Yar was arrested March 1, 2003, by U.S. forces who suspected him of helping the insurgent group Hezb-i-Islami after a large cache of weapons was discovered on his family compound. Yar admitted to being involved with the group during the 1990s, but claimed he had ceased his involvement years earlier. As for the weapons, he insisted the new Afghan government had asked him to collect them.

 

Yar remained at Guantánamo until November 2, 2007, during which time he was joined by his father, Nusrat Khan, who was arrested and sent to Guantánamo after he complained to authorities about his son’s detention. Khan, who was in his 70s, was returned to Afghanistan August 25, 2006.

 

Yar, who now helps manage his family’s gas station, opposes the Taliban, but he also retains a low opinion of Americans. "When they took me to the plane and shaved my beard,” he told McClatchy Newspapers, “I realized that Americans are the cruelest people in the world and they're very stupid. You destroy the life of someone whose crime is unproved and claim you are protecting human rights."

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Ex-Guantanamo Detainee Now Campaigning in Afghanistan (by Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers)

Hiztullah Nasrat Yar (New York Times)

Nusrat Khan (by Tom Lasseter, McClatchy Newspapers)