Source: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hufaiza_Parhat_v._Robert_M._Gates_--_decided_June_20,_2008
Timestamp: 2015-05-24 15:55:46
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Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 1541', '§ 801', '§ 1005', '§ 1005', '§ 2241', '§ 2241', '§ 7', '§ 2241', '§ 7']

Hufaiza Parhat v. Robert M. Gates -- decided June 20, 2008 - Wikisource, the free online library
Hufaiza Parhat v. Robert M. Gates — decided June 20, 2008 (2008) related portals: Guantanamo.
Transcribed from http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/200806/06-1397-1124487.pdf
213739Hufaiza Parhat v. Robert M. Gates — decided June 20, 20082008
Argued April 4, 2008
Decided June 20, 2008
No. 06-1397
ROBERT M. GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, ET AL., RESPONDENTS
On Petition for Review of an Order of a Combatant Status Review Tribunal
GARLAND, Circuit Judge: A Combatant Status Review Tribunal has decided that petitioner Huzaifa Parhat, a detainee at the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is an “enemy combatant.” This is the first case in which this court has considered the merits of a petition to review such a decision under the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005. The Act grants this court jurisdiction to “determine the validity of any final decision of a Combatant Status Review Tribunal that an alien is properly detained as an enemy combatant.” We conclude that the Tribunal’s decision in Parhat’s case was not valid.
Parhat is an ethnic Uighur, who fled his home in the People’s Republic of China in opposition to the policies of the Chinese government. It is undisputed that he is not a member of al Qaida or the Taliban, and that he has never participated in any hostile action against the United States or its allies. The Tribunal’s determination that Parhat is an enemy combatant is based on its finding that he is “affiliated” with a Uighur independence group, and the further finding that the group was “associated” with al Qaida and the Taliban. The Tribunal’s findings regarding the Uighur group rest, in key respects, on statements in classified State and Defense Department documents that provide no information regarding the sources of the reporting upon which the statements are based, and otherwise lack sufficient indicia of the statements’ reliability. Parhat contends, with support of his own, that the Chinese government is the source of several of the key statements.
To affirm the Tribunal’s determination under such circumstances would be to place a judicial imprimatur on an act of essentially unreviewable executive discretion. That is not what Congress directed us to do when it authorized judicial review of enemy combatant determinations under the Act. Accordingly, we direct the government to release Parhat, to transfer him, or to expeditiously convene a new Combatant Status Review Tribunal to consider evidence submitted in a manner consistent with this opinion. As discussed in Part V, this disposition is without prejudice to Parhat’s right to seek release immediately through a writ of habeas corpus in the district court, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Boumediene v. Bush, No. 06-1195, slip op. at 65-66 (U.S. June 12, 2008).
We also deny, without prejudice, the government’s motion to protect from public disclosure all nonclassified record information that it has labeled “law enforcement sensitive,” as well as the names and “identifying information” of all U.S. government personnel mentioned in the record. Although we do not doubt that there is information in these categories that warrants protection, the government has proffered only a generic explanation of the need for protection, providing no rationale specific to the information actually at issue in this case.
By resting its motion on generic claims, equally applicable to all of the more than one hundred other detainee cases now pending in this court, the government effectively “proposes unilaterally to determine whether information is ‘protected.’” Bismullah v. Gates, 501 F.3d 178, 188 (D.C. Cir. 2007). Without an explanation geared to the information at issue in this case, we are left with no way to determine whether that specific information warrants protection -- other than to accept the government’s own designation. But as we held in Bismullah, “[i]t is the court, not the Government, that has discretion to seal a judicial record, which the public ordinarily has the right to inspect and copy.” Id. (internal citations omitted). We therefore deny the government’s motion and direct it to file a renewed motion, accompanied by a copy of the record identifying the specific information it seeks to designate and pleadings explaining why protecting that specific information is required.
Parhat is a Chinese citizen of Uighur heritage. Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) Decision Report, encl. 2, at 1 (Dec. 6, 2004) (App. 14) (CSRT Decision). The Uighurs are from the far-western Chinese province of Xinjiang, which the Uighurs call East Turkistan. Id. According to Parhat, he fled China in May 2001 because of “oppression and torture imposed on [Ui]gh[u]r people by the Chinese Government.” CSRT Exhibit R7, at 1 (App. 51) (FBI interview report dated May 11, 2002). “This oppression,” he said, “included harassment, forced abortions for more than two children, high taxes, the taking away of land, and the banishing of educated people to remote areas.” Id. Parhat arrived at a Uighur camp in Afghanistan in June 2001. CSRT Decision, encl. 2, at 1 (App. 14).
