Mystery surrounds move of Afghan torturer in chief to U.S.

amid allegations of spy agency abuse

Tomas van Houtryve/ASSOCIATED PRESS - Haji Gulalai, then an A !han intelli!en"e "hie , is in sun!lasses to the ri!ht o A !han Presi#ent Hami# $ar%ai in &''&( Gul A!ha Sher%ai, !overnor o $an#ahar, is on the other si#e o $ar%ai(

By Greg Miller, Julie Tate and Joshua Partlow, Published: April 28 E-mail the writers In Afghanistan, his presen e was enough to ause prisoners to tre!ble" #undreds in his organi$ation%s ustody were beaten, sho &ed with ele tri al urrents or sub'e ted to other abuses do u!ented in hu!an rights reports" (o!e allegedly disappeared" And then #a'i Gulalai disappeared as well" #e had run Afghan intelligen e operations in )andahar after the *"("+led in,asion in 2--. and later ser,ed as head of the spy ser,i e%s detention and interrogation bran h" After 2--/, his whereabouts were un&nown"

Be ause of his reputation for brutality, Gulalai was so!eone both sides of the war wanted gone" The Taliban tried at least twi e to &ill hi!" 0espite Gulalai%s ties to the 1IA and Afghan President #a!id )ar$ai, *nited 2ations offi ials and *"(" oalition partners sought to rein hi! in or ha,e hi! re!o,ed" Today, Gulalai li,es in a pin& two+story house in (outhern 1alifornia, on a street of stu o ho!es on the outs&irts of 3os Angeles" #ow he !anaged to land in the *nited (tates re!ains !ur&y" Afghan offi ials and for!er Gulalai olleagues said that his *"(" onne tions 4 and !ounting on ern about his safety 4 a ount for his e5traordinary a o!!odation" But 1IA offi ials said the agen y played no role in bringing Gulalai into the ountry" 6ffi ials at the (tate 0epart!ent and the 0epart!ent of #o!eland (e urity would not o!!ent on his relo ation or i!!igration status, iting pri,a y restri tions" Gulalai and !e!bers of his fa!ily de lined repeated in7uiries fro! The 8ashington Post" As the *nited (tates approa hes its own e5it fro! Afghanistan, Gulalai%s ase tou hes on riti al 7uestions loo!ing o,er that disengage!ent" 8hat will happen to thousands of Afghans see&ing to a o!pany the A!eri an e5odus9 And how will *"("+built institutions in that ountry 4 parti ularly its intelligen e ser,i e, the 2ational 0ire torate of (e urity :20(; 4 treat those left behind9 0espite a substantial re ord of hu!an rights abuses, Gulalai was able to bypass i!!igration barriers fa ed by Afghans whose wor& for the *nited (tates !ade the! potential targets of the Taliban" Many ha,e been turned away be ause of se urity ob'e tions sub!itted in se ret by *"(" spy agen ies" (in e its in eption, the 20( has depended on the 1IA to su h an e5tent that it is al!ost a subsidiary 4 funded, trained and e7uipped by its A!eri an ounterpart" The two agen ies ha,e shared intelligen e, ollaborated on operations and traded ustody of prisoners" Gulalai was onsidered a parti ularly effe ti,e but orrosi,e figure in this partnership" #e was a fier e ad,ersary of the Taliban, offi ials said, as well as a sy!bol of the ta ti s e!bra ed by the 20(" #e was the torturer in hief,< said a senior 8estern diplo!at, who re alled !eeting with a prisoner at an 20( fa ility in )abul to in,estigate how he had been treated when Gulalai entered unannoun ed" The detainee be a!e agitated and bowed his head in sub!ission" =#e was terrified, whi h !ade sense,< the diplo!at said" Gulalai was =a big wheel in a !a hine that ground up a lot of people"< *"(" offi ials said the 1IA has ta&en !easures to urb 20( abuses, in luding training its offi ers on hu!an rights and pushing the organi$ation to allow a ess to the

