Sha Mohammed Alikhel
Sha Mohammed Alikhel | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981 Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Occupation | Baker |
| Known for | Former detainee at Guantanamo Bay detention camps |
Sha Mohammed Alikhel (born in 1981) is a Pakistani national who was subjected to extrajudicial detention at the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps located in Cuba. On 8 May 2003, at the age of 20, he was freed along with two other Pakistani detainees, Jehan Wali and Sahibzada Usman Ali.
Originally from Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Muhammad worked as a baker. Prior to his release, only one other Pakistani detainee, the elderly Mohammed Saghir, had been granted freedom.
While imprisoned, Muhammad endured profound psychological distress and made four suicide attempts despite Islamic prohibitions against such acts. One year following his release, he described ongoing mental and physical challenges, stating that he had become "a changed person" with a reduced capacity for happiness. His initial suicide attempt occurred after spending a month in solitary confinement—a measure imposed not due to disciplinary issues but because of overcrowding—and during this time he received forced injections of strong psychoactive medications.
In May 2006, the United States Department of Defense released a roster of Guantanamo detainees; however, Muhammad’s name did not appear on this list. Journalist Mark Bowden conducted interviews with Muhammad and fellow early releasee Shahbazada Usman in Pakistan, portraying them as "uneducated, unworldly, and dirt poor." They recounted being captured and sold to American forces by local warlords motivated by bounty rewards, with no consideration given to their innocence.
An official detainee list published in November 2008 included his name as "Sha Mohammed Alikhel."
Claim regarding death in combat against U.S. forces
On 7 April 2009, the Defense Intelligence Agency prepared a report—released on 27 May 2009—that identified a "Shah Mohammed" as having been "killed while fighting U.S. forces in Afghanistan." It is important to note that "Shah Mohammed" is an extremely common name among tens of thousands of individuals in Afghanistan.