Akhtiar Mohammad (Guantanamo detainee 1036)
Akhtiar Mohammad | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 Kundarkhiel, Afghanistan |
| Occupation | Tribal leader |
| Known for | Former Guantanamo detainee |
Akhtiar Mohammad is an Afghan national who was subjected to extrajudicial detention at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detainment camp located in Cuba. His Internment Serial Number assigned at Guantanamo was 1036. Intelligence sources approximate his year of birth as 1953, originating from Kundarkhiel, Afghanistan.
Release
Akhtiar stated that he was opposed to the Taliban regime and had cooperated with the Karzai administration, encouraging U.S. officials to confirm his assertions by consulting Afghan government ministers.
His legal representative, Dicky Grigg, declared on December 28, 2006, that Akhtiar had been freed after spending over three years in custody. Grigg received notification from the US Department of Justice on November 15, 2006, indicating that Akhtiar would be transferred back to Afghan authorities within approximately a month. Upon further investigation, Grigg discovered that all Afghans repatriated were eventually released.
Grigg maintained telephone contact with Akhtiar on December 13, 2006.
McClatchy News Service interview
On June 15, 2008, the McClatchy News Service released a series of reports based on interviews conducted with 66 former detainees from Guantanamo. Akhtiar Mohammad was featured as one of three former prisoners profiled.
Afghan intelligence officials confirmed to McClatchy journalists that Akhtiar Mohammad was a supporter of the Karzai government and should not have been detained.
During Taliban control, Akhtiar served as a tribal leader but fled to Pakistan to escape Taliban retaliation due to his lack of cooperation. After the collapse of Taliban rule, he returned to Afghanistan but was subsequently accused by a senior Taliban figure who had gained the trust of American authorities. While held in Camp 4, which accommodated the most compliant detainees, both Akhtiar and Mohammed Aman reported being subjected to attacks orchestrated by Taliban and al Qaeda elements.