International 1o!!ittee of the >ed 1ross and other !onitoring groups" But e,en after Gulalai%s departure, *"2" reports ha,e do u!ented widespread !istreat!ent of prisoners by the 20(" >etired Marine Gen" John >" Allen, who was o!!ander of oalition for es in Afghanistan until last year, warned that =hu!an rights is going to be a wea&ness for so!e period of ti!e"< Allen, who suspended prisoner transfers to the 20( after reports of abuse, said the organi$ation has !ade progress but des ribed its relian e on torture as an institutional =refle5"<

A ? ruel position%
2ow in his early @-s, Gulalai li,es in a rented house in a 3os Angeles suburb where the dry heat and ba &drop of brown hills are re!inis ent of )andahar" #is front yard is surrounded by a tall, white fen e with a lo &ed gate at the sidewal&" There are itrus trees in the ba & and a steady hu! fro! a freeway a blo & away" Gulalai, whose real na!e is )a!al A ha&$ai, shares the house with a !i5 of fa!ily !e!bers, in luding his wife and hildren, who range in age fro! toddlerhood into their twenties" =They generally &eep to the!sel,es,< a neighbor said" =They don%t spea& e5 ept to say hello"< A burly !an !at hing Gulalai%s des ription ba &ed out of the fa!ily%s dri,eway on a re ent afternoon" #e stopped briefly to roll down his window when approa hed by a reporter for The Post, but then sped off without o!!ent" In (outhern 1alifornia, Gulalai is surrounded by a networ& of Afghans, so!e of who! ha,e &nown hi! sin e hildhood" =8e see ea h other e,ery wee&end, we play ards together,< said Bashir 8asifi, who attended s hool with Gulalai in )andahar in the ./@-s before !o,ing to the *nited (tates in ./A/" 8asifi said Gulalai showed up une5pe tedly with a do$en or !ore relati,es se,eral years ago, after the Taliban had &illed two of his brothers and a son" The ir u!stan es on,in ed lo al Afghans that Gulalai had re ei,ed spe ial *"(" help" =#e was brought here by your go,ern!ent,< 8asifi said" Gulalai has struggled to adapt" #e doesn%t ha,e a 'ob and has learned little Bnglish" It is un lear how the fa!ily is supporting itself, although friends and relati,es said that Gulalai%s sons are e!ployed and that the fa!ily owns property in Afghanistan" The stature that a!e with his high+ran&ing position and powerful lan onne tions in Afghanistan are gone" But 8asifi said that Gulalai also left behind the ,iolen e asso iated with that life and is atte!pting to !a&e the best of his new ir u!stan es" #is position was a ruel position so he did ruel things, but he is not li&e that,< 8asifi said" =#e wor&ed with your go,ern!ent for .- years" #e hunted al+Caeda for .- years"

