorist attack and transferring of money from one Al-Qaida member (i.e., in Saudi Arabia) to another Al-Qaida member (i.e., in Pakistan). Detainee has not been able to provide any information to date on illegal transactions. It is felt this detainee has been fully exploited.

b.

(S//NF) Areas of Potential Exploitation: None

7.

(S) EC Status: Detainee's enemy combatant status was reassessed on 22 Jarruary 2005, and he remains an enemy combatant.

(signed)

Jay W. Hood

Brigadier General, USA

Commanding