An Iraqi man who pleaded guilty to commanding insurgents who committed war crimes in Afghanistan filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday seeking to block his transfer from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a prison in Iraq. Ta.
The petition, filed by his lawyers, calls for negotiations that have been underway for some time to transfer Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, 63, into Iraqi government custody. Despite protests from his lawyers, it was announced publicly that he could be punished. Abuse and inadequate medical care.
Hadi, whose real name is Nashwan Al Tamir, is the oldest and most disabled prisoner at the offshore detention center due to a spinal paralyzing disease and six surgeries at the base. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to war crimes charges and accepted responsibility for the actions of some of the units under his command, in a deal that would see his sentence expire in 2032. The deal included the possibility that he would serve time in jail. I’m in another country that’s better suited to provide him with medical care.
His lawyers say the U.S. plan is for the Iraqi government to hold him in Qaluk prison outside Baghdad. The prison was the site of a U.S. detention operation called Camp Cropper for several years before it was returned to Iraqi control in 2010.
“Due to his conviction here and the myriad problems with Iraq’s prison system, Mr. al-Tamil cannot be safely housed in an Iraqi prison,” the lawyers said in a 27-page filing. “Furthermore, he does not believe the Iraqi government will be able to provide the medical care he needs for his condition, which was exacerbated by inadequate medical care during his stay at Guantanamo.”
The lawsuit seeks to block a deal that is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce the prison population before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office. Four prisoners of war, including two Malaysian men who, like Hadi, admitted to committing war crimes, were repatriated within a month. Unlike Hadi, none of the four men, including a Tunisian national and a Kenyan national, opposed extradition to their homeland.
It is unclear when the Pentagon intends to extradite Hadi to Iraq. However, the Pentagon notified Congress of this plan on December 13th. He could be transferred from Guantanamo the week of January 12 if the administration complies with the statutory requirement of 30 days’ notice to Congress.
Government lawyers agreed to expedited proceedings on the challenge. They notified Judge Emmett G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that they wanted to respond to the preliminary injunction issue by Wednesday.
Spokespeople for the State Department and the Justice Department declined to discuss the matter.
Hadi was represented in the petition by Utah federal public defenders Benjamin C. McMurray and Scott K. Wilson. The document was also signed by attorney Susan Hensler, who is employed by the Pentagon and has been representing it since 2017.
The lawyers said: 2023 Department of State Report He cited concerns about human rights violations in Iraq, particularly the “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions.” They asked the court to temporarily block his transfer while the case is heard. “Permanent harm justifies a preliminary injunction against Mr. al-Tamil’s immediate transfer to an Iraqi prison to complete his sentence.”
Hadi was born in Mosul, Iraq, in 1961. He fled Iraq in 1990 to avoid being drafted into Saddam Hussein’s army, the first U.S. invasion of Iraq, and later settled in Afghanistan. In 2003 and 2004, during the early days of the U.S. invasion, Taliban and Qaeda forces under his command killed 17 U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan in illegal attacks using civilian cover. For example, his unit had fighters pretend to be drivers of taxis loaded with explosives.
At Guantanamo, he relies on a wheelchair and four-wheel walker and has been kept in a cell with facilities for the disabled for years.
His lawyers said in a filing that U.S. officials notified Hadi of their plans to deport him “a week before Christmas,” adding, “Government officials told the defense that Iraq was the ‘only’ option.” “I have concluded that this is the case,” he added.
Both the inmates and their lawyers opposed the transfer, citing the United States’ obligation under international law and the Constitution not to send people to countries where they may be subject to abuse, according to the filing.
Scott Rome of the advocacy group Center for Victims of Torture said his understanding was that “State Department officials had previously determined that Mr. Altamir could not be sent to an Iraqi prison without violating the prohibition against torture.” He said that ”
“The State Department’s own human rights report is consistent with that determination, revealing that serious human rights violations, including torture, are widespread in Iraqi prisons,” he said. “If the government currently holds a different view, it needs to explain why by publishing its analysis.”
