Posted on 08/28/2006 4:43:07 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
71-year-old Gitmo detainee released By BEN FOX, Associated Press Writer Published: Monday, August 28, 2006 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The oldest detainee at Guantanamo Bay - an Afghan man who is at least 71 and hobbled around the U.S. prison in Cuba using a walker - has been sent home, his lawyer said Monday.
Haji Nasrat Khan was among five men from Afghanistan transferred over the weekend, said attorney Peter Ryan, who received the news in an e-mail from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ryan was not told why Khan was transferred, and was trying to determine whether he would be held in custody in Afghanistan or allowed to return home.
The U.S. military did not disclose the names of the five men sent back to Afghanistan and declined to comment.
Khan was not charged with a crime and Ryan said the government never said why he was detained.
"We couldn't figure out why he was there," Ryan said. "He could barely walk and he could barely hear."
Khan told his lawyers he believes he's around 78, but doesn't know his exact age. He is at least 71, according to military records obtained by The Associated Press.
With the latest transfers, the military now holds about 445 men on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban, including about 115 who the U.S. has determined are eligible for release or transfer.
To be eligible for release, the U.S. must conclude the detainee no longer poses a threat to the United Sates, has no further intelligence value and does not merit criminal prosecution, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.
Ryan had been scheduled to visit Guantanamo this week to meet with Khan and Khan's adult son -
(Excerpt) Read more at pressofatlanticcity.com ...
I'm sure they had a reason. Maybe it turned out the reason was incorrect, but I doubt he was just being capriciously held.
Those walkers can be dangerous when the owners get mad.
Taliban Immam .
He was likely an inciter.
I'll bet he tried to sneak liquid Geritol into his carry-on luggage at an Afghan airport.
Held with his son...Perhaps the thinking was that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. BTW, the fact that he is old and deaf doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. Remember the blind sheik?
And why did it take so long to figure out he didn't belong there?
My thoughts exactly. They had a reason for detaining him in the first place and they kept him at Gitmo for a reason. Of course, most liberals can't figure out why we are detaining anyone at Gitmo.
Most liberals don't believe in the analogy of the sheep, sheep dogs, and wolves. Denying the existence of evil feels better and is easier.
I always find it amazing how we make age out to be an issue when deciding whether or not to send a person to jail or use the death peanalty. Fidel Castro is no less dangerous now because he is old.
Sounds like he got in the wrong line , and ended up at GITMO .
Very true .
Yep ... but denial will get you dead. Heaven forbid that liberals gain any seats in November.
hatt-baby hatt-baby
Agreed.
Without a doubt. I have a copy of the cookbook. I bet they cleaned up his dental work, put 20 pounds on him and gave him the walker.
IIRC, this fellow and his son were Taliban friendlies, the father was a HIG commander and was caught guarding a weapons cache in his home. They were also thought to have been involved in an attempted kidnapping of U.S. Soldiers on the Kabul to Jalabad road hoping for an exchange to free their commander.
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