The president of the Zionsville Town Council, Jeff Papa, will embark on a journey to Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay (also known as Gitmo in military circles) this Saturday.
Papa was selected to travel to Gitmo as an NGO Observer for the court hearings surrounding the charges against Adb al Hadi al Iraqi.
According to a statement from Papa, on June 18, the Military Commissions arraigned Abd al Hadi al Iraqi on a number of charges. Hadi al Iraqi’s first pre-trial (pre-commission) hearings are scheduled to be held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Sept. 15-16.
The following is commentary by Jeff Papa:
I will be representing the Military Commission Observation Project of the Indiana University McKinney School of Law. (We are also known as “The Gitmo Observer.”)
Charges Against Hadi al Iraqi
Specific allegations against Hadi al-Iraqi fall within five general charges. These are highlighted and summarized below.
Charge I: Violation of 10 USC 950t(6), Denying Quarter
The government alleges that Al Hadi directed forces under his control in Afghanistan and Pakistan that there should be no survivors allowed and that all hostilities should conclude with no opposing survivors, even if practicable to accept surrender.
Charge II: Violation of 10 USC 950t(4), Attacking Protected Property.
The government alleges that Al Hadi intentionally attacked a medical helicopter, which was clearly marked as medical and protected under the laws of war, by firing at it as it attempted to remove casualties from the battlefield.
Charge III: Violation of 10 USC 950t(17), Using Treachery or Perfidy.
The government alleges three main specifications under this charge.
- First, that Al Hadi invited confidence that a vehicle was a civilian vehicle, and thus protected under the laws of war, and then made use of that confidence to detonate explosives in the vehicle near a bus carrying members of the German military, resulting in death and injury.
- Second, that Al Hadi invited confidence that an individual was a civilian noncombatant, and thus protected under the laws of war, and then made use of that confidence to explode a concealed vest, resulting in death and injury to members of the Canadian military.
- Third, that Al Hadi invited confidence that a vehicle was civilian, and thus protected under the laws of war, and then used that confidence to detonate explosives in the vehicle near a convoy carrying Estonian and British military members, resulting in death and injury.
Charge IV: Violation of 10 USC 950t(28), Attempted Use of Treachery or Perfidy.
The government alleges that Al Hadi invited confidence that a vehicle was civilian, and entitled to protection under the laws of war, and then detonated explosives in that vehicle in an attempt to attack a US military convoy with the intent to kill and injure.
Charge V: Violation of 10 USC 950t(29), Conspiracy.
The government alleges that Al Hadi – in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, and elsewhere – conspired with Usama bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahiri, Mohammed Atef, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, and others to commit: Terrorism, Denying Quarter, Using Treachery or Perfidy, Murder of Protected Persons, Attacking Protected Property, Attacking Civilians, Attacking Civilian Objects, and Employing Poison or Similar Weapons, associated with hostilities and unlawful objectives.
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[This month] I am scheduled to travel to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to observe proceedings related to charges against Abd al Hadi al Iraqi. Military Commission charges against Hadi allege that he was a senior member of al Qaeda and liaison to the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Iraq, and that he led insurgency efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
These alleged activities included supporting and directing attacks against U.S. and coalition forces, utilizing illegal means, such as attacks on civilians, using perfidy, and firing on medical personnel during efforts to evacuate casualties. He also stands accusedof denying quarter by directing that coalition forces should not be taken alive.
Following his activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, he is also alleged to have traveled to Iraq for the purpose of helping to lead al Qaeda in Iraq. The maximum sentence for these charges, if convicted, could be confinement for life. (Dept. Defense News Release 426-13, 10 June 2013).
A recent article by Carol Rosenberg in the Miami Herald (Iraqi Appears in Guantanamo Court on War Crimes Charges, 18 June 2013) states that Hadi was captured in Turkey in 2006, and was held by the CIA until 2007, when he was transferred to Guantanamo. Rosenberg’s article describes a long career for Hadi, including service in the Iraqi Army during the 1980-88 war withIran, service to Al Qaeda in Sudan in the late 1990s, helping the Taliban destroy Buddha statues in Afghanistan in 2001, and other Taliban military activities.
Pentagon-appointed defense counsel is quoted in that article as stating that, if Hadi is Taliban, then he was a lawful combatant. The prosecution, however, claims that Hadi served as a liaison between the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and supported and directed illegal attacks against U.S. and coalition forces.
According to a 2005 Newsweek article, Osama bin Laden sent Hadi to Iraq to establish an Al Qaeda insurgency, in part because bin Laden did not trust al-Zarqawi (who had already established an organized insurgency). However, Hadi convinced bin Laden that it would be better to work with Zarqawi than try to create a competing organization. (Newsweek, “Terror Broker,” 10 April 2005).
It will be interesting to learn more about the charges and defense theories as I read more about Hadi’s case.
