Ruhal Ahmed
Ruhal Ahmed | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 3, 1981 United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Former detainee, human rights campaigner |
| Known for | Detention at Guantanamo Bay, member of the Tipton Three |
Ruhal Ahmed (also spelled Rhuhel Ahmed, born 3 November 1981) is a British national who was held without formal charges by the United States government for more than two years. His detention began in Afghanistan in 2001 and continued at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. He was assigned Internment Serial Number 110. Ahmed was repatriated to the United Kingdom in March 2004 and released the following day without any accusations.
He was part of a trio of friends from Tipton, UK, collectively referred to as the Tipton Three, who were detained simultaneously. In August 2004, Ahmed, along with Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal, issued a detailed report outlining the mistreatment they endured while in US custody.
In the case of Rasul v. Rumsfeld, the Tipton Three and Jamal Udeen Al-Harith filed a lawsuit against former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, alleging that interrogation methods used were unlawful and sanctioned by Rumsfeld and military leadership.
The 2006 docu-drama The Road to Guantánamo, directed by Michael Winterbottom, portrays their experiences during detention. Ahmed was refused an Australian visa when attempting to promote the film.
Travel and detention
Shortly after the 9/11 attacks in October 2001, Ahmed traveled with his friends Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal to Pakistan to attend a wedding but subsequently entered Afghanistan, where they were captured by Northern Alliance forces. They were handed over to US authorities and detained at Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba as enemy combatants, undergoing harsh interrogation practices.
Ahmed conveyed the hopelessness he felt at Guantanamo, stating, "There is no hope... The only thing that goes through your mind day after day is how to get justice or how to kill yourself." He also described witnessing another detainee attempt suicide and reflected on their youthful innocence prior to their capture.
Release
Ahmed, Rasul, and Iqbal were sent back to the UK in March 2004 and freed without any charges the next day. In August 2004, they released a report exposing abuses experienced during their US detention. In 2008, Ahmed participated in an interview with the McClatchy News Service as part of a series focusing on former Guantanamo detainees.
After returning to Tipton, Ahmed encountered hostility from some locals, including an effigy dressed in an orange Guantanamo jumpsuit labeled "Tipton Taliban will die." Since then, he has been involved with Amnesty International campaigns opposing torture.
See also
External links
- Guantanamo Bay guard meets 'Tipton 3' ex-prisoners video from the BBC, 12 January 2010
- U.S. High Court Rejects Appeal Alleging Torture at Guantanamo, Bloomberg, 14 December 2009
- Health fears for 'torture victims', The Guardian, 12 January 2005
- Composite statement: Detention in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal and Rhuhel Ahmed
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1981 births
- Living people
- English Muslims
- English people of Bangladeshi descent
- British extrajudicial prisoners of the United States
- Guantanamo detainees known to have been released
- People from Birmingham, West Midlands
- Victims of human rights abuses
- Articles containing video clips