Abdul Razaq (Guantanamo detainee 356)

Abdul Razaq
Born 1971 (age 46–47)
Tashkent
Released Afghanistan
Detained at Guantanamo
Alternate name Abdul Razeq
ISN 356
Charge(s) No charge
Status Repatriated

Abdul Razaq, a young Afghani man, was the first detainee to be released from the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Razaq was released after four months when officials determined that he was of no further intelligence value, nor a threat to the United States, and was affected by schizophrenia.[1][2] Razaq was repatriated on May 11, 2002. Newseek conducted an interview with Razeq in a high security mental institution on May 20, 2002.

Razaq, a member of the Uzbek ethnic group, said that he was captured because American authorities did not believe he was not a foreigner. Razak told U.S. military personnel on the day he was released that he was a heroin addict on the streets of Kandahar after the attacks of 9/11/2001, and that to support his habit he picked up an AK-47 for the Taliban. Once captured and brought to Gitmo, he became a cold turkey heroin addict in forced recovery, and off of his schizophrenia medication. These two facts led to his bizarre behavior at Camp X-Ray, and the nickname, "Wild Bill." Razaq was prone to "wild" behavior prior to his diagnosis and treatment before his release. He was observed eating his flip-flops, hanging objects from his genitals, causing verbal disruptions and throwing urine, feces and other bodily fluids at and on U.S. military police guards. This story is corroborated and discussed in the nonfiction autobiography, "Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay: A Memoir of a Citizen Warrior,[3]" by Maj. (Ret.) Montgomery J. Granger. Granger was one of a small liaison detachment of the Joint Detainee Operations Group at Gitmo who were selected for Razaq's repatriation. Granger drove the HMMWV that took Razaq to his freedom bird, and spent several hours with Razaq, his colleagues, a psych nurse and interpreter prior to the arrival of his exit plane and had conversations with Razaq about his activities before being captured.

Razaq reported observing a hunger strike, and a detainee who tried to commit suicide. But he also reported that he was happy with the food he was served, and that the detainees were given Qu'rans and allowed to pray without interference.[1][4][5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Roy Gutman, Sami Yousafzai (2003). "The One That Got Away: A former Gitmo Bay prisoner talks about his experience from his new home in a heavily-guarded Kabul hospital room". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-07-08. But in early May, Washington acknowledged that it was willing to release one prisoner: a 25-year-old Afghan held for four months at Camp X-ray. It turns out that the man was not actually a terrorist, but a schizophrenic sufferer.
  2. ↑ OARDEC (2006-05-15). "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  3. ↑ "Amazon.com: Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay: Books". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
  4. ↑ "Mentally Ill Prisoner Flown From Guantanamo Back to Afghanistan". Fox News. 2002-05-05. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  5. ↑ John Mintz (2002-05-04). "Relatives of 11 Kuwaiti Detainees File Lawsuit". Washington Post. p. A16. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-20. Meanwhile, one of the prisoners held at the U.S. detention facility has been flown back to Afghanistan because he is suffering from what appears to be an emotional breakdown, military sources said.
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