8hat D!oreE would you want9<

(tarting fro! s rat h

After the (ept" .., 2--., atta &s, Gulalai was a!ong a ore group of Pashtuns re ruited by the 1IA to help the agen y and *"(" (pe ial 6perations tea!s sei$e )andahar, the ity that had been the Taliban%s traditional stronghold" Gulalai had grown up there surrounded by pro!inent fighters in the 1IA+ba &ed effort to oust the (o,iets fro! Afghanistan, !any of who! went on to be o!e !e!bers of the Taliban or senior offi ials in )ar$ai%s go,ern!ent" Gul Agha (her$ai, a hildhood lass!ate, alled Gulalai =the roughest &id in s hool"< (her$ai, who was a andidate for president of Afghanistan this year, led the effort to re apture )andahar in 2--." 8hen he was na!ed go,ernor of the pro,in e a year later, he turned to his friend Gulalai to run se urity and intelligen e operations" At the ti!e, the 1IA was trying to obble together a national intelligen e ser,i e that ould prote t the Afghan go,ern!ent fro! internal threats as well as tra & down al+ Caeda operati,es" The agen y sought to fuse infor!ant networ&s established by the 2orthern Allian e 4 whi h had wor&ed with the 1IA for years before the (ept" .. atta &s 4 with the re!nants of a (o,iet+era ser,i e &nown as the )#A0" It was haosF you had to start fro! s rat h,< said a for!er senior *"(" intelligen e offi ial in,ol,ed in the effort" The agen y e7uipped the 20( with a fleet of ,ehi les brought up through Pa&istan, deli,ered offi e supplies to a )abul building that the Taliban had trashed and pro,ided a strea! of ash to o,er payroll" =Money would o!e in on air raft, we%d put it through a ounting !a hine and distribute it in duffel bags,< said the for!er *"(" offi ial, who spo&e on the ondition of anony!ity to dis uss the 1IA%s role" The agen y brought in retired operati,es to tea h ourses in basi espionage and o!bine the disparate 20( ele!ents into a oherent stru ture" The 1IA se retly turned so!e of its better students into infor!ants on the agen y payroll, for!er offi ials said" The training sessions also o,ered laws against torture" =It was obligatory, !andatory,< the for!er *"(" intelligen e offi ial said" =8hene,er D20(E aptured anybody, we%d say you ha,e to respe t their hu!an rights"< That !essage a!e a!id other onfli ting signals" B,en while holding lasses on the hu!ane treat!ent of detainees, the 1IA was setting up se ret prisons where al+Caeda suspe ts were sub'e ted to brutal !easures, in luding waterboarding" At one of the agen y%s detention sites in Afghanistan &nown as the (alt Pit, a prisoner fro$e to death in 2--2 after being doused with water and left

alone o,ernight" The 20( be a!e an e5tension of the 1IA with onsiderably greater si$e and rea h" It grew to !ore than 2-,--- e!ployees and established a networ& of do$ens of prisons in fa ilities that in so!e ases had ser,ed the sa!e purpose under Taliban, (o,iet and e,en ./th+ entury British rule" In a war that a!e to be defined by an es alating y le of raids and arrests, the 20( be a!e a riti al repository, ta&ing ustody of thousands of prisoners aptured by the 1IA, the *"(" !ilitary and oalition for es" The 20( bran h in )andahar was a !a'or destination for these deli,eries, with a large prison near )andahar airport, as well as off+the+boo&s interrogation ells hidden a!ong walled o!pounds in residential neighborhoods, for!er detainees and 8estern offi ials said" (ardar Moha!!ad, a )andahar resident, said he was held for !onths in an 20( ell after a tea! of *"(" (pe ial 6perations for es burst into his ho!e in 2--2" Gulalai too& part in the raid, Moha!!ad said, and parti ipated in interrogation sessions that in luded one of his brothers and a son" B,ery night, they beat !e,< Moha!!ad said" #e was released after his fa!ily paid G,--- Pa&istani rupees, he said, but was arrested again later and ta&en to a 1IA o!pound &nown as 1a!p Ge &o before being returned to 20(" There, Moha!!ad said, his interrogators alled hi! =a personal detainee of Gulalai"< A senior Afghan offi ial who wor&ed with 20( said Gulalai used his position to settle tribal s ores and enri h his lan" 8eapons sei$ed by the 20( were sent to an ar!s depot in Gulalai%s ho!e town of Gulistan, the offi ial said" Prisoners% fa!ilies were routinely for ed to pay ranso! for their release" #e tortured and too& !oney fro! the!,< the offi ial said" 1riti s said that Gulalai%s ta ti s also dro,e neutral Afghans into the ene!y%s ran&s" A!ong the! was 8as Abdul 8asay, who later be a!e the Taliban%s =shadow go,ernor< in )andahar, an unoffi ial position o!!on a ross areas of Afghanistan where the Taliban still e5erts influen e and see&s to hallenge the )abul go,ern!ent%s authority" The senior Afghan se urity offi ial des ribed an early en ounter at an 20( prison with 8asay, who a used Gulalai of strapping his father upside down to a door and lea,ing hi! in publi ,iew" I saw !y father li&e this and I de ided I !ust fight the go,ern!ent,< 8asay said, a ording to the Afghan se urity offi ial, who would dis uss se urity !atters only on the ondition of anony!ity" 8asay ontinued that fight for a de ade until Afghan !ilitary for es &illed hi! this !onth, *"(" and Afghan offi ials said"

