Gholam Ghaus Z.

Gholam Ghaus Z. was a German citizen wrongly imprisoned for over four months in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Afghanistan.[1][2][3][4][5] According to Der Spiegel Gholam Z. is of Afghan background and was arrested when visiting Afghan relatives. According to Deutsche Welle he is from the German city of Wuppertal.

Der Spiegel reports that the 41-year-old Gholam Z. had taken early retirement, due to medical problems.[1][5] A second Der Spiegel report states that his Kabul relatives told him that, as a German citizen, he could shop in the supermarket in the American base in Kabul without any problems:

Gholam Z. borrowed a relative's car to go on, what a security expert called, his "fatal shopping trip." He planned to buy a razor, among other items. According to his version of events, he drove up to the military base on Jan. 4, showed the guard his German passport and was then allowed to pass through several security checkpoints without incident.

It reported that German security officials who investigated his background in Germany, and who interviewed him in Afghanistan, were satisfied that there was no evidence of any tie to terrorism. Nevertheless, the USA told German officials that he could not be released unless Germany provided assurances of measures that amounted to "round the clock surveillance".

Der Spiegel reported that the USA had been holding Gholam Ghaus Z. for approximately four months, and that his continued detention had been putting a strain on the relationship between Germany and the USA.[1] Der Spiegel compared his detention to that of Murat Kurnaz.

After talks with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated:[6]

"We hope that we can soon bring this case to a happy ending."

On 2008-05-31, Der Spiegel reports that Gholam Ghaus Z. finally was released and brought to Germany.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "A new Kurnaz case? German Held in US Custody in Kabul". Der Spiegel. April 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  2. ↑ "Germany says citizen held in US military custody in Afghanistan". International Herald Tribune. April 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  3. ↑ Frieder Reimold (April 19, 2008). "German held by US in Afghanistan". WTOP News. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  4. ↑ "German Citizen Held by US Forces as Terror Suspect". Deutsche Welle. April 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  5. 1 2 Matthias Gebauer, Holger Stark (April 21, 2008). "'A fatal shopping trip': US Military Detains German Citizen in Afghanistan". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  6. ↑ Stefan Nicola (April 25, 2008). "U.S. interrogation of German may strain ties with Berlin". United Press International. Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  7. ↑ http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,556941,00.html, accessed 2009-8-18
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