‘DESPERATE TO GET HOME’

Guantanamo Prisoner Sent Home to Taliban After 15 Years Without Charge

Assadullah Haroon Gul was said to be eager to ensure his daughter in Afghanistan would receive an education after worrying about Taliban policies toward girls.

A Guantanamo Bay prisoner was released into the custody of the Taliban on Friday after a court ruled that his continued detention by the United States was unlawful. Assadullah Haroon Gul, who was believed to be a commander in an Afghan militia when he was captured in 2007, spent 15 years in the notorious military prison despite never being charged with any war crimes. Haroon was flown to Qatar on a U.S. Air Force plane before being handed over to Qatari officials, who in turn passed him on to the Taliban. One of Haroon’s lawyers last year described her client as being “desperate to get home” to his wife and daughter in Afghanistan after the Taliban swept to power last August, as a previous Taliban government had outlawed schooling for girls and he was eager to make sure his child received an education.