However, this left unanswered the question of what it would mean if Afghanistan were no longer an active zone of armed conflict, even if the fighting raged thousands of kilometers away elsewhere.
Mr Haroon’s case could be stronger because he is an Afghan national, unlike other detainees who the government says went to Afghanistan to join Osama bin Laden’s Islamist movement. There is only one other Afghan in Guantánamo, Muhammad Rahim, 55, but he presents a more complex case.
He was originally held in CIA custody as a “high-quality prisoner”, and his 2016 intelligence profile describes him as a courier and mediator for al-Qaeda – including bin Laden – who had already been informed of the 9/11 attacks. He was never charged with war crimes.
If the evidence is strong that Mr. Rahim worked directly for al-Qaeda, the government can argue that war violence persists to prevent him from returning to battle even after the war between the United States in Afghanistan is over. But his attorney, Cathi Shusky, a federal defender in Ohio, argued that the evidence was weak.
“There is a reasonable explanation that he was not part of either al Qaeda or the Taliban,” said Ms. Shusky, who said many details of his case have been classified, which prevented her from delving into it. “The narrative is a bit twisted. I think when the facts are fully revealed it will show that his continued detention is not lawful. “
A U.S. military representative for Mr. Rahim told a management review committee in March 2016 that Mr. Rahim regretted his past and wanted to return to his two wives and seven children in Afghanistan. His motives are not ideological, said the representative, but “he only did what he had done for money so that he could support his family.”
His federal court release was on hold for years while he sought release from the board, which repeatedly declared his detention a national security requirement. But Ms. Shusky said she and another lawyer planned to revive his habeas corpus case in light of the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.