0efenders of Gulalai said that his daunting and dangerous 'ob 4 to se ure a pro,in e that had ser,ed for years as the base of operations for the Taliban and al+Caeda 4 re7uired hi! to be ruthless" )andahar was a fo al point of the war" (enior offi ials there were fre7uent targets of assassination atte!pts, in luding one of )ar$ai%s brothers, who was &illed" (her$ai, the for!er )andahar go,ernor, disputed the allegations about his intelligen e hief, saying: =#e was a ,ery bra,e and strong !an" I deny that he tortured anyone" #e was under !y o!!and and I would not ha,e allowed hi! to do that"<

A surge in abuse allegations

By 2--H, Gulalai had sur,i,ed !ultiple atte!pts on his life as well as !ounting pressure on the go,ern!ent to re!o,e hi! fro! his 'ob" A bo!bing at his fa!ily%s residen e &illed one of his brothers but !issed its intended target, said Afghan offi ials and Gulalai asso iates" Twi e, *"2" offi ials persuaded then+20( 1hief A!rullah (aleh to issue orders firing Gulalai" Both ti!es, the orders were undone by ethni politi s, *"2" offi ials said, as )ar$ai ounter!anded the Ta'i& 20( hief to prote t his fellow Pashtun tribes!an" Instead of being dis!issed, Gulalai was pro!oted to 20( head7uarters in )abul and put in harge of the agen y%s in,estigations dire torate, &nown at the ti!e as 0epart!ent .A" The position ga,e hi! authority o,er the !ain 20( prison in )abul, to whi h detainees fro! a ross the ountry were sent for long+ter! ustody" Allegations of abuse surged" A se ret !e!o ir ulated a!ong senior *"2" offi ials and 8estern diplo!ats in late 2--A des ribed 20( torture as =syste!i < and identified Gulalai as singularly responsible" Gulalai was =personally in,ol,ed in ondu ting beatings a!ounting to torture, in detaining suspe ts illegally and arbitrarily and in deliberately and syste!ati ally e,ading detention !onitoring,< the !e!o said" It ited un,erified allegations of =disappearan es< as well as testi!ony of =an e5tra+'udi ial &illing and o,er+up DthatE see!s ,ery redible"< Gulalai%s !ethods =in luded beating with a sti & to the point of drawing blood, sleep depri,ation for as long as thirteen days, protra ted periods fastened with hand uffs and hains and suspension fro! the eiling,< the !e!o stated" The harshest treat!ent was reser,ed for Gulalai%s =personal prisoners,< those suspe ted of being in,ol,ed in atta &s against his fa!ily or lan" =They were held in underground ells, in luding in the ellars of the In,estigation 0ire torate !ain

offi es,< the !e!o said" 6,erall, Gulalai operated in a = ulture of i!punity< enabled by his lose ties to high+ ran&ing Afghan offi ials and status as =a &ey partner for international agen ies wor&ing on ounter terroris! and insurgen y< 4 an apparent referen e to the 1IA and *"(" (pe ial 6perations for es"

