Only in the context of Guantánamo could such a tale of loyalty occur, writes DEL QUENTIN WILBERin Washington
BAHTIYAR MAHNUT, a detainee at the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, learned a few weeks ago that the Pacific island nation of Palau had invited him to settle there.
It should have been cause for celebration, especially for a man who desperately wants to be free. But, to the surprise of his lawyers, Bahtiyar has turned down the offer. He wishes to remain a prisoner, they say, so he can look after his older brother, a fellow detainee.
The brothers’ saga, as related by their attorneys and military records, could transpire only in the context of Guantánamo Bay and comes at a critical juncture for the Obama administration, which is struggling to meet a January 22nd deadline to shutter the 223-detainee prison. Their circumstances also highlight the diplomatic difficulties facing the US government as it tries to find places to send the prisoners not destined for terrorism trials in the United States.
The brothers are Uighurs, residents of China who are considered separatists by Beijing, but are not enemies of the US. The brothers were picked up separately in Afghanistan and Pakistan soon after the US launched attacks against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks.
Since at least 2003, the US has tried to find homes for the brothers and 20 other captured Uighurs. Five went to Albania in 2006; four were sent to Bermuda in June. Most countries have been reluctant to accept Uighurs and risk angering China.
In recent weeks, however, Palau has agreed to accept 12 of the 13 remaining Uighurs, according to the justice department. The only detainee not invited by Palau was Bahtiyar’s older brother, Arkin Mahmud (45), who has developed mental health problems that are apparently too serious to be treated in the sparsely populated country, said his attorney, Elizabeth Gilson.
To make matters worse, according to Gilson and military records, Arkin is only a prisoner because he went searching for Bahtiyar after the younger brother left their homeland. In 2001, Bahtiyar and Arkin, both Muslims, were living with their parents and a younger brother in Ghulja in western China. Bahtiyar sold clothes; Arkin repaired shoes. Bahtiyar wanted to strike out on his own. So, with $700 in his pocket, he headed for Pakistan. But he quickly ran out of money and couldn’t find work. He was worried about being sent back to China until a friend told him about a group of Uighurs in Afghanistan that wanted “to fight against the Chinese government”. “If I went,” he told military officials, “I didn’t have to pay for food or anything. So I went to Afghanistan.” There, he lived with 35 other Uighurs in a camp of dusty roads and shacks in the southern mountains. The group built houses and a mosque.
They trained with one automatic rifle and did some push-ups, pull-ups and other calisthenics, records show.
Within a few weeks of arriving at the camp, Bahtiyar managed to call home. His worried mother told Arkin to find his brother.
“He left because he was a dutiful son,” Gilson said.
After the 9/11 attacks, the US military began bombing Afghanistan and destroyed Bahtiyar’s camp, sending the Uighurs into the mountains for shelter. Bahtiyar and others crossed into Pakistan, where they were arrested and turned over to US authorities.
Meanwhile, Arkin made his way to Afghanistan, where he was captured by the Northern Alliance and handed over to US forces. At a military prison in Kandahar, the brothers saw each other across the razor wire.
In 2002, the military brought the brothers and 20 other Uighurs to Guantánamo Bay. Authorities alleged at the time that the men trained at military-style camps affiliated with the Taliban or al-Qaeda. The accusations later dissolved upon court scrutiny.
Arkin and Bahtiyar were confined in separate cells and, for months, were not able to talk. When they saw each other, they hugged and wept. In 2005, Arkin remained in solitary confinement. He had a record of disciplinary infractions and had been disrespectful to the guards, records show.
Not for the first time, Bahtiyar took steps to help his brother. Living in a more relaxed part of the prison, he was granted a request to be moved to Arkin’s camp. By the following year, the brothers had been cleared for release by the military. In October, a judge ordered them freed into the US, but that decision was overturned on appeal. The Uighurs are awaiting word, expected this week, on whether the Supreme Court will hear the case.
Last year, the remaining Uighurs were moved to a fenced-in camp that includes video games and books. Through it all, Arkin and Bahtiyar have struggled to cope with being prisoners, perhaps for years to come. “I know I’ll die in here,” Arkin told Gilson not long ago.
Two weeks ago, Bahtiyar told Gilson he owed her an explanation for refusing Palau’s offer. “Every day here is an eternity,” he told her through an interpreter. “But I have to look out for my brother.”
– ( Washington Postservice)