Afghan family claim son held in Guantanamo Bay for past 17 years

A family in Kabul claims that a relative of theirs has been held prisoner in Guantanamo Bay for 17 years.

Members of the family say his name is Mohammad Rahim.

They have called on the Islamic Emirate to enter into negotiations with America for the release of Rahim.

Safura Bibi, the mother of Rahim, claims her son was arrested seventeen years ago in the city of Lahore in Pakistan and transferred to Guantanamo.

According to Rahim’s mother he was selling honey at the time and was taking religious classes when arrested.

This mother blames Pakistan for her son’s arrest.

She says she is in contact with her son through the Red Cross and sometimes gets letters from him.

Other members of the family claim Rahim worked in the anti-narcotics department during the first round of the Islamic Emirate government and is currently the last Afghan prisoner in Guantanamo Bay.

The family want the US to release him.

The family also ask the Islamic Emirate to work to secure his release.

The Islamic Emirate says it is following up on the issue and has raised this in meetings they have had with the Americans.

Mohammad Dawood; the younger son of Mohammad Rahim, who was two years old at the time of his father’s arrest says he hopes to see his father again.