Bringing home Kenya’s Abdulmalik Mohamed from Guantánamo Bay

Reprieve calls on the Kenyan government to do the right thing by two of its sons: Guantánamo Bay prisoner Abdulmalik Mohamed and US President Barack Obama.

In a report released today, Reprieve and the Muslim Human Rights Forum (MHRF) reveal details of how Kenyan citizen Abdulmalik was kidnapped by his own government and abandoned in Guantánamo Bay.

America's half-Kenyan President Barack Obama has vowed to close the notorious prison, but he cannot do it alone. Kenya must take responsibility for its wronged citizen Abdulmalik and bring him home.

Reprieve and MHRF's report describes how:

- Abdulmalik was seized in Kenya by his own government and handed over to the US military with no judicial process and zero evidence against him.
- After being handed to US personnel in Kenya, Abdulmalik was ‘rendered’ to a US secret prison in Djibouti, now the temporary headquarters of the US military ‘Africa Command’. Abdulmalik was later taken to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, and an unidentified secret prison in Kabul. Finally, Abdulmalik was brought to Guantánamo Bay, where he has been held for two years without charge and without being shown any evidence against him.
- Kenya has since denied that Abdulmalik is a Kenyan citizen, and denied any involvement in his kidnapping. Both these denials are shown to be false.

BACKGROUND

Kenyan citizen Abdulmalik Mohamed is a 35-year-old father of three, currently held by the US Military at Guantánamo Bay.

Abdulmalik was seized by Kenyan police in Mombasa in February 2007 and held for two weeks in various Kenyan police stations. The Kenyan Anti-Terrorism Police Unit found there was no evidence linking Abdulmalik to any crimes, but he was not set free.

Instead, one night Kenyan authorities drove Abdulmalik to an airport and handed him, with no form of judicial process, to US military personnel.

This was the beginning of Abdulmalik's punishing journey through secret US prisons in Djibouti, Afghanistan and finally Guantánamo Bay.

Abdulmalik has been held in Guantánamo Bay since March 2007, and to date he has been given no legal opportunity to challenge his imprisonment – or even been told the official allegations against him.

Back home, the Kenyan government has tried to avoid responsibility, at times claiming that Abdulmalik is not Kenyan.

This is false. Dozens of people, including his father and the midwife who delivered him – in Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria – stand witness to his Kenyan birth and heritage.

The Kenyan government has denied its involvement in Abdulmalik's illegal transfer out of Kenya, through Djibouti and Afghanistan, to Guantánamo Bay.

This is false. The US Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, confirmed on Kenyan radio that Abdulmalik was ‘moved to Guantánamo Bay with the full consent of the Kenyan government… [as"> part of collaboration between the two governments to fight global terrorism.’[1]

Kenyan authorities handed Abdulmalik to the US government. They have a responsibility to bring him back.

President Barack Obama has promised to close Guantánamo Bay. The Kenyan government has an opportunity to directly assist, by taking responsibility for its own citizen and bringing Abdulmalik home.

Until then, Abdulmalik will remain imprisoned in Guantánamo, without charges or a chance to defend himself. His family wait for him to return to Kenya.

Reprieve is a British legal action charity. Reprieve uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay. We investigate, litigate and educate. Working on the frontline, we provide legal support to prisoners unable to pay for it themselves, promoting the rule of law around the world, and securing each person's right to a fair trial. In doing so, we save lives.

MHRF is a Kenyan civil society organisation that directly assists victims of illegal imprisonment and other crimes committed in the name of the ‘War on Terror’. MHRF is a frontline organisation that works with lawyers and researchers around the world to provide assistance to prisoners held ‘beyond the rule of law’, and to seek accountability for their suffering.

COMMENT

Reprieve investigator Clara Gutteridge, Legal Director Zachary Katznelson, and MHRF Director Al-Amin Kimathi are available for comment.

The full report: 'Goodbye to Africa' is available on request. Please contact Communications Manager Katherine O'Shea on +44 20 74271099 or email [email protected], or Al-Amin Kimathi on +254 (0)721-324186 or +254 (0)733 999 654.

* Reprieve (PO Box 52742, London, EC4P 4WS, tel: 020 7353 4640, fax: 020 7353 4641, email: [email protected], website: www.reprieve.org.uk).
* Muslim Human Rights Forum (PO Box 62755 – 00200, Nelleon Place, Rhapta Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya, tel: 445445, 353 7836, 357 3644, email: [email protected].
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/.

[1] George Munyori, ‘US Defends Transfer of Terror Suspect to Guantanamo Bay’, CapitalFM.co.ke (29 March 2007).