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Jawed 'JoJo' Ahmad Released |
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Jawed "JoJo" Ahmad was released on September 21, 2008 after almost a year of being held in U.S. custody. JoJo suffered broken ribs and other abuse, but like so many victims of the U.S.'s illegal and bizarre detention policies, he was never charged or given a chance to prove his innocence.
The International Justice Network, acting as co-counsel with
the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC)
of Stanford Law School's Mills Legal Clinic, had fought for JoJo's release. Jawed Ahmad, a 22-year-old Canadian Television (CTV)
journalist, had been held without charge in military custody at the
detention facility at the United States Air Base in Bagram, Afghanistan
since October 2007.
Ahmad had been working as a journalist for Canadian Television in Afghanistan when he was declared an “enemy combatant” and picked up by U.S. forces last October. He was accused by his captors of supplying weapons to the Taliban and having connections to insurgents. Ahmad was then held for 11 months without access to a lawyer and prevented from contacting his family or challenging his imprisonment.
Ahmad recalls abuse and mistreatment at the controversial Bagram facility, where Afghan prisoners have been beaten to death in the past. "For nine days they didn't allow me sleep. I didn't eat anything - it was a very tough time for me."
Upon his release Ahmad declared, “I am free from hell and today is my victory. After 11 months of being held in cell that was a like a grave, I want to tell the world the story of my detention and I hope that the stories of others held at Bagram will also see the light of day.”
Ahmad’s release is an important first step in the struggle to obtain justice for literally thousands of prisoners held illegally without charge or access to legal counsel in U.S.-run detention centers around the world.
Read more in the BBC news story .
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