A fa!ily for ed to flee

*lti!ately, the growing danger to Gulalai and his fa!ily pro!pted hi! to plan the e5it that diplo!ats and rights groups had been unable to engineer" In Mar h 2--A, Gulalai narrowly sur,i,ed an atta & by a sui ide bo!ber near the entran e of a pro!inent )abul !os7ue" An in ident report ontained in the 8i&i3ea&s olle tion of lea&ed diplo!ati files said that =General Gulalai< was a!ong .2 in'ured in the atta &, whi h also &illed at least two i,ilians" Gulalai%s son >a7ib A ha&$ai said in a brief telephone inter,iew last !onth that the fa!ily was for ed to flee" They &illed !y ousins, four or fi,e un les, that%s why we a!e out here,< said A ha&$ai, who indi ated that he wor&s as a ontra tor for the *"(" !ilitary in 2orth 1arolina" #e de lined to dis uss details of the fa!ily%s departure fro! Afghanistan, howe,er, saying, =These are 7uestions I%! not about to answer"< 1IA offi ials denied any in,ol,e!ent" =The 1IA had no role whatsoe,er in fa ilitating the relo ation of #a'i Gulalai fro! Afghanistan to the *nited (tates,< agen y spo&es!an 0ean Boyd said" Instead, Gulalai and his fa!ily apparently se ured per!ission to tra,el to the *nited (tates, possibly under a =parole< designation used by the 0epart!ent of #o!eland (e urity to help foreigners fa ing !edi al e!ergen ies or other e5tre!e ir u!stan es" 6n e in the ountry, Gulalai was granted asylu!, said an offi ial fa!iliar with the ase" Asylu! is designed to grant safe ha,en to foreigners who are li&ely to be arrested, tortured or &illed if they return ho!e" But *"(" law bars the granting of asylu! to those who ha,e perse uted others" The re7uired legal for!s as& appli ants whether they ha,e =e,er ordered, in ited, arrested or otherwise parti ipated in ausing har! or suffering to any person< be ause of ra e, religion, nationality or other affiliation" But there is li!ited ability to he & the a ura y of the responses"

Appli ants are s reened against databases for ri!inal on,i tions or terrorist ties" But e5perts said those re ords are unli&ely to re,eal allegations of hu!an rights abuses, parti ularly when the alleged abuser was operating under go,ern!ent authority and was not arrested or publi ly a used" Prospe ts of dete tion !ay ha,e been further o!pli ated by the fa t that Gulalai used only his A ha&$ai na!e on e in the *nited (tates" There is at least one indi ation, howe,er, that *"(" authorities were able to onne t the asylu! see&er to his 20( rIsu!I" At a hearing before an i!!igration 'udge in 3os Angeles se,eral years ago, Gulalai defended his asylu! lai! by presenting photos of the )abul bo!bing and other e,iden e of the danger he fa ed in Afghanistan, said 8asifi, who a o!panied his friend to help interpret" A *"(" attorney hallenging the lai! as&ed repeatedly whether the !an now alling hi!self A ha&$ai was e,er &nown by another na!e" After getting only loo&s of bewilder!ent, 8asifi said, the attorney hanged his 7uestion: =Then who is Gulalai9< Gulalai hu &led and replied that it was 'ust a ni &na!e bestowed by his fa!ily, and apologi$ed for the slip, 8asifi said" #e e!erged fro! the hearing with his i!!igration status inta t" 3ea Greenberger, the attorney who, 8asifi said, represented Gulalai at the hearing, de lined to dis uss details of the ase" =I will not represent people who ,iolated hu!an rights,< she said, but noted that lawyers don%t always ha,e o!plete infor!ation about their lients" 1lear answers on eligibility for asylu! an be elusi,e, she said, espe ially when appli ants o!e out of ountries as ra,aged by onfli t as Afghanistan" If there were a lear bla &+and+white line, it would !a&e things easier, but there isn%t,< Greenberger said" =In wars there are heroes who !assa red others"< To so!e, she said, =a ,iolation of hu!an rights against the Taliban is perhaps an a t of ourage"<

A ontradi tory !ission

As Gulalai settled into life in (outhern 1alifornia, the *nited 2ations and other groups e!bar&ed on !ore o!prehensi,e efforts to in,estigate alleged prisoner abuse by the 20( as well as the Afghan ar!y and poli e" In 2-.. and 2-.G, the *"2" Assistan e Mission in Afghanistan issued reports based on inter,iews with hundreds of prisoners that found e,iden e of torture at 20( fa ilities nationwide" The proble! was parti ularly a ute at fi,e sites, in luding )andahar, where two+thirds of the prisoners inter,iewed said they were =syste!i ally tortured"< Many were beaten with ables, for ed to endure ele tri sho & to the testi les, or hand uffed in

