Shafiq Rasul

Guantanamo detainee known to have been released

Shafiq Rasul
Born	(1977-04-15) April 15, 1977 (age 46)
Arrested	2001 (2001) Afghanistan
Released	August 2004 (2004-08) United Kingdom
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Detained at	Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
ISN	86
Status	Repatriated

Shafiq Rasul (born 15 April 1977) is a British citizen who was a detainee held at Guantanamo Bay by the United States, which treated him an unlawful combatant. His detainee ID number was 86.

His family discovered his detention when the British Foreign Office contacted them on 21 January 2002. He was released in March 2004, shortly after his return to the United Kingdom, more than three months before Rasul v. Bush was decided.^[1]

In August 2004, Rasul, Asif Iqbal, and Ruhal Ahmed, all from Tipton - and known as the 'Tipton Three' - compiled a report on their abuse and humiliation while in US custody.^[2]

In Rasul v. Rumsfeld, plaintiffs Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Ruhal Ahmed, and Jamal Al-Harith, four former Guantánamo Bay detainees, sued former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. They charge that illegal interrogation tactics were permitted to be used against them by Secretary Rumsfeld and the military chain of command.

The Hague Justice Portal gives access to the official Court documents related to the Rasul v. Bush case.^[3]^[4]^[5]

In late February 2017, ISIL spokesmen issued a press release, stating that Jamal al-Harith, another former Guantanamo captive, had traveled to Iraq, and had used a suicide bomb to attack a military site there.^[6] Rasul denounced the attack, asserted that there was "no excuse" for the attack, and that he had been able to move past his experiences, and didn't understand why al-Harith hadn't.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ "Five of nine Britons released from Guantanamo Bay". BBC News. 9 March 2004. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017. He travelled to Pakistan in October 2001, apparently for a computer course, and his family lost contact with him in December.
^ "Britons allege Guantanamo abuse". BBC News. 4 August 2004. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2017. Mr Rasul was actually working in a Curry's electronics store in the West Midlands at the time the video was filmed, the report says.
^ Joe Margulies (2002). "Rasul v. Bush" (PDF). The Hague Justice Portal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
^ Robert Okun (18 March 2002). "Rasul v. Bush" (PDF). The Hague Justice Portal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
^ Colleen Kollar-Kotelly (30 July 2002). "Rasul v. Bush" (PDF). The Hague Justice Portal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
^ Phil Cardy (25 February 2017). "Former Guantanamo detainee condemns Brit suicide bomber as smiling terrorist's family claim US military prison stint 'changed him'". The Mirror (UK). Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. But speaking at his West Midlands home Rasul said there was "no excuse" for Harith's actions. He said: "It is absolutely terrible what he has done. I've no idea what made him do it. Guantanamo was terrible. I have been able to move on. I don't know why he wasn't."

External links

Guantanamo Bay guard meets 'Tipton 3' ex-prisoners video from the BBC, 12 January 2010
U.S. High Court Rejects Appeal Alleging Torture at Guantanamo Bloomberg, 14 December 2009
Vikram Dodd, Tania Branigan (12 January 2005). "Health fears for 'torture victims'". The Guardian.
Composite statement: Detention in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal and Rhuhel Ahmed