Abdul Razaq (Guantanamo detainee 356)
Abdul Razaq | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971 Afghanistan |
| Occupation | Former detainee |
| Known for | First detainee released from Guantánamo Bay detention camp |
Abdul Razaq (born 1971) holds the distinction of being the initial detainee freed from the U.S. military's detention center located at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. After a four-month confinement, authorities concluded that he neither posed a security risk nor held valuable intelligence, and recognized his condition as schizophrenia. On May 11, 2002, Razaq was returned to Afghanistan.
Razaq, who is ethnically Uzbek, recounted that U.S. officials were initially skeptical about his Afghan origin. He confessed to struggling with heroin addiction in Kandahar following the events of September 11 and stated that he joined the Taliban armed with an AK-47 to support his drug dependency. During his time at Guantánamo, withdrawal from heroin combined with untreated schizophrenia led to unpredictable behavior, which earned him the nickname "Wild Bill." His disruptive actions included throwing bodily fluids at guards. These details are chronicled in the memoir of Maj. (Ret.) Montgomery J. Granger, who played a role in facilitating Razaq’s return.
Additionally, Razaq described observing a detainee hunger strike and a suicide attempt within the facility but expressed contentment with the quality of food and religious provisions, such as access to Qur'ans and uninterrupted prayer.