Jon Mohammad Barakzai

Who is Jon Mohammad Barakzai?

Jon Mohammad Barakzai is an Afghan man who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Mohammed was repatriated in October 2002, together with three elderly men, two Afghanis and a Pakistani. The men described being chained, for hours, during their interrogations.

Mohammed said that he had been forcibly conscripted into the Taliban army, at gunpoint. Some press reports stated that Mohammed, and the three elderly detainees released at the same time he was, were the first detainees to be released.

Mohammed said he recognized some high level Taliban leaders in the camp, such as Abdul Salam Zaeef, a former ambassador. He said that the detainees were shackled every time they were removed from their cells.

Mohammed's companions said that they had no contact with their family during their American custody. Mohammed said he received a letter from his family just three days before his release.