On September 11, 2001, members of al Qaida attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon with hijacked commercial airplanes, killing almost three thousand people. Seven days later, Congress authorized the President to “use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.” Authorization To Use Military Force (AUMF), Pub. L. 107-40, § 2(a), 115 Stat. 224, 224 (2001) (reprinted at 50 U.S.C. § 1541 note). Pursuant to the AUMF, the President ordered the United States Armed Forces to invade Afghanistan, where the Taliban (which then governed the country) had been supporting and harboring al Qaida.
In mid-October 2001, U.S. aerial strikes destroyed the camp where Parhat had been living. Thereafter, according to his undisputed testimony, Parhat and seventeen other unarmed Uighurs fled the camp, eventually crossing into Pakistan. Local villagers took the Uighurs in, gave them food and shelter, and then -- in approximately December 2001 -- handed them over to Pakistani officials who turned them over to the U.S. military. In June 2002, the United States transferred Parhat to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he remains imprisoned.
In 2003, a military officer of the Criminal Investigation Task Force (CITF), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), who was charged with reviewing Parhat’s case, “‘recommend[ed] the release of Parhat under a conditional release agreement.’” Pet’r Br. 6 (quoting CSRT Decision, encl. 2, at 2 (App. 15)).[1]
On July 7, 2004, in a memorandum to the Secretary of the Navy, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued an order establishing Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs). Order Establishing Combatant Status Review Tribunal (July 7, 2004) (DOD Order). Three weeks later, the Secretary of the Navy, whom the DOD Order had designated “to operate and oversee th[e] [CSRT] process,” issued a memorandum that established the standards and procedures for those Tribunals. Implementation of Combatant Status Review Tribunal Procedures at 2 (July 29, 2004) (Navy Memorandum). The Navy Memorandum describes the Tribunals as “non-adversarial proceeding[s] to determine whether each detainee” at Guantanamo “meets the criteria to be designated as an enemy combatant.” Id. at E-1 § B. The Order and Memorandum both define an “enemy combatant” as:
A CSRT was held for Parhat on December 6, 2004. The proceedings consisted of an unclassified session, at which Parhat was present and answered questions under oath, followed by a classified session, at which Parhat was not present and in which the Tribunal considered classified documents not made available to him. The only evidence regarding the circumstances of Parhat’s background and capture was his own interviews and
testimony. Parhat denied association with al Qaida or the Taliban, stated that he had gone to Afghanistan solely to join the resistance against China, and said that he regarded China alone -- and not the United States -- as his enemy. See CSRT Decision, encl. 3, at 3-4, 6-7 (App. 21-22, 24-25). The Tribunal did not find to the contrary. See id. encl. 2, at 1-4 (App. 14-17).
Nonetheless, the Tribunal determined that Parhat was an enemy combatant. It did so on the theory that he was “affiliated” with a Uighur independence group known as the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), that ETIM was “associated” with al Qaida and the Taliban, and that ETIM is engaged in hostilities against the United States and its coalition partners. See id. encl. 1, at 1 (App. 11). The basis for the charge of Parhat’s “affiliation” with ETIM was that the Uighur camp at which he lived and received training on a rifle and pistol was run by an ETIM leader. See id. encl. 2, at 1 (App. 14); id. encl. 3, at 6 (App. 24). The Tribunal acknowledged, however, that “no source document evidence was introduced to indicate . . . that the Detainee had actually joined ETIM, or that he himself had personally committed any hostile acts against the United States or its coalition partners.” Id. encl. 2, at 3 (App. 16). The grounds for the charges that ETIM was “associated” with al Qaida and the Taliban, and that it is engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, were statements in classified documents that do not state (or, in most instances, even describe) the sources or rationales for those statements. Parhat denied knowing anything about an al Qaida or Taliban association with Uighur camps. See id. encl. 3, at 4, 6-7 (App. 22, 24-25).
Notwithstanding its determination that Parhat was an enemy combatant, the Tribunal stated that “this Detainee does present an attractive candidate for release.” Id. encl. 2, at 2 (App. 15). It “urge[d] favorable consideration for release . . . and also urge[d] that he not be forcibly returned to the People’s Republic of China” because he “will almost certainly be treated harshly if he is returned to Chinese custody.” Id. at 4 (App. 17). The Defense Department did not release him.
In July 2005, Parhat filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The district court concluded that its jurisdiction was unclear and stayed Parhat’s case pending this circuit’s resolution of appeals by other Guantanamo detainees, including the case of Boumediene v. Bush. See Kiyemba v. Bush, No. 05-1509, Mem. Order at 1-2 (D.D.C. Sept. 13, 2005).