e5 ru iating positions for days at a ti!e" 6ne detainee =reported that an 20( offi ial re!o,ed his toenail with a &nife"< The reports, released a de ade into the war, triggered signifi ant if belated refor!s" In 2-.., Allen suspended detainee transfers and i!posed new re7uire!ents, in luding regular inspe tion and ertifi ation of 20( prisons by *"(" and oalition !ilitary tea!s before transfers ould resu!e" Allen said he does not thin& the 1IA en ouraged or tolerated abuse" Instead, he said, the proble! was deeply ingrained, with auses in luding the oarsening effe t of de ades of onfli t as well as the influen e of a 'usti e syste! that relies on oer ed onfessions to fun tion" To its redit, the 20( see!s o!!itted to ending torture,< he said, =but eli!inating this pra ti e will be a hea,y lift"< The 1IA was not obligated to abide by Allen%s suspension or new restri tions, offi ials said" Boyd, the 1IA spo&es!an, said that although the agen y = an%t publi ly dis uss the signifi ant steps we%,e ta&en to help 20( address these issues, we ta&e seriously any allegations of abuse"< 6thers, howe,er, said the *nited (tates disregarded the proble! for the better part of a de ade and ne,er i!posed serious san tions, su h as utting off 20( funding, e,en after the e,iden e of abuse was o,erwhel!ing" (o!e ited the see!ingly in o!patible *"(" ob'e ti,es in Afghanistan, where the desire to build hu!ane go,ern!ent institutions ould be offset by the i!perati,e to root out the Taliban and terroris! at al!ost any ost" The fa t is our !ission is internally ontradi tory,< said Barnett >ubin, a professor at 2ew Jor& *ni,ersity who is also senior ad,iser on Afghanistan and Pa&istan at the (tate 0epart!ent" 8hen *"(" troops depart, he said, =we will lea,e a deeply orrupt and abusi,e go,ern!ent on whose territory there are ,irtually no !e!bers of al+Caeda to be found"< 20( spo&es!an 3utfullah Mashal de lined to dis uss Gulalai%s tenure or departure, iting a poli y against re,ealing infor!ation about e!ployees of the spy ser,i e" In 2-.2, the 20( reated a new hu!an rights unit to in,estigate alleged abuse" The British go,ern!ent helped install a!eras in 20( interrogation booths" Mashal said that su h hanges had eradi ated a proble! that he insisted had been e5aggerated" =I deny any &ind of torture by 20( at all,< he said" A third report by the *nited 2ations, e5pe ted to be released in the o!ing !onths, is said to ite progress on detainee treat!ent but also e,iden e of ongoing torture"

=0espite signifi ant re!edial steps, torture ontinues be ause there%s no real deterrent,< said Georgette Gagnon, *"2" hu!an rights hief in Afghanistan" =8e%re not aware of any 20( offi ial who has been prose uted or fired for using torture"< Gulalai has !ade se,eral return trips to Afghanistan in re ent !onths to sell property there, fa!ily !e!bers and asso iates said" If true, the ,isits ould under!ine the argu!ent that Afghanistan had be o!e too dangerous for hi!, potentially o!pli ating his asylu! lai!" Afghans who wor&ed as interpreters or se urity guards or in other apa ities for the *"(" !ilitary and other agen ies ha,e o,erwhel!ed a spe ial *"(" ,isa progra!, see&ing to es ape before A!eri an for es depart" The (tate 0epart!ent has granted ,isas to about G,--- Afghans through the progra!, a spo&eswo!an said" But as !any as H,--- re!aining Afghans are now o!peting for half as !any slots" 8asifi said Gulalai se ured per!anent resident status in the *nited (tates last year and is !o,ing toward iti$enship" The allegations against hi!, 8asifi said, should not stand in his way" I bla!e the *"(" for this,< 8asifi said" =If he was doing wrong to so iety, it is a sha!e for you" Jou appointed hi! to this position" 20( did not e5ist before" Jou reated it" If you o upy a ountry, you are responsible"< )e,in (ieff in )abul and (harifullah (haraf in )andahar ontributed to this report"