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Muhammad Ismail Agha is an Afghan national who was one of some 15-21 juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps. Believed to be age 12-13 (estimated) when arrested by Afghan militia soldiers, he was said to be the youngest detainee held at the camps. The Afghans traded him to U.S. forces in December 2002 for $10 US dollars.

Agha was detained at Bagram Air Base, then transferred to Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was released on January 29, 2004 and returned home to Nawzad, Afghanistan. During this time he was held in solitary confinement and subjected to sleep deprivation and stress position.

"Whenever I started to fall asleep, they would kick at my door and yell at me to wake up," he told an Amnesty researcher. "They made me stand partway, with my knees bent, for one or two hours."

In an interview in National Review, Agha and his family said that he was well-treated by the American troops and attended school during his incarceration.

"At first I was unhappy with the U.S. forces. They stole 14 months of my life, But later the Americans were so nice with me. They were giving me good food with fruit and water for ablutions before prayer."

Agha criticized US authorities for not contacting his parents for 10 months, and failing to let them know that he was still alive during that time. He complained:

"They stole 14 months of my life, and my family's life. I was entirely innocent: just a poor boy looking for work."

Fox News claimed that a man named Mohammed Ismail, one of the three teenagers released from Camp Iguana, had been captured with a suspicious letter. The Fox article claimed this capture occurred four months after Ismail's release, and that he was captured carrying a letter:

"confirming his status as a Taliban member in good standing."

See also

• Naqib Ullah
• Asad Ullah

References

1. ^ James Astill (March 6, 2004). "Cuba? It was great, say boys freed from US prison camp". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
2. Pamela Constable (2004-02-10). "Boy freed from Guantanamo details captivity". Bangor Daily. Archived from the original on 2010-01-28. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |+afghanistan&hl= ignored (help)
3. Noor Khan (2004-02-12). "Freed Afghan youth tells of Guantanamo". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. A 15-year-old youth released after spending a year at the US prison for terror suspects in Cuba said he was detained after Afghan militiamen falsely accused him of being a Taliban sympathizer. Mohammed Ismail Agha was reunited last week with his family in a remote southern Afghan village after a year as one of the youngest inmates in Guantanamo Bay, a high-security prison holding about 650 suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters detained since the US-led war in Afghanistan began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
4. Pamela Constable (2004-01-12). "An Afghan boy's life in U.S. custody: After Bagram's harsh regime, Cuban camp a welcome change". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Ismail Agha was a slight, illiterate village boy of 13 when his family last saw him 14 months ago. When he reappeared last week, he was three inches taller, his voice had deepened, his chin had sprouted a black beard and he had learned to read, write and do basic math.
5. Arlie Hochschild (2005-06-30). "Children, too, are abused in U.S. prisons". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. According to Amnesty International, Muhammad Ismail Agha, 13, was arrested in Afghanistan in late 2002 and detained without charge or trial for over a year, first at Bagram and then at Guantánamo. He was held in solitary confinement and subjected to sleep deprivation. 'Whenever I started to fall asleep, they would kick at my door and yell at me to wake up,' he told an Amnesty researcher. 'They made me stand partway, with my knees bent, for one or two hours.'
6. "Muhammad Ismail Agha, aged 15, is back with his family in Afghanistan after two months' imprisonment at Bagram airbase north of Kabul, followed by a year in the U.S. holding facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba". National Review. March 8, 2004. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
7. http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/projects/the-guantanamo-testimonials-project/testimonies/prisoner-testimonies/i-had-a-good-time-at-guantanamo-says-inmate/
8. "Poll: Too Many Inmates Freed". Fox News. June 21, 2005. Retrieved 2007-07-28.

External links

• "The Pentagon Can’t Count: 22 Juveniles Held at Guantánamo", Andy Worthington
• "I had a good time at Guantanamo, says inmate", The Telegraph, February 8, 2004
• "Muhammad Ismail Agha, aged 15, is back with his family...", reprint from the National Review, March 8, 2004 .pdf version
• "Am I Human or Not? Guantánamo Detention Undermines Human Rights Worldwide", reprint from Amnesty International report, June, 2004
• Clive Stafford Smith (2005-06-15). "Kids of Guantanamo". Reprieve via Cageprisoners. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2009-08-06.

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• Guantanamo detainees known to have been released
• Living people
• People from Nawzad
• Juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp
• Pashtun people