An obituary for recently released Guantanamo Detainee Abdul Rahim Rabbani

On Friday 1 November, the ‘former’ Guantanamo Bay detainee, Abdul Rahim Rabbani returned to his Lord after days of suffering from a stomach illness. May Allah have mercy on him and grant him the highest position in jannah, ameen. 

CAGE International has chosen to use the word ‘former’ in speech marks to highlight the extent to which Abdul Rahim continued to live with the after effects of torture and solitary confinement from his unlawful detention at Guantanamo Bay, even once released to Pakistan. 

A consistent feature of releases from Guantanamo Bay, is the paucity of social care and rehabilitation services provided to those released. The brothers Ahmed and Abdul Rahim Rabbani, Rohingya men released to Pakistan were left without any provision by the governments of the US or Pakistan - being forced to rely on assistance from private individuals to help with the acclimatisation to freedom. 

The death of Abdul Rahim is an indictment of lack of care that is extended to men who were severely tortured and abused by the US government. CAGE International calls for a fair restitution and provision to be made for all those released from Guantanamo Bay - including housing, medical and mental health facilities, and provision to reintegrate into the societies they are sent.

Former Guantanamo Bay prisoner and Senior Director at CAGE International said:
May Allah forgive the sins of our brother Abdul Rahim Rabbani and grant him Al Firdous Al-‘Alaa without any reckoning. He spent over two decades without charge or trial in Guantanamo alongside his brother, Badr. 

Along with others, CAGE was able to assist them both after their release but their struggles have been too many to list. 

They are originally from Arakan, Burma and the nephews of Muhammad Ayoub, the former imam of masjid an-Nabawi in Madinah.

When I was at the Graz conference I met with Khalid Al-Masri, a German national abducted by CIA in Macedonia. He was sent to secret CIA facilities for several months. Among the prisoners he was held with were the Rabbani brothers. I put him back in touch with them after 20+ years.

It is always painful to hear of the passing of brothers who’d endured so much but we remain confident in the knowledge:
 وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

The reward of the believer is never lost with Allah. 

لله ما أعطى وله ما اخذ و كل شيء عنده إلى أجل مسمى