In December 2005, while Boumediene was pending, Congress passed the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA), Pub. L. No. 109-148, 119 Stat. 2680 (2005) (reprinted at 10 U.S.C. § 801 note). The DTA granted this court “exclusive jurisdiction to determine the validity of any final decision of a Combatant Status Review Tribunal that an alien is properly detained as an enemy combatant.” DTA § 1005(e)(2)(A). But it also provided that no court “shall have jurisdiction to . . . consider . . . an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.” Id. § 1005(e)(1) (amending 28 U.S.C. § 2241). In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court held, inter alia, that the DTA’s bar against habeas claims did not apply to claims already pending on the date of its enactment. 126 S. Ct. 2749, 2769 (2006). Congress responded in October 2006 with the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA), Pub. L. No. 109-366, 120 Stat. 2600 (2006) (codified in part at 28 U.S.C. § 2241 & note), which restated the habeas bar, providing that no court shall have jurisdiction to consider the habeas application of an alien “detained by the United States who has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.” MCA § 7(a) (again amending 28 U.S.C. § 2241). The MCA further declared that the habeas bar applies “to all cases, without exception, pending on or after the date of the enactment of [the MCA] which relate to any aspect of the detention . . . of an alien detained by the United States since September 11, 2001.” Id. § 7(b).
In December 2006, Parhat filed a petition in this court for relief under the DTA, and, in the alternative, for a writ of habeas corpus. While Parhat’s petitions were pending, another panel of the court decided Boumediene v. Bush, 476 F.3d 981 (D.C. Cir. 2007). In that decision, the panel held that the MCA bars judicial consideration of detainees’ pending habeas petitions and that the bar is not an unconstitutional suspension of the writ. Id. at 994. Judge Rogers dissented, concluding that the detainees have a constitutional right to habeas and that the DTA is an inadequate substitute. See id. at 995 (Rogers, J., dissenting). The Supreme Court granted certiorari, 127 S. Ct. 3078 (2007), and heard argument on December 5, 2007. On June 12, 2008, the Court reversed the panel, holding that the detainees “have the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus,” that the DTA’s procedures for review of their status “are not an adequate and effective substitute for habeas corpus,” and that the MCA “operates as an unconstitutional suspension of the writ.” Boumediene v. Bush, No. 06-1195, slip op. at 1-2 (U.S. June 12, 2008).
Meanwhile, the DTA petitions of numerous Guantanamo detainees proceeded in this circuit. In Bismullah v. Gates, decided on July 20, 2007, the court addressed a number of procedural issues common to a group of eight DTA petitioners, including Parhat. See 501 F.3d 178 (D.C. Cir. 2007). The central issue was whether the record on review in this court is limited -- as the government argued -- to the evidence actually presented to the CSRT, or whether it includes all of the “Government Information.” Id. at 180. The latter, as defined in the Navy Memorandum, consists of all “reasonably available information in the possession of the U.S. Government bearing on the issue of whether the detainee meets the criteria to be designated as an enemy combatant.” Navy Memorandum at E-1 § E(3); see 501 F.3d at 180.
Bismullah held that the record on review in this court is all of the Government Information. 501 F.3d at 180. On September 7, 2007, the government sought rehearing and rehearing en banc. The panel denied rehearing on October 3, 2007, see 503 F.3d 137, and the full court denied rehearing en banc on February 1, 2008, see 514 F.3d 1291. The government then filed a petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court and sought a stay from the Bismullah panel pending the Supreme Court’s determination. The panel granted the motion in part and stayed, pending disposition by the Supreme Court, the government’s obligation in the eight cases to produce additional record material beyond that presented to the CSRTs. See Bismullah v. Gates, No. 06-1197, Order at 3-4 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 13, 2008). The government’s petition for certiorari is currently pending.
On October 29, 2007, while its request for en banc review in Bismullah was still under consideration, the government produced to Parhat’s counsel the record (both classified and unclassified) of what was actually presented to Parhat’s CSRT. On November 1, Parhat filed a motion asking this court to review the CSRT’s determination based solely upon that record. While reserving his right to future review based on all of the Government Information, to which he is entitled under Bismullah, Parhat contended that the materials before the CSRT are sufficient to establish as a matter of law that he is not an enemy combatant. Further delay while the government sought certiorari regarding his entitlement to a broader record, he argued, would be unnecessary and unjust. The government did not oppose Parhat’s request.
On December 14, 2007, we set the case for briefing, and on April 4, 2008 we heard argument, solely on the record before the CSRT. See Parhat v. Gates, No. 06-1397, Order at 2 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 14, 2007). That is the case that is presently before us. Also before us is the government’s motion to designate as